Agnieszka Osiecka (
Polish pronunciation: ; 9 October 1936 – 7 March 1997) was a Polish
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
,
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
, author of theatre and television screenplays,
film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
and
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
. She was a prominent Polish
songwriter
A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...
, having authored the lyrics to more than 2000 songs, and is considered an icon of
Polish culture
The culture of Poland () is the product of its Geography of Poland, geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to History of Poland, an intricate thousand-year history. Poland has a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic ma ...
.
Life and career
Osiecka was born in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, the only child of Wiktor Osiecki, a pianist and composer of Serbian, Romanian-
Vlach and Hungarian descent, and a scholar Maria Sztechman. She spent her early years in
Zakopane
Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...
where her father played the piano at the Watra Restaurant. After World War II the Osiecki family moved to Warsaw and settled in the
Saska Kępa
Saska Kępa (, ''Saxon Meadow'') is a neighbourhood in Warsaw, Poland, part of the Praga Południe (South Praga) district, with a population of over 40.000 inhabitants. It is also the home to one of Warsaw's largest urban parks, the Skaryszew Pa ...
borough. The small flat soon became Osiecka’s favourite place to work. She lived there almost her entire life. After her death, the ''Okularnicy'' Foundation placed a commemorative plaque on the building.
Agnieszka was exceptionally gifted. She completed her coursework much more quickly than other students and graduated from Marie Skłodowska-Curie High School in 1952. She trained as a swimmer at Legia Sports Club and studied journalism at the
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...
(1957–61) and film-directing at the prestigious
National Film School in Łódź (1957–61) but dropped film-directing and started writing. Osiecka published essays and articles in the student press during her university years. She joined the famous Student Satirical Theatre (STS) in 1954 and wrote 166 political and lyrical songs for this company. She used to say "I am a journalist, that is why some of my songs are reports which rhyme." She served on the artistic board of the STS Theatre until it closed in 1972.

1962 marked her debut on
Polish National Radio. Renown Polish actress
Kalina Jędrusik sang Osiecka's lyrics to a hit song by Franciszka Leszczyńska called "My First Ball" (''Mój pierwszy bal''). One year later at the first
National Festival of Polish Song in Opole
The National Festival of Polish Song in Opole (, KFPP), commonly known as the Opole Festival () is an annual music festival in Opole, Poland. Together with the Sopot Festival it is one of the two most important music festivals in Poland.
The Op ...
in 1963 Agnieszka achieved a major success winning the main prize and six other prizes for her lyrics: "Piosenka o Okularnikach“ (music by Jarosław Abram), as well as "Białe małżeństwo,“ "Czerwony kapturek,“ "Kochankowie z ulicy Kamiennej,“ "Solo na kontrabasie“ and "Ulice wielkich miast.“
She was now recognised as a prominent young poet and the Polish National Radio offered her a job to create and lead a team to broadcast ''The Radio Song Studio''. She also worked on theatre and television productions. Together with composer Adam Sławiński she wrote a series called "Listy śpiewające“ ("Singing Letters“). Her first major theatre show "Niech no tylko zakwitną jabłonie“ ("Let the Apple-trees Bloom") was staged at the
Ateneum Theatre.
Her lyrics were set to music by such composers as
Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Trzciński (27 April 1931 – 23 April 1969), known professionally as Krzysztof Komeda, was a Polish film score composer and jazz pianist widely regarded as one of the most influential Polish jazz musicians. He is best known for writin ...
,
Seweryn Krajewski,
Adam Sławiński,
Zygmunt Konieczny, and others.
Personal life
Osiecka and her partner, the prominent journalist
Daniel Passent, had their only child, a daughter,
Agata, in 1973.
The
Masurian Lake District
The Masurian Lake District or Masurian Lake Land () is a lake district in northeastern Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpath ...
was among Osiecka's favorite places in Poland. She liked to vacation there in the 1960s/70s with Polish intellectuals and artists. As a student she worked there for one of the local newspapers and in the autumn of her life she wrote for the
Atelier Theatre in
Sopot. She was a frequent visitor to the Halama writers' retreat house in
Zakopane
Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...
, in the Tatra Mountains.
Death and legacy
Osiecka published numerous books and released many records (see the full list at www.okularnicy.org.pl). She is considered one of the most important, prolific and gifted persons in postwar Polish culture and history. Osiecka died on 7 March 1997.
The Agnieszka Osiecka Okularnicy Foundation was founded by her daughter shortly after the poet's death. The Okularnicy Foundation promotes Osiecka’s work, runs the Poet's Archive, organizes the annual singing competition "Let us Remember Agnieszka Osiecka“, manages the Internet archive and publishes books.
