Kazimierz Brandys and Maria Zenowicz Brandys in Paris 1998

Kazimierz Brandys (27 October 1916 – 11 March 2000) was a Polish essayist and writer of film scripts.

Biography

Brandys was born in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

. He was the brother of the writer

Marian Brandys Marian Brandys (25 January 1912 – 20 November 1998) was a Polish writer and screenwriter born in Wiesbaden into an assimilated Jewish family of the Polish intelligentsia. Brandys grew up in Łódź. His father owned a bank. Their prosperity ...

and husband of the translator . He graduated in law from 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 ...

. He was first published in 1935 as a theatre critic, in the literary monthly ' (Anvil of Youth). Between 1945 and 1950 he was a member of the editorial board of the weekly ' (The Smithy). In 1946 he joined the

Polish Workers' Party The Polish Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1948 ...

. His literary career took off with the publication of his account of the two Warsaw uprisings during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. From 1956 onwards he was the spokesman for the Polish communist party's programme of "renewal" and "moral cleansing". Between 1956 and 1960 he was on the editorial board of the weekly ' (New Culture). In 1966 he left the communist party as a protest against the political persecution of

Leszek Kołakowski Leszek Kołakowski (; ; 23 October 1927 – 17 July 2009) was a Polish philosopher and historian of ideas. He is best known for his critical analyses of Marxist thought, especially his three-volume history, '' Main Currents of Marxism'' (1976). ...

. In 1970 and 1971 he taught Slavonics at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. In 1976 he signed the

Letter of 59 The Letter of 59 (also known as the ''Memorial'' or ''Memorandum of 59'') was an open letter signed by 66 (or 59 at first, hence the name) Polish intellectuals who protested against the changes of the Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland ...

, protesting against changes to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

of 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 ...

. Between 1977 and 1980 he was on the editorial board of ' (The Record). After 1981 he lived outside of Poland. He died in 2000, in Paris.

Selected bibliography

*''Drewniany koń'' (The Wooden horse), Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1946. * ''Między wojnami'' (Between the Wars): **''Samson'', Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1948. **''Antygona'' (Antigone), Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1948. **''Troja, miasto otwarte'' (Troy: open city), Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1949. **''Człowiek nie umiera'' (Man does not die), Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1951. *''Obywatele'' (Citizens), Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1954. *''Matka Królów'' (Mother of Kings), Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1957. *''Romantyczność'' (Romance), stories, Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1960. *''Sposób bycia'' (Ways of being), Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1963. *''Jak być kochaną i inne opowiadania'' (How to be Loved and Other Stories), Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1970. *''Wariacje pocztowe'' (Postal variations), Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1972. *''Pomysł'' (An Idea), Warsaw: PIW, 1974. *''Nierzeczywistość'' (Unreality), Warsaw: NOWA, 1977. *''Rondo', Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1982.

Memoirs, journals, essays

*''Miesiące'' (Months), Warsaw-Paris: Instytut Literacki, 1978–1987. *''Sztuka konwersacji'' (The Art of conversation), London: Aneks, 1990. *''Charaktery i pisma'' (Characters and scripts), London: Aneks, 1991. *''Zapamiętane'' (Remembered), Cracow: WL, 1995. *''Przygody Robinsona'' (Robinson's adventures), Warsaw: Iskry, 1999.

References

External links

Kazimierz Brandys
at culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandys, Kazimierz 1916 births Polish male writers University of Warsaw alumni University of Paris faculty Polish emigrants to France Writers from Łódź 2000 deaths Recipients of the State Award Badge (Poland)