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Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer. He was the author of many novels, short stories, and essays on various subjects, including philosophy,
futurology Futures studies, futures research or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will live and wor ...
, and
literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...
. Many of his science fiction stories are of
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
and humorous character. Lem's books have been translated into more than 50 languages and have sold more than 45 million copies. Worldwide, he is best known as the author of the 1961 novel ''
Solaris Solaris is the Latin word for sun. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Sol ...
''. In 1976,
Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...
wrote that Lem was the most widely read science fiction writer in the world. Lem was the author of the fundamental philosophical work '' Summa Technologiae'', in which he anticipated the creation of
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...
,
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
, and also developed the ideas of human autoevolution, the creation of artificial worlds, and many others. Lem's science fiction works explore philosophical themes through speculations on technology, the nature of
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...
, the impossibility of communication with and understanding of alien intelligence, despair about human limitations, and humanity's place in the universe. His essays and philosophical books cover these and many other topics. Translating his works is difficult due to Lem's elaborate neologisms and idiomatic wordplay. The
Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
(the lower house of the
Polish Parliament The parliament of Poland is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Poland. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate of Poland, Senate) and a lower house (the Sejm). Both houses are accommodated in the Sejm and Senate Complex of Poland, S ...
) declared 2021 Stanisław Lem Year.


Life


Early life

Lem was born in 1921 in Lwów, interwar Poland (now
Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
, Ukraine). According to his own account, he was actually born on 13 September, but the date was changed to the 12th on his birth certificate because of superstition. He was the son of Sabina née Woller (1892–1979) and Samuel Lem (1879–1954), a wealthy laryngologist and former physician in the
Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...
, and first cousin to Polish poet Marian Hemar (Lem's father's sister's son). In later years Lem sometimes claimed to have been raised
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, but he went to Jewish religious lessons during his school years. He later became an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
"for moral reasons ... the world appears to me to be put together in such a painful way that I prefer to believe that it was not created ... intentionally". In later years he would call himself both an agnostic and an atheist. After the 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland's former eastern territory (now part of Ukraine and Belarus), he was not allowed to study at Lwów Polytechnic as he wished because of his "
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
origin", and only due to his father's connections he was accepted to study medicine at Lwów University in 1940. During the subsequent Nazi occupation (1941–1944), Lem's Jewish family avoided placement in the Nazi Lwów Ghetto, surviving with false papers. He would later recall: During that time, Lem earned a living as a car mechanic and welder, and occasionally stole munitions from storehouses (to which he had access as an employee of a German company) to pass them on to the Polish resistance. In 1945, Lwów was annexed into the
Soviet Ukraine The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. Under the Soviet one-party m ...
, and the family, along with many other Polish citizens, was resettled to
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 ...
, where Lem, at his father's insistence, took up medical studies 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 ...
. He did not take his final examinations on purpose, to avoid the career of military doctor, which he suspected could have become lifelong.Lech Keller suggests a slightly different reason why Lem did not pursue the diploma: since his father was a functionary of Sanitary Department of the infamous UB (
Ministry of Public Security Ministry of Public Security can refer to: * Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil) * Ministry of Public Security of Burundi * Ministry of Public Security (Chile) * Ministry of Public Security (China) * Ministry of Public Security of Co ...
), he would have probably been assigned to the hospital subordinated to UB, probably to the same department his father served. Keller further remarks that it was well-known that UB doctors were used to "restore the conditions" of the interrogated
dissidents A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...
. See Lech Keller
"Przyczynek do biografii Stanisława Lema"
(retrieved 16 February 2020), ''Acta Polonica Monashiensis ''(
Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...
, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) Volume 3 Number 2, R&S Press, Melbourne, Victoria, 2019, pp. 94, 107
After receiving '' absolutorium'' (Latin term for the evidence of completion of the studies without diploma), he did an obligatory monthly work at a hospital, at a maternity ward, where he assisted at a number of childbirths and a
caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section, cesarean, or caesarean delivery, is the Surgery, surgical procedure by which one or more babies are Childbirth, delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen. It is often performed because va ...
. Lem said that the sight of blood was one of the reasons he decided to drop medicine.


