Agnieszka Osiecka (Polish pronunciation: ; 9 October 1936 – 7 March 1997) was a Polish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

, author of theatre and television screenplays,

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. She was a prominent Polish

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, having authored the lyrics to more than 2000 songs, and is considered an icon of

Polish culture The culture of Poland ( pl, Kultura Polski ) is the product of its geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to an intricate thousand-year history. Polish culture forms an important part of western civilization and ...

Life and career

Osiecka was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, the only child of Wiktor Osiecki, a pianist and composer of Serbian, Romanian-

Vlach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Eastern ...

and Hungarian descent, and a scholar Maria Sztechman. She spent her early years in

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been par ...

where her father played the piano at the Watra Restaurant. After World War II the Osiecki family moved to Warsaw and settled in the

Saska Kępa Saska Kępa (, ''Saxon Meadow'') is a neighbourhood in Warsaw, Poland, part of the Praga Południe (South Praga) district, with a population of over 40.000 inhabitants. It is also the home to one of Warsaw's largest urban parks, the Skaryszew Park ...

borough. The small flat soon became Osiecka’s favourite place to work. She lived there almost her entire life. After her death, the ''Okularnicy'' Foundation placed a commemorative plaque on the building. Agnieszka was exceptionally gifted. She completed her coursework much more quickly than other students and graduated from Marie Skłodowska-Curie High School in 1952. She trained as a swimmer at Legia Sports Club and studied journalism at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

(1957–61) and film-directing at the prestigious

National Film School in Łódź National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(1957–61) but dropped film-directing and started writing. Osiecka published essays and articles in the student press during her university years. She joined the famous

Student Satirical Theatre A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

(STS) in 1954 and wrote 166 political and lyrical songs for this company. She used to say "I am a journalist, that is why some of my songs are reports which rhyme." She served on the artistic board of the STS Theatre until it closed in 1972. Agnieszka Osiecka monument Warsaw 01

1962 marked her debut on Polish National Radio. Renown Polish actress

Kalina Jędrusik Kalina Jędrusik (5 February 1930 in Częstochowa – 7 August 1991 in Warsaw) was a Polish singer and actress. She performed in more than thirty films from 1953 to 1991. Jędrusik was married to writer Stanisław Dygat. Biography Kalina ...

sang Osiecka's lyrics to a hit song by Franciszka Leszczyńska called "My First Ball" (''Mój pierwszy bal''). One year later at the first

National Festival of Polish Song in Opole The National Festival of Polish Song in Opole ( pl, Krajowy Festiwal Piosenki Polskiej w Opolu, KFPP) is an annual music festival in Opole, Poland. Together with the Sopot Festival it is one of the two most important music festivals in Poland. The ...

in 1963 Agnieszka achieved a major success winning the main prize and six other prizes for her lyrics: "Piosenka o Okularnikach“ (music by Jarosław Abram), as well as "Białe małżeństwo,“ "Czerwony kapturek,“ "Kochankowie z ulicy Kamiennej,“ "Solo na kontrabasie“ and "Ulice wielkich miast.“ She was now recognised as a prominent young poet and the Polish National Radio offered her a job to create and lead a team to broadcast ''The Radio Song Studio''. She also worked on theatre and television productions. Together with composer Adam Sławiński she wrote a series called "Listy śpiewające“ ("Singing Letters“). Her first major theatre show "Niech no tylko zakwitną jabłonie“ ("Let the Apple-trees Bloom") was staged at the

Ateneum Theatre The Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw ( pl, Teatr Ateneum im. Stefana Jaracza w Warszawie) is a Polish dramatic theatre founded in 1928. It resides in a building erected a year earlier in the interwar Poland as headquarters for the Professional Union o ...

. Her lyrics were set to music by such composers as

Krzysztof Komeda Krzysztof Trzciński (27 April 1931 – 23 April 1969), known professionally as Krzysztof Komeda, was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s f ...

