Rafał Wojaczek (December 6, 1945 – May 11, 1971) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

poet of the postwar generation. He was a son of a respected family in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...

. His life was marked by abortive studies, alcoholism, depression and suicide attempts, the last one of which was successful. His short career took place during the turbulent years of modern Poland when the younger generation began to realize that they were trapped in a mendacious political system. Other Polish poets and writers with comparable biographies include Edward Stachura,

Marek Hłasko Marek Hłasko (14 January 1934 – 14 June 1969) was a Polish author and screenwriter. Life Hłasko's biography is highly mythologized, and many of the legends about his life he spread himself. Marek was born in Warsaw, as the only son of ...

and

Tadeusz Borowski Tadeusz Borowski (; 12 November 1922 – 3 July 1951) was a Polish writer and journalist. His wartime poetry and stories dealing with his experiences as a prisoner at Auschwitz are recognized as classics of Polish literature. Early life Borow ...

Work

Wojaczek's work translates the political and practical circumstances of life in Poland into universal and existential terms. His lyrical subject is often preoccupied with the brutality of the physical body along with its suffering and pleasures. By placing the physicality and sexuality of the individual in the context of the practical and political he achieves a depth of erotic and existential expression. His work has been compared by some to that of Lautréamont and

Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

, but was strongly connected with international trends of his time, particularly

confessional poetry Confessional poetry or "Confessionalism" is a style of poetry that emerged in the United States during the late 1950s and early 1960s. It is sometimes classified as a form of Postmodernism. It has been described as poetry of the personal or "I", ...

and the Beats. His earlier work was chiefly what Robert Lowell would have referred to as "raw," but his late style became well "cooked," with increasing attention to structure and subtle rhyme schemes using for example

assonance Assonance is a resemblance in the sounds of words/syllables either between their vowels (e.g., ''meat, bean'') or between their consonants (e.g., ''keep, cape''). However, assonance between consonants is generally called ''consonance'' in America ...

between related (but not identical) Polish vowels, with no loss of emotional intensity. Wojaczek debuted with seven poems in the very first issue of the poetry journal ''Poezja'' (December 1965). Individual volumes of poetry include: *''Sezon (Season)'', 1969 *''Inna bajka (Another Tale)'', 1970 *''Nie skończona krucjata (Unfinished Crusade''), 1972 *''Którego nie było (Who Was Not)'', 1972 Wojaczek's collected works were published by PIW in 1999 and in a more complete Zebra edition in 2005.

In popular culture

The 1999 Polish film '' Wojaczek'' is his biopic, and loosely based on his life and works. Actor Krzysztof Siwczyk played his role and was consequently nominated for a

European Film Award for Best Actor The European Film Award for Best Actor is an award given out at the annual European Film Awards to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film industry. The awards are presented by the European Film Academy (E ...

References

External links

Profile of Rafał Wojaczek
at Culture.pl
Rafał Wojaczek
at poezja.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Wojaczek, Rafal Polish male poets People from Mikołów Poètes maudits 1945 births 1971 suicides 20th-century Polish poets 20th-century Polish male writers Drug-related suicides in Poland

Work

In popular culture

See also

References

External links