Piotr Choynowski (

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 ...

, 27 August 1885 – 25 November 1935, Otwock) was a Polish writer, novelist and translator; an elected member of the prestigious

Polish Academy of Literature The Polish Academy of Literature ( pl, Polska Akademia Literatury, PAL) was one of the most important state institutions of literary life in the Second Polish Republic, operating between 1933 and 1939 with the headquarters in Warsaw. It was foun ...

from 1933. Piotr Choynowski.
''

Internetowa encyklopedia PWN ''Internetowa encyklopedia PWN'' (Polish for ''Internet PWN Encyclopedia'') is a free online Polish-language encyclopedia published by Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe ...

'', 2011. Choynowski studied chemistry originally, in Warsaw and in Lwów (now

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 ...

), then from 1908, history and philosophy in Zurich and 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 ...

. In 1914 during World War I he joined the Polish Legions (Legiony Polskie) to fight for Poland's independence, but his poor health forced him to quit. Since 1916 Choynowski lived in Warsaw. He became the editor-in-chief of ''Tygodnik Ilustrowany'' with which he worked until 1930. From 1933 he served as member of the Academy (Polska Akademia Literatury). Choynowski was an accomplished novelist writing in the realist style based on authenticism and truthfulness of observation. In his prose, he focused on the life of Polish upper classes, inspired by writings of

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, especi ...

. One of his most notable novels, devoted to Warsaw in the year 1920, was ''Dom w śródmieściu'' (''A House Downtown'', 1924).Jean Albert Bédé, William Benbow Edgerton
''Columbia dictionary of modern European literature.'' Page 630.
''Columbia University Press'', 1980. . Retrieved 20 December 2011. He also translated into Polish '' The Sorrows of Young Werther'' by

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatis ...

among other works. Choynowski was nearly forgotten in communist Poland under the Soviet domination. In 1953, during Polish Stalinism one of his stage plays was revived temporarily called ''Ruchome piaski'' (''Shifting Sands'', from 1913). In 1988 his novel ''W młodych oczach'' (''In the Young Eyes'', 1933) was reprinted, and in 1991 another one, called ''Młodość, miłość, awantura'' (''Youth, Love and Disturbance'', from 1926).

Selected works

* ''Ruchome piaski'' (''Shifting Sands'', 1913), play * ''Kuźnia'' (''The Forge'', 1919), novel * ''Kij w mrowisku'' (''Stick in an Anthill'', 1921), collection of novels * ''Dom w śródmieściu'' (''A House Downtown'', 1924), novel * ''Młodość, miłość, awantura'' (''Youth, Love and Disturbance'', 1926), novel * ''O pięciu panach Suleżyckich'' (''On the Five Sirs Suleżyckis'', 1928), collection of novels * ''W młodych oczach'' (''In the Young Eyes'', 1933), novel * ''Opowiadania szlacheckie'' (''Nobility Stories'', 1937), collection of novels

References

Bibliography

* K. Czachowski, ''Żywioł ujarzmiony'' ("Tygodnik Ilustrowany" 1935, nr 49) * M. Kurowski, ''O pisarstwie P. Ch.'' ("Tygodnik Powszechny" 1953, nr. 15) * J. Nowakowski, ''Piotr Choynowski. Zarys monograficzny'' (Rzeszów 1972) * J. Koprowski, ''Sztuka opowiadania'' ("Argumenty" 1979, nr 7)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Choynowski, Piotr Polish male writers Polish publicists Polish legionnaires (World War I) Members of the Polish Academy of Literature 1885 births 1935 deaths