Jerzy Putrament (14 November 1910 – 23 June 1986) was a Polish writer, poet, editor, publicist and politician.

Biography

Jerzy Putrament was born in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

into a family with patriotic traditions. His mother was of Russian origin and adhered to

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

, as did Jerzy. In his youth he was a member of the poetic circle Żagary (Firestorm). His story is told, as the character " Gamma, slave of history", in a chapter of

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz (, also , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation ...

's book ''

The Captive Mind ''The Captive Mind'' ( Polish: ''Zniewolony umysł'') is a 1953 work of nonfiction by Polish writer, poet, academic and Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz. It was first published in English in a translation by Jane Zielonko in 1953. Overview ''T ...

''. In the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

, where he studied at the

Stefan Batory University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

Wilno Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

, he at first leaned towards the

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

endecja National Democracy ( pl, Narodowa Demokracja, also known from its abbreviation ND as ''Endecja''; ) was a Polish political movement active from the second half of the 19th century under the foreign partitions of the country until the end of ...

'' faction, and became a member of the

Camp of Great Poland Camp of Great Poland ( pl, Obóz Wielkiej Polski, OWP) was a far-right,Obóz Wielkiej Polski
,

;Obecność chrześcijaństwa: Z Czesławem MIŁOSZEM rozmawia ks. Józef SADZIK
, "Recogito" 2004 wrzesień-październik later he supported the

Communist Party of Poland The interwar Communist Party of Poland ( pl, Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) was a communist party active in Poland during the Second Polish Republic. It resulted from a December 1918 merger of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland a ...

, for which he was arrested and put on trial.Jerzy Putrament
" Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 01 Jan. 2009. After the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

, he remained in the territories annexed by the Soviet Union and worked as a communist functionary, living in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

. At the same time, his mother and sister were deported to Siberia. Having fled to Moscow after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, he became one of the founders of the

Union of Polish Patriots Union of Polish Patriots (''Society of Polish Patriots'', pl, Związek Patriotów Polskich, ZPP, russian: Союз Польских Патриотов, СПП) was a political body created by Polish communists in the Soviet Union in 1943. The ...

and a war correspondent and a political commissar in the

Polish Army in the East The Polish Armed Forces in the East ( pl, Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Wschodzie), also called Polish Army in the USSR, were the Polish military forces established in the Soviet Union during World War II. Two armies were formed separately and at d ...

. At that time he wrote much pro-Soviet propaganda. In the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

, he became a writer, publishing many works supporting the ideals of communism, and a politician. He became an editor of two

literary journal A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters ...

s (''Miesięcznik Literacki'' from 1966 to 1971 and ''Literatura'' from 1955 to 1968), and as such he had significant influence on Polish cultural policy. He was Ambassador to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

from 1945 to 1947, Ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1947 to 1950, a deputy to the

Polish Parliament The parliament of Poland is the bicameral legislature of Poland. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the Sejm). Both houses are accommodated in the ''Sejm'' complex in Warsaw. The Constitution of Poland does not ref ...

from 1952 to 1961, and eventually a member of the

Central Committee of the Polish United Workers Party Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Komitet Centralny Polskiej Zjednoczonej Partii Robotniczej, KC PZPR) was the central ruling body of the Polish United Workers' Party, the dominant political party in the People's Republic ...

from 1964 to 1981. He was a president of the Polish Chess Federation from 1954 to 1957 and 1963 to 1973. He died in Warsaw in 1986.

Works

Altogether Putrament wrote some 50 fictional works. He published his first works (

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

) before the war; his poetry anthologies ''Wczoraj powrót'' ("Yesterday the Return", 1935) and ''Droga leśna'', ("Forest Road", 1938) were well received. Their main themes were revolutionary politics and beauty of the countryside. His first novel was ''Rzeczywistość'' (1947; "Reality") which draws on his experiences of the trial for communist activism in Poland before the war. His most renowned writings include the political novels ''Rozstaje'' (1954; "At the Crossroads") and ''Małowierni ''(1967; "Those of Little Faith") and the wartime novel ''Bołdyn'' (1969). ''Bołdyń'' was filmed in 1982 by

Czesław Czesław, ( cz, Česlav, be, italic=yes, Časłaŭ; Česłaŭ, lt, Česlovas) is an old given name derived from the Slavic elements ''ča'' (to await) and ''slava'' (glory). Feminine form: Czesława/Česlava. The name may refer to: * Ceslaus, ...

and

Ewa Petelska Ewa Petelska (24 December 1920 – 20 August 2013) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. She directed 26 films between 1951 and 1985. Her 1963 film '' Black Wings'' (''Czarne skrzydła'') was entered into the 3rd Moscow Internationa ...

List of works

Poetry

* 1934 – ''Wczoraj powrót'' (Yesterday back) * 1937 – ''Droga leśna'' (Forest road) * 1944 – ''Wojna i wiosna'' (War and spring) * 1951 – ''Wiersze wybrane'' (Anthology)

Prose

* 1936 – ''Struktura nowel Prusa'' (The structure of novels) * 1946 – ''Święta kulo'' (Holy ball) * 1947 – ''Rzeczywistość'' (Reality) * 1952 – ''Wrzesień'' (September) * 1952 – ''Notatnik chiński'' (Chinese notebook) * 1953 – ''Od Wołgi do Wisły'' (From the Volga to the Vistula) * 1954 – ''Rozstaje'' (Crossroads) * 1955 – ''Trzy powroty'' (Three returns) * 1956 – ''Notatki polemiczne'' (Polemic notes) * 1956 – ''Dwa łyki Ameryki'' (Two sips of America) * 1956 – ''Wakacje'' (Holiday) * 1957 – ''Wypadek w Krasnymstawie'' (An accident in Krasnystaw) * 1957 – ''Trzynasty z Wesołka'' (The thirteenth of Wesołek) * 1958 – ''Strachy w Biesalu'' (Fears in Biesal) * 1959 – ''Kronika obyczajów'' (Chronicle of customs) * 1959 – ''Fiołki w Neapolu'' (Violets in Napels) * 1961 – ''Arka Noego'' (Noah's ark) * 1961 – ''Arkadia'' (Arcadia) * 1961 – ''Chińszczyzna'' (Chinese food) * 1961 – ''Pół wieku, t. I'' (Half a century) * 1961 – ''Pół wieku, t. II'' (Half a century) * 1963 – ''Cztery strony świata'' (Four sides of the world) * 1963 – ''Pasierbowie'' (Stepchildren) * 1964 – ''Odyniec'' (Odin) * 1966 – ''Puszcza'' (Wilderness) * 1967 – ''Małowierni'' (The infidels) * 1969 – ''Bołdyn'' (Bołdyn)

References

External links

*
Putrament Jerzy
in

WIEM Encyklopedia WIEM Encyklopedia (full name in pl, Wielka Interaktywna Encyklopedia Multimedialna - "Great Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia"; in Polish, ''wiem'' also means 'I know') is a Polish Internet encyclopedia. The first printed edition was released i ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Putrament, Jerzy 1910 births 1986 deaths Diplomats from Minsk People from Minsky Uyezd Camp of Great Poland politicians Polish Workers' Party politicians Members of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party Members of the Polish Sejm 1952–1956 Members of the Polish Sejm 1957–1961 Ambassadors of Poland to France Ambassadors of Poland to Switzerland Polish male writers Polish People's Army personnel Vilnius University alumni Recipients of the Order of the Builders of People's Poland Politicians from Minsk Recipients of the State Award Badge (Poland) Writers from Vilnius