Jan Bolesław Ożóg (1 March 1913 in

Nienadówka Nienadówka is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sokołów Małopolski, within Rzeszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately south of Sokołów Małopolski and north of the regional ...

– 1 March 1991 in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

) was a Polish writer, poet and translator. He was born into the family of a village church organist. His first university studies were in theology, but later he changed his mind and took a degree in Polish philology at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

in Kraków. In spite of not finishing theological studies, Ożóg in his poetry was concerned with religious themes all his lifetime. Being a peasant, he was one of the main representatives of the ''Autentyzm'' poetic movement. Together with Stanisław Czernik he wrote its manifesto. He published his poems in the ''Okolica Poetów'' (''The Neighbourhood of Poets'') review. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he organised secret schools and was soldier of the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

. After the war he was a teacher and worked in many places. He was one of the founders of the ''Barbarus'' poetic group. He is buried at Rakowicki Cemetery in Kraków. In his poetry Ożóg deals with themes of peasants' culture, Catholic religion, the conflict of faith and sexuality, sin and death. Sometimes he is regarded as a representative of

Neo-Paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some common simila ...

as he often refers to Slavic myths. Oźóg's versification is notable for its frequent use of irregular

amphibrach An amphibrach () is a metrical foot used in Latin and Greek prosody. It consists of a long syllable between two short syllables. The word comes from the Greek ἀμφίβραχυς, ''amphíbrakhys'', "short on both sides". Usage English ...

ic metre.Wiktor Jarosław Darasz, ''Mały przewodnik po wierszu polskim'', Kraków 2003.

References

Bibliography

*Jan Bolesław Ożóg, ''Jemioła'' (''Mistletoe'') 1966. 20th-century Polish poets 1913 births 1991 deaths Polish male poets 20th-century Polish male writers 20th-century Polish translators {{Poland-writer-stub