Witkacy - Portret Janiny Brzostowskiej - 1939 - KDM I 2178

Janina Brzostowska (9 July 1897 – 18 March 1986) was a Polish poet, novelist and translator.

Life

Janina Brzostowska was born on 9 July 1897 in Wadowice, the daughter of a high school principal. She studied Polish and French at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, where her family moved. In 1924 she joined the "

Czartak Czartak () was a regional literary group in Poland, founded after World War I by Emil Zegadłowicz. Its most famous member was Zofia Kossak-Szczucka. Other members included Edward Kozikowski, Jan Nepomucen Miller and Janina Brzostowska. Czart ...

" group of poets, and published her first volume of poetry, ''On Land and My Love'', in 1925. She then formally left Czartak in 1929, though she maintained ties with the other poets there. Brzostowska moved to

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 ...

, publishing her first novel, ''The Jobless of Warsaw'', in 1933. The novel was removed from publication by the censors. Her second novel, ''A Woman Conquers the World'', dealt with a woman's coming of age. From 1938 to 1939, Brzostowska helped edit the bimonthly ''Skawa''. In 1939 she published two volumes of lyrical verse, dealing with love and the passage of time. During the

German occupation of Poland German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, Brzostowska joined the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

. Deported from Warsaw after the 1944 Uprising, she was one of the first to return to the ruins of the city. She kept writing poetry after the war, publishing a complete translation of the Songs of

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

in 1961.

Works

Poetry

* (tr.) ''Pieśni'' by

, 1961 * ''Zanim noc...'' ntil the night... 1961 * ''Czas nienazwany'' ime without name 1964 * ''Obrona światła'' n defence of light 1968 * ''Pozdrowienie'' reetings 1969 * ''Szczęścia szukamy'' n search of happiness 1974 * ''Eros'', 1977 * ''Poezje zebrane'' ollected poems 1981.

Novels

* ''Bezrobotni Warszawy'' he Jobless of Warsaw 1933 * ''Kobieta zdobywa swiat'' Woman Conquers the World 1937

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brzostowska, Janina 1897 births 1986 deaths Polish translators Polish women poets Polish women novelists 20th-century translators 20th-century Polish poets 20th-century Polish novelists 20th-century Polish women writers People from Wadowice Jagiellonian University alumni Greek–Polish translators