Rise to fame

Lem started his literary work in 1946 with a number of publications in different genres, including poetry, as well as his first science fiction novel, '' The Man from Mars'', serialized in ' (''New World of Adventures''). Between 1948 and 1950 Lem was working as a scientific research assistant 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 ...
, and published a number of short stories, poems, reviews, etc., particularly in the magazine ''
Tygodnik Powszechny ''Tygodnik Powszechny'' (, ''The Common Weekly'') is a Polish Roman Catholic weekly magazine, published in Kraków, which focuses on social, cultural and political issues. It was established in 1945 under the auspices of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sap ...
''. In 1951, he published his first book, ''
The Astronauts ''The Astronauts'' (Polish language, Polish: ''Astronauci'') is a 1951 science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. It was Lem's first science fiction novel published as a whole: his earlier science fiction novel ''The Man from Mars ...
''. In 1954, he published a short story collection, ' 'Sesame and Other Stories''. The following year, 1955, saw the publication of another science fiction novel, '' The Magellanic Cloud''. During the era of Stalinism in Poland, which had begun in the late 1940s, all published works had to be directly approved by the state. Thus ''The Astronauts'' was not, in fact, the first novel Lem finished, just the first that made it past the state censors. Going by the date of the finished manuscript, Lem's first book was a partly autobiographical novel '' Hospital of the Transfiguration'', finished in 1948. It would be published seven years later, in 1955, as a part of the trilogy '' Czas nieutracony'' (''Time Not Lost''). The experience of trying to push ''Czas nieutracony'' through the censors was one of the major reasons Lem decided to focus on the less-censored genre of science fiction. Nonetheless, most of Lem's works published in the 1950s also contain various elements of socialist realism as well as of the "glorious future of communism" forced upon him by the censors and editors. Lem later criticized several of his early pieces as compromised by the ideological pressure. Lem became truly productive after 1956, when the de-Stalinization period in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
led to the "
Polish October The Polish October ( ), also known as the Polish thaw or Gomułka's thaw, also "small stabilization" () was a change in the politics of the Polish People's Republic that occurred in October 1956. Władysław Gomułka was appointed First Secretar ...
", when Poland experienced an increase in
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
. Between 1956 and 1968, Lem authored seventeen books. His writing over the next three decades or so was split between science fiction and essays about science and culture. In 1957, he published his first non-fiction, philosophical book, '' Dialogs'', as well as a science fiction anthology, '' The Star Diaries'', collecting short stories about one of his most popular characters,
Ijon Tichy Ijon Tichy () is a fictional character who appears in several works of the Polish science fiction writer Stanisław Lem: initially in '' The Star Diaries'', later in '' The Futurological Congress'', '' Peace on Earth'', '' Observation on the Spot' ...
. 1959 saw the publication of three books: the novels '' Eden'' and '' The Investigation'', and the short story anthology ''An Invasion from Aldebaran'' (''Inwazja z Aldebarana''). 1961 saw the novels '' Memoirs Found in a Bathtub'', ''
Solaris Solaris is the Latin word for sun. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Sol ...
'', and '' Return from the Stars'', with ''Solaris'' being among his top works. This was followed by a collection of his essays and non-fiction prose, ''Wejście na orbitę'' (1962), and a short story anthology ''Noc księżycowa'' (1963). In 1964, Lem published a large work on the border of philosophy and sociology of science and futurology, '' Summa Technologiae'', as well as a novel, '' The Invincible''. 1965 saw the publication of ''
The Cyberiad ''The Cyberiad'' (), sometimes subtitled ''Fables for the Cybernetic Age'', is a series of humorous science fiction short story, short stories by Polish writer Stanisław Lem published during 1964–1979. The first collected set of stories was or ...
'' and of a short story collection, ''The Hunt'' (). 1966 was the year of '' Highcastle'', followed in 1968 by ''
His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...
'' and '' Tales of Pirx the Pilot''. ''Highcastle'' was another of Lem's autobiographical works, and touched upon a theme that usually was not favored by the censors: Lem's youth in the pre-war, then-Polish, Lviv. 1968 and 1970 saw two more non-fiction treatises, '' The Philosophy of Chance'' and ''
Science Fiction and Futurology Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
''. Ijon Tichy returned in 1971's '' The Futurological Congress''; in the same year Lem released a genre-mixing experiment, '' A Perfect Vacuum'', a collection of reviews of non-existent books. In 1973 a similar work, '' Imaginary Magnitude'', was published. In 1976, Lem published two works: " The Mask" and '' The Chain of Chance''. In 1980, he published another set of reviews of non-existent works, ''
Provocation Provocation, provoke or provoked may refer to: * Provocation (legal), a type of legal defense in court which claims the "victim" provoked the accused's actions * Agent provocateur An is a person who actively entices another person to commi ...
''. The following year saw another Tichy novel, '' Observation on the Spot'', and '' Golem XIV''. Later in that decade, Lem published '' Peace on Earth'' (1984) and '' Fiasco'' (1986), his last science fiction novel. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Lem cautiously supported the Polish dissident movement, and started publishing essays in the Paris-based magazine '' Kultura''. In 1982, with
martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...
declared, Lem moved to
West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
, where he became a fellow of the
Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin The Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin () is an interdisciplinary institute founded in 1981 in Grunewald (locality), Grunewald, Berlin, Germany, dedicated to research projects in the natural and social sciences. It is modeled after the orig ...
(''Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin''). After that, he settled in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. He returned to Poland in 1988.


