Sławomir Mrożek

Sławomir Mrożek

Warsaw, 20 May 2006
Born 29 June 1930(1930-06-29)
Borzęcin, Poland
Occupation Dramatist, Writer
Nationality  Poland

Sławomir Mrożek (born 29 June 1930) is a Polish dramatist and writer. In 1963 Mrożek emigrated to France and then further to Mexico. In 1996 he returned to Poland and settled in Kraków. In 2008 he moved back to France.[1]

Mrożek joined the Polish United Workers' Party during the reign of Stalinism in the People's Republic of Poland, and made a living as a political journalist. He began writing plays in the late 1950s. His first play, Policja (The Police), was published in 1958. Tango (1964) was Mrożek's first full-length play, written about totalitarianism. Tango made Mrożek one of the most recognizable Polish contemporary writers in the world wrote Krystyna Dąbrowska.[1] It became also his most successful play, according to Britannica, produced in many Western countries.[2] In 1975 his second popular play Emigranci (The Émigrés),[3] a bitter and ironic portrait of two Polish emigrants in Paris, was produced by director Andrzej Wajda in the Teatr Stary in Kraków.[4] Mrożek traveled to France, England, Italy, Yugoslavia and other European countries.[5] His plays belong to the genre of Theatre of the Absurd, intended to shock the audience with non-realistic elements, political and historic references, distortion, and parody.[2]

Contents

Controversy

In 1953, during the regime of Stalinism in postwar Poland, Mrożek was one of several signatories of an open letter from ZLP to Polish authorities supporting persecution of Polish religious leaders imprisoned by the Ministry of Public Security. He participated in the defamation of Catholic priests from Kraków, three of whom were condemned to death by the Communist government in February 1953 after being groundlessly accused of treason. The death sentences were not enforced although Father Józef Fudali died in unexplained circumstances while in prison.[6][7][8][9][10][11] Mrożek wrote a full-page article in support of the verdict, entitled "Zbrodnia główna i inne" (The Major and other Crimes), comparing death-row priests to degenerate SS-men and Ku-Klux-Klan.[12]

Works

List of plays by Sławomir Mrożek, based on Małgorzata Sugiera's "Dramaturgia Sławomira Mrożka." (The Dramatic Works of Slawomir Mrozek).

English translations

Notes

  1. ^ a b Krystyna Dąbrowska, Sławomir Mrożek. Culture.pl, September 2009.
  2. ^ a b Sławomir Mrożek, from theEncyclopædia Britannica
  3. ^ August Grodzicki, "Bardzo polska tragikomedia." Życie Warszawy nr 5; 07-01-1976
  4. ^ http://www.polinst.hu/en/node/4523
  5. ^ Sławomir Mrożek at www.kirjasto.sci.fi
  6. ^ Ks. Józef Fudali (1915–1955), kapłan Archidiecezji Krakowskiej. Institute of National Remembrance. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  7. ^ David Dastych, "Devil's Choice. High-ranking Communist Agents in the Polish Catholic Church." Canada Free Press (CFP), January 10, 2007.
  8. ^ Wojciech Czuchnowski Blizna. Proces kurii krakowskiej 1953, Kraków 2003.
  9. ^ Dr Stanisław Krajski, "Zabić księży." Katolicka Gazeta Internetowa, 2001-12-01.
  10. ^ Damian Nogajski, WINY MAŁE I DUŻE – CZYLI KTO JEST PASZKWILANTEM. Polskiejutro.com, No. 227; 11 September 2006.
  11. ^ Katarzyna Kubisiowska (interview with Sławomir Mrożek), "Wiem, jak się umiera," Rzeczpospolita, archiwum.
  12. ^ Proces Kurii Krakowskiej. Institute of National Remembrance (IPN). Retrieved November 1, 2011.

Further reading

External links