To honour her creative output and her work at the
National Polish Radio, the Music Studio was named after Osiecka in 1997.
In 2013, the
National Bank of Poland (NBP) issued two commemorative coins (2 and 10-
zloty denominations) as part of the "History of Polish popular music" series honouring Osiecka.
In 2020, the Polish public broadcaster
Telewizja Polska
Telewizja Polska S.A. (; TVP), also known in English as Polish Television, is a Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster in Poland, founded in 1952. It is the oldest and largest Polish television network.
After 2015, when the right-wing po ...
released an eponymous biographical
mini-series
In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
chronicling the life and work of Osiecka. It was directed by
Robert Gliński and
Michał Rosa and stars
Eliza Rycembel and Magdalena Popławska as the titular character.
From May 2024, the manuscript of text of song ''Małgośka'' from the collection of the
National Library of Poland
The National Library (, ''BN'') is the national library of Poland, subject directly to the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The main seat of the National Library is located in the Ochota district of Warsaw, adjacent to the Mo ...
is presented at a
permanent exhibition in the Palace of the Commonwealth.
State honours
*Commander's Cross with Star of the
Order of Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...
(posthumously, 1997)

*Gold
Cross of Merit (1979)
Selected songs
*''A ja wolę moją mamę'' (music by
Majka Jeżowska, performed by
Majka Jeżowska)
*''Ballada o pancernych'' (music by Adam Walaciński, performed by
Edmund Fetting)
*''Ballada wagonowa'' (music by Andrzej Zieliński, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Będę czekać'' (music by
Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to ma ...
, performed by Stenia Kozłowska)
*''Biedne badyliszcze'' (performed by
Krystyna Sienkiewicz)
*''Bossanova do poduszki'' (music by Jacek Mikuła, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Cyrk nocą'' (music by Jacek Mikuła, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Czarodzieje'' (music by Andrzej Zieliński, performed by
Skaldowie)
*''Damą być'' (music by Jacek Mikuła, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Diabeł i raj'' (music by Katarzyna Gärtner, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Dobranoc panowie'' (music by Andrzej Zieliński, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Dość jest wszystkiego'' (co-written with Jacek Kleyff, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz and Jacek Kleyff)
*''Dookoła noc się stała'' (music by
Adam Sławiński, performed by
Łucja Prus)
*''Dzikuska'' (music by Leszek Bogdanowicz, performed by
Violetta Villas, Katarzyna Groniec)
*''Dziś prawdziwych Cyganów już nie ma'' (music by Andrzej Zieliński, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz,
Edyta Górniak
Edyta Anna Górniak (; born 14 November 1972) is a Polish pop singer. Górniak started as a musical theatre actress in 1990. She performed in the most popular musical in Polish history, the Tony Award-nominated ''Metro (musical), Metro''. Some ...
)
*''Ja mam szczęście do wszystkiego'' (music by Lucjan Maria Kaszycki, performed by Hanna Rek)
*''Jak pięknie jest umierać między gołębiami'' (music by Andrzej Zieliński, performed by Grażyna Łobaszewska)
*''Jeżeli jest'' (muz. Janusz Bogacki, performed by
Magda Umer)
*''Kiedy mi przyjdzie zasnąć na dłużej'' (music by
Violetta Villas, performed by
Violetta Villas)
*''Kiedyś byłam lalką'' (performed by
Krystyna Sienkiewicz)
*''Kochankowie z ulicy Kamiennej'' (music by Wojciech Solarz, performed by
Sława Przybylska, Krystyna Tkacz,
Elżbieta Czyżewska and
Anna Prucnal)
*''Kolega Maj'' (music by
Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, performed by Ewa Bem)
*''Komu weselne dzieci'' (music by Katarzyna Gärtner, performed by
Urszula Sipińska)
*''Króliczek'' (music by Andrzej Zieliński, performed by
Skaldowie, Katarzyna Groniec)
*''Ludzkie gadanie'' (music by
Seweryn Krajewski, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Małgośka'' (music by Katarzyna Gärtner, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Mechaniczna lalka'' (music by
Violetta Villas, performed by
Violetta Villas)
*''Mój pierwszy bal'' (music by Franciszka Leszczyńska, performed by
Kalina Jędrusik)
*''Mówiłam żartem'' (music by Jarosław Abramow, performed by
Iga Cembrzyńska and
Krystyna Janda)
*''Na całych jeziorach – ty'' (music by Adam Sławiński, performed by Teresy Tutinas,
Kalina Jędrusik,
Hanna Banaszak,
Katarzyna Nosowska)
*''Najpiękniejsza'' (music by
Seweryn Krajewski, performed by
Seweryn Krajewski)
*''Na zakręcie'' (music by
Przemysław Gintrowski
Przemysław Adam Gintrowski (21 December 1951 – 20 October 2012) was a Polish composer and musician.