Final years

From the late 1980s onwards, Lem tended to concentrate on philosophical texts and essays, published in Polish magazines including ''Tygodnik Powszechny'', '' Odra'', and '' Przegląd''. These were later collected in a number of anthologies. In the early 1980s literary critic and historian Stanisław Bereś conducted a lengthy interview with Lem, which was published in book format in 1987 as '' Rozmowy ze Stanisławem Lemem'' (''Conversations with Stanisław Lem)''. That edition was subject to censorship. A revised, complete edition was published in 2002 as ''Tako rzecze… Lem'' (''Thus spoke... Lem''). In the early 1990s, Lem met with the literary critic and scholar Peter Swirski for a series of extensive interviews, published together with other critical materials and translations as '' A Stanislaw Lem Reader'' (1997). In these interviews Lem speaks about a range of issues he rarely discussed previously. The book also includes Swirski's translation of Lem's retrospective essay "Thirty Years Later", devoted to Lem's nonfictional treatise ''Summa Technologiae''. During later interviews in 2005, Lem expressed his disappointment with the genre of science fiction, and his general pessimism regarding technical progress. He viewed the human body as unsuitable for space travel, held that information technology drowns people in a glut of low-quality information, and considered truly intelligent robots as both undesirable and impossible to construct.


Writings


Science fiction

Lem's prose shows a mastery of numerous genres and themes.


Recurring themes

One of Lem's major recurring themes, beginning from his very first novel, ''The Man from Mars'', was the impossibility of communication between profoundly alien beings, which may have no common ground with human intelligence, and humans. The best known example is the living planetary ocean in ''Solaris''. Other examples include the intelligent swarms of mechanical insect-like micromachines in ''The Invincible'', and strangely ordered societies of more human-like beings in ''Fiasco'' and ''Eden'', describing the failure of first contact. Another key recurring theme is the shortcomings of humans. In ''His Master's Voice'', Lem describes the failure of humanity's intelligence to decipher and truly comprehend an apparent message from space. Two overlapping arcs of short stories, '' Fables for Robots'' and ''The Cyberiad'' provide a commentary on humanity in the form of a series of grotesque, humorous, fairytale-like short stories about a mechanical universe inhabited by robots (who have occasional contact with biological "slimies" and human "palefaces"). Lem also underlines the uncertainties of evolution, including that it might not progress upwards in intelligence.


Other writings

''The Investigation'' and ''The Chain of Chance'' are
crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a profession ...
s (the latter without a murderer); ''Pamiętnik...'' is a psychological drama inspired by
Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of real ...
. ''A Perfect Vacuum'' and ''Imaginary Magnitude'' are collections of reviews of and introductions to non-existent books. Similarly, ''Provocations'' purports to review a non-existent
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
-themed work.


Essays

''Dialogs'' and ''Summa Technologiae'' (1964) are Lem's two most famous philosophical texts. The ''Summa'' is notable for being a unique analysis of prospective social, cybernetic, and biological advances; in this work, Lem discusses philosophical implications of technologies that were completely in the realm of science fiction at the time, but are gaining importance today—for instance,
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...
and
nanotechnology Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...
.


Views in later life

Throughout the entirety of his life, Stanisław Lem remained deeply attached to his original hometown of Lwów (then in Poland, now Lviv in Ukraine) and missed it greatly. Although he never called for Poland to retake the city, he expressed sorrow and felt a sense of injustice at Poland losing the city to the USSR after the Second World War. His criticism of most science fiction surfaced in literary and philosophical essays ''Science Fiction and Futurology'' and interviews. In the 1990s, Lem forswore science fiction and returned to futurological prognostications, most notably those expressed in ' 'Blink of an Eye'' He had a deep appreciation for the works of Polish writer
Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz ( , , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry in Polish language, Polish. Regarded as one of the great poets of the ...
and respected
Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...
as a national leader. Lem said that since the success of the trade union
Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
, and the collapse of the Soviet empire, he felt his wild dreams about the future could no longer compare with reality. He became increasingly critical of modern technology in his later life, criticising inventions such as the Internet, which he said "makes it easier to hurt our neighbors." He was a proponent of
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
, which he saw as a potential means for Poland to secure its sovereignty via reducing dependency on fossil fuels from Russia. In his 2004-2006 columns for ''
Tygodnik Powszechny ''Tygodnik Powszechny'' (, ''The Common Weekly'') is a Polish Roman Catholic weekly magazine, published in Kraków, which focuses on social, cultural and political issues. It was established in 1945 under the auspices of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sap ...
'', Lem was highly critical of
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
,
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
,
Andrzej Lepper Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper (; 13 June 1954 – 5 August 2011) was a Polish people, Polish politician, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture, and the leader of Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland. Known for his radical rhetoric and agg ...
,
Samoobrona The Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland (, SRP) is a Christian socialism, Christian socialist, Populism, populist, agrarianism, agrarian, and Nationalism, nationalist list of political parties in Poland, political party and trade union in Pola ...
, the League of Polish Families, and the
All-Polish Youth The All-Polish Youth () refers to two inter-linked Polish far-right ultranationalist List of youth organizations, youth organizations, with a Political Catholicism, Catholic-nationalist philosophy. Its agenda declares that its aim is "''to raise ...
.


