Jan Brzechwa

Jan Brzechwa

Jan Brzechwa
Born Jan Wiktor Lesman
15 August 1898(1898-08-15)
Żmerynka, Podolia
Died 2 July 1966(1966-07-02) (aged 67)
Warsaw, Poland
Resting place Powązki Cemetery
Occupation Poet
Language Polish
Nationality Polish
Ethnicity Jewish
Notable work(s) Tańcowała igła z nitką
Akademia Pana Kleksa

Jan Brzechwa (Polish pronunciation: [ˈbʐɛxfa]), (Żmerynka, Podolia, 15 August 1898 – 2 July 1966, Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish poet and author, known mostly for his contribution to children's literature. He was born Jan Wiktor Lesman to a Polish family of Jewish descent.[1]

Brzechwa studied at the Jesuit high school: Zakład Naukowo-Wychowawczy Ojców Jezuitów w Chyrowie, and upon moving from Podolia to the city of Warsaw, he graduated from the School of Law at the Warsaw University. During the Polish-Soviet War, he served in the 36th Regiment of the Academic Legion and his formal writing debut took place in 1920 by way of various humor magazines. In 1926 he published Oblicza zmyślone, his first book of poems. His first set of poems for children Tańcowała igła z nitką was published in 1937. He worked as a lawyer and attorney for the Polish Society of Authors and Composers (ZAIKS) where he specialized and excelled in copyright law.

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Literary output

Jan Brzechwa was the writer's pseudonym. The name Brzechwa translates into 'fletching' (the tail section of an arrow). His poetry was written mostly in the melodic style of the 8-syllable accentual verse, the most popular rhythmic structure among the Polish stylistic variations, at 65%.[2]

Among his most popular works is Chrząszcz (A Beetle), a poem proverbial for the hardest to pronounce phrase in the Polish literature, even for the adult Polish language speakers. Its first line “W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie” (In the town of Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reeds) is the best known Polish tongue-twister, where almost all of the consonants make distinct buzzing sounds. Brzechwa is also popular in Poland for having written a number of lyrical children's poems. He was a translator of Russian literature, translating works by Aleksandr Pushkin, Sergey Yesienin and Vladimir Mayakovskiy. He was married twice and had a daughter, Krystyna, from his first marriage.

Brzechwa also wrote a long running series of children's books based on the adventures of Pan Kleks, the headmaster of a magical academy, and his students. Many of the Kleks books and plot points were made into a series of films in the 1980s. While a poem Pchła Szachrajka (Adventures of a Cheating Flea) was developed into an animated film in 1989.

Many of Brzechwa’s texts have been translated into English by Walter Whipple, but as of 2004 they have yet to be published. He died in Warsaw in 1966 and is buried at the Powązki cemetery, the most famous cemetery in the city.

Works

  • 1926 – Oblicza zmyślone
  • 1937 – Tańcowała igła z nitką
  • 1938 – Kaczka Dziwaczka
  • 1946 – Akademia Pana Kleksa
  • 1946 – Ptasie plotki
  • 1946 – Pan Drops i jego trupa
  • 1948 – Na wyspach Bergamutach
  • 1948 – Opowiedział dzięcioł sowie
  • 1948 – Przygody rycerza Szaławiły
  • 1951 – Uczymy się chodzić
  • 1953 – Teatr Pietruszki
  • 1953 – Wagary
  • 1957 – Magik
  • 1958 – Wyssane z palca
  • 1958 – Sto bajek
  • 1961 – Podróże pana Kleksa
  • 1964 – Śmiechu warte
  • 1965 – Od baśni do baśni
  • 1965 – Tryumf pana Kleksa

See also

References

  1. ^ Brzechwa, Jan (1898–1966) The YIVO encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, Volume 1. Yale University Press, 2008. ISBN 0300119038.
  2. ^ Reinhard Köhler, Gabriel Altmann, Raĭmond Genrikhovich Piotrovskiĭ, Quantitative linguistics. Walter de Gruyter, 2005. ISBN 3110155788.