Gintrowski debuted in 1976 on a review of the Warsaw Riviera with the song "Epitaph for Sergei Yesenin". Shortly afterwards, in 1979, he ...
, performed by
Krystyna Janda)
*''Na kulawej naszej barce'' (music by
Seweryn Krajewski, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz,
Katarzyna Nosowska, Katarzyna Groniec)
*''Nie całuj mnie pierwsza'' (music by Andrzej Zieliński, performed by
Skaldowie)
*''Nie ma jak pompa'' (music by Jacek Mikuła, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Nie spoczniemy
innych językach' (music by
Seweryn Krajewski, performed by
Czerwone Gitary)
*''Nie żałuję'' (music by
Seweryn Krajewski, performed by
Edyta Geppert)
*''Niech żyje bal'' (music by
Seweryn Krajewski, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Nim wstanie dzień'' (music by
Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Trzciński (27 April 1931 – 23 April 1969), known professionally as Krzysztof Komeda, was a Polish film score composer and jazz pianist widely regarded as one of the most influential Polish jazz musicians. He is best known for writin ...
, performed by
Edmund Fetting, Katarzyna Groniec)
*''Od nocy do nocy'' (music by
Waldemar Kazanecki, performed by Halina Kunicka,
Edyta Górniak
Edyta Anna Górniak (; born 14 November 1972) is a Polish pop singer. Górniak started as a musical theatre actress in 1990. She performed in the most popular musical in Polish history, the Tony Award-nominated ''Metro (musical), Metro''. Some ...
)
*''Okularnicy'' (music by. Jarosław Abramow, performed by
Kazimiera Utrata, Zofia Kucówna,
Sława Przybylska and
Tadeusz Łomnicki
Tadeusz Łomnicki (; 18 July 1927 – 22 February 1992) was a Polish actor, one of the most notable stage and film artists of his time in Poland. He is remembered mostly for his roles in comedies and dramas, as well as for the role of Kordian in ...
)
*''Pogoda na szczęście'' (music by Seweryn Krajewski, performed by
Seweryn Krajewski)
*''Polska Madonna'' (music by Andrzej Sikorowski, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Sing sing'' (music by Jacek Mikuła, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz)
*''Szaloną być'' (music by
Violetta Villas, performed by
Violetta Villas)
*''Sztuczny miód'' (music by Krzysztof Paszek, performed by
Barbara Krafftówna, Katarzyna Groniec)
*''Śpiewam, bo muszę'' (music by Andrzej Zieliński, performed by
Skaldowie)
*''Uciekaj moje serce'' (music by
Seweryn Krajewski, performed by
Stanisław Sojka, Katarzyna Groniec)
*''Ulica japońskiej wiśni'' (music by Jerzy Satanowski, performed by Barbara Dziekan)
*''W żółtych płomieniach liści'' (music by Andrzej Zieliński, performed by
Łucja Prus and
Skaldowie)
*''Wariatka tańczy'' (music by
Seweryn Krajewski, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz, Katarzyna Groniec,
Krystyna Janda)
*''Wieczór na dworcu w Kansas City'' (music by Andrzej Zieliński, performed by
Skaldowie)
*''Wielka woda'' (music by Katarzyna Gärtner, performed by
Maryla Rodowicz, Katarzyna Groniec)
*''Zielono mi'' (music by
Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, performed by Andrzej Dąbrowski,
Andrzej Zaucha,
Katarzyna Nosowska,
Ania Dąbrowska)
*''Zabawa w Sielance'' (music by Marek Lusztig, performed by Barbara Rylska, Andrzej Żarnecki)
Source:
See also
*
List of poets
*
List of Polish poets
References
External links
*
*
The Agnieszka Osiecka Internet ArchiveProfile of Agnieszka Osieckaat Culture.pl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osiecka, Agnieszka
1936 births
1997 deaths
Burials at Powązki Cemetery
Łódź Film School alumni
Polish lyricists
Polish women songwriters
Polish satirists
Polish women satirists
Polish people of Romanian descent
Polish people of Serbian descent
Polish people of Hungarian descent
20th-century Polish poets
Deaths from colorectal cancer in Poland
People associated with Kultura (magazine)