Seweryn Krajewski Seweryn Krajewski (born 3 January 1947, Nowa Sól, Poland) is a Polish singer and songwriter who rose to fame in the 1960s and 70s with the popular Polish band Czerwone Gitary. After leaving the group in 1997, he recorded several solo albums. He ...

, Adam Sławiński,

Zygmunt Konieczny Zygmunt Konieczny (born 3 January 1937) is a Polish composer of theatre and film music. Zygmunt Konieczny spent his childhood in the village of Szczyrzyc. He debuted in the 1950s in the cabaret Piwnica pod Baranami in Kraków. Since then Koniec ...

, and others.

Personal life

Osiecka and her partner, the prominent journalist

Daniel Passent Daniel Passent (28 April 1938 – 14 February 2022) was a Polish journalist and writer. He was the author of the ''En passant'' blog, which was appearing as a column in a Polish weekly ''Polityka''. Biography Passent was born in Stanisławów, ...

, had their only child, a daughter, Agata, in 1973. The

Masurian Lake District The Masurian Lake District or Masurian Lakeland ( pl, Pojezierze Mazurskie; german: Masurische Seenplatte) is a lake district in northeastern Poland within the geographical region of Masuria, in the past inhabited by Masurians who spoke the Masuri ...

was among Osiecka's favorite places in Poland. She liked to vacation there in the 1960s/70s with Polish intellectuals and artists. As a student she worked there for one of the local newspapers and in the autumn of her life she wrote for the

Atelier Theatre An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest city ...

. She was a frequent visitor to the Halama writers' retreat house in

, in the Tatra Mountains.

Death and legacy

Osiecka published numerous books and released many records (see the full list at www.okularnicy.org.pl). She is considered one of the most important, prolific and gifted persons in postwar Polish culture and history. Osiecka died on 7 March 1997 after a battle of several years with

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

. She is buried at the

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Powązkowski), also known as Stare Powązki ( en, Old Powązki), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of t ...

in Warsaw. The Agnieszka Osiecka Okularnicy Foundation was founded by her daughter shortly after the poet's death. The Okularnicy Foundation promotes Osiecka’s work, runs the Poet's Archive, organizes the annual singing competition "Let us Remember Agnieszka Osiecka“, manages the Internet archive and publishes books. To honour her creative output and her work at the National Polish Radio, the Music Studio was named after Osiecka in 1997. In 2013, the

National Bank of Poland The Narodowy Bank Polski (; the National Bank of Poland), often abbreviated to NBP, is the central bank of Poland, founded in 1945. It controls the issuing of Poland's currency, the Polish złoty. The bank is headquartered in Warsaw, and has bra ...

(NBP) issued two commemorative coins (2 and 10- zloty denominations) as part of the "History of Polish popular music" series honouring Osiecka. In 2020, the Polish public broadcaster

Telewizja Polska Telewizja Polska S.A. (; "Polish Television"; TVP), also known in English as the public Polish Television is a Polish state media corporation. It is the largest Polish television network, although viewership has been declining in the 2010s. Sinc ...

released an eponymous biographical

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

chronicling the life and work of Osiecka. It was directed by

Robert Gliński Robert Ignacy Gliński (born 17 April 1952 in Warsaw) is a Polish film director and screenwriter. A graduate of the National Film School in Łódź. He won the Golden Lions at the Gdynia Film Festival in 1992 with his film '' Wszystko, co najw ...

and

Michał Rosa Michał Rosa (born 27 September 1963 in Zabrze) is a Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or ...

and stars Eliza Rycembel and Magdalena Popławska as the titular character.

State honours

*Commander's Cross with Star of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

(posthumously, 1997) POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski ZG BAR

*Gold Cross of Merit (1979) POL Złoty Krzyż Zasługi BAR

External links

* *
The Agnieszka Osiecka Internet Archive

Profile of Agnieszka Osiecka
at Culture.pl

References