Relationship with American science fiction


SFWA

Lem was awarded an honorary membership in the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) in 1973. SFWA honorary membership is given to people who do not meet the publishing criteria for joining the regular membership, but who would be welcomed as members had their work appeared in the qualifying English-language publications. Lem never had a high opinion of American
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
, describing it as ill-thought-out, poorly written, and interested more in making money than in ideas or new literary forms. After his eventual American publication, when he became eligible for regular membership, his honorary membership was rescinded. This formal action was interpreted by some SFWA members as a rebuke for his stance, and it seems that Lem interpreted it as such. Lem was invited to stay on with the organization with a regular membership, but he declined. After many members (including
Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...
, who quit her membership and then refused the Nebula Award for Best Novelette for '' The Diary of the Rose'') protested against Lem's treatment by the SFWA, a member offered to pay his dues. Lem never accepted the offer.


Philip K. Dick

Lem singled out only one American science fiction writer for praise, Philip K. Dick, in a 1984 English-language anthology of his critical essays, '' Microworlds: Writings on Science Fiction and Fantasy''. Lem had initially held a low opinion of Philip K. Dick (as he did for the bulk of American science fiction) and would later say that this was due to a limited familiarity with Dick's work, since Western literature was hard to come by in the
Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
. Dick alleged that Stanisław Lem was probably a false name used by a composite committee operating on orders of the Communist party to gain control over public opinion, and wrote a letter to the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
to that effect."Philip K. Dick: Stanisław Lem is a Communist Committee"
, Matt Davies, 29 April 2015
There were several attempts to explain Dick's act. Lem was responsible for the Polish translation of Dick's work ''
Ubik ''Ubik'' ( ) is a 1969 in literature, 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The story is set in a future 1992 where psychic powers are utilized in corporate espionage, while Cryonics, cryonic technology allows recently d ...
'' in 1972, and when Dick felt monetarily short-changed by the publisher, he held Lem personally responsible (see ''Microworlds''). Also it was suggested that Dick was under the influence of strong medications, including opioids, and may have experienced a "slight disconnect from reality" some time before writing the letter. A "defensive patriotism" of Dick against Lem's attacks on American science fiction may have played some role as well. Lem would later mention Dick in his monograph ''Science Fiction and Futurology''.


Significance


Writing

Lem is one of the most highly acclaimed science fiction writers, hailed by critics as equal to such classic authors as
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
and
Olaf Stapledon William Olaf Stapledon (10 May 1886 – 6 September 1950) was an English philosopher and author of science fiction.Andy Sawyer, " illiamOlaf Stapledon (1886-1950)", in Bould, Mark, et al, eds. ''Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction''. New York ...
. In 1976,
Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...
wrote that Lem was the most widely read science fiction writer in the world. In Poland, in the 1960s and 1970s, Lem remained under the radar of mainstream critics, who dismissed him as a "mass market", low-brow, youth-oriented writer; such dismissal might have given him a form of invisibility from censorship. In 1999, Franz Rottensteiner, Lem's former agent abroad, had this to say about Lem's reception on international markets: Lem's works were widely translated abroad, appearing in over 40 languages and have sold over 45 million copies. , about 1.5 million copies were sold in Poland after his death, with the annual numbers of 100,000 matching the new bestsellers."2021. to będzie dobry rok ?!? O Stanisławie Lemie, patronie tego roku, opowiada prof. Stanisław Bereś z Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego"
, January 21, 2021


Influence

Will Wright's popular city-planning game ''
SimCity ''SimCity'' is an open-ended city-building video game franchise originally designed by Will Wright. The first game in the series, '' SimCity'', was published by Maxis in 1989 and was followed by several sequels and many other spin-off ''S ...
'' was partly inspired by Lem's short story " The Seventh Sally" in ''The Cyberiad''. The video game '' Stellaris'' is highly inspired by his works, as its creators said at the start of 2021, designated the " Year of Lem". A major character in the film '' Planet 51'', an alien Lem, was named by screenwriter Joe Stillