Jerzy Szaniawski ( Zegrzynek, 10 February 1886 – 16 March 1970, Warsaw) was a Polish writer, playwright, and essayist; an elected member of the prestigious Polish Academy of Literature in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

. He is best remembered for his series of short stories about the fictitious Professor Tutka, published in daily press in postwar Poland. During

Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory ...

his writing was temporarily banned as "ideologically adverse".Monika Mokrzycka-Pokora
Jerzy Szaniawski. Biography.
''Culture.pl''. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

Life and artistic career

Szaniawski was born into a family of Polish landed gentry at an estate in Zegrzynek in east-central Poland under foreign partitions. His parents belonged to a local cultural elite visited by writers such as

Maria Konopnicka Maria Konopnicka (; ; 23 May 1842 – 8 October 1910) was a Polish poet, novelist, children's writer, translator, journalist, critic, and activist for women's rights and for Polish independence. She used pseudonyms, including ''Jan Sawa''. Sh ...

and Konrad Prószyński. The estate was nationalized after World War II, but the actual manor remained his until the end of his life. Szaniawski went to school in Warsaw and studied agriculture in Lausanne, France, before returning there. He debuted in 1912 with a series of short novellas published in ''Kurier Warszawski'' and in a satirical weekly ''Sowizdrzał''. The stories were soon collected in his volume ''Łgarze pod Złotą Kotwicą'' (Liars under a Gold Anchor, 1928). His first play – a comedy entitled ''Murzyn'' (1917) – staged by

Teatr Polski Polish Theatre in Warsaw ( pl, Teatr Polski im. Arnolda Szyfmana w Warszawie) is a theatre in Warsaw, Poland. It is located at ul. Karasia 2. The current artistic director is Andrzej Seweryn. The theatre was initiated by Arnold Szyfman and design ...

in Warsaw turned out to be a commercial failure; but his friend and director Aleksander Zelwerowicz took it to

Juliusz Słowacki Theatre Juliusz Słowacki Theatre ( pl, Teatr im. Juliusza Słowackiego w Krakowie) is a 19th-century Eclectic theatre-opera house in the heart of Kraków, Poland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Erected in 1893, it was modeled after some of the b ...

in Kraków the very same year, where it became a success, staged by Sosnowski with the renowned actress Irena Solska. Since then, his plays were performed regularly by many Polish theatres. In the 1920s Szaniawski wrote a whole series of

stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and intended for theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Reading (process), reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Pla ...

s, notably: ''Papierowy kochanek'' (Paper-made Lover, 1920), ''Ewa'' (1921), ''Lekkoduch'' (Trifler, 1923) performed by ''Reduta''; as well as ''Ptak'' (Bird, 1923), ''Żeglarz'' (Sailor, 1925), and ''Adwokat i róże'' (Attorney and roses, 1929) which won the national literary prize a year later. He published his only full-size novel entitled ''Miłość i rzeczy poważne'' (Love and Other Serious Matters) in 1924. Szaniawski moved to Warsaw during World War II, expelled from the territories annexed by Nazi Germany. He was active in Polish resistance and in 1944 was temporarily arrested by Gestapo.

Later years and controversy surrounding his death

After the war, Szaniawski resided in Kraków for a time, where he wrote his famous play ''Dwa teatry'' (Two Theatres) in 1946. It premiered there at the ''Teatr Żołnierza Polskiego'', with set-design by Tadeusz Kantor. Until the end of

Stalinism in Poland Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

, it was his most frequently performed play. At 76, Szaniawski married a fine-art painter Anita Szatkowska, who was some twenty years younger and suffering from a mental disorder. Documentary ''Errata do biografii.''
''2011 Telewizja Polska S.A.'' Directed by Antoni Nykowski. According to witness accounts, Szaniawska (''née'' Szatkowska) starved and abused her husband physically, fed him dissolved plaster as "medicine", and isolated him entirely from the world, until his death in 1970.Joanna Derkaczew
UWAGA! ZŁE PSY.
'' Gazeta Wyborcza'', 6 March 2006. It is widely assumed that it was she who set his country estate on fire in Zegrzynek in 1977, causing the death of two

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

s locked inside. She was taken to a mental hospital in

Tworki Tworki is a district of Pruszków, a town on the outskirts of Warsaw, Poland. It is famous for the large psychiatric hospital, which opened in 1891 and is still operating to this day as a part of the Medical University of Warsaw. It is the ...

but escaped. She was apprehended again and placed in a more secure mental ward in Kraków, where she died in 1991. Beware – the dogs!
''Teatr na Woli'' (Theatre of Wola District) 8 April 2010. ''Warsaw Culture and Events'' listing. Szaniawski's tumultuous marriage was described in a 2006 play by Remigiusz Grzela entitled ''Uwaga, złe psy!'' (Beware of Bad Dogs!), staged by the ''Teatr Wytwórnia'' in Warsaw and again by ''Teatr na Woli'' in 2008. The play by Grzela was awarded the Kontrapunkt '07 prize and the prize of Polish Radio Wrocław."Uwaga, złe psy!" Remigiusza Grzeli w Teatrze Studio.
''Urząd m. st. Warszawy''. Retrieved 19 December 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szaniawski, Jerzy 1886 births 1970 deaths Polish male writers Members of the Polish Academy of Literature Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta People from Legionowo County

Life and artistic career

Later years and controversy surrounding his death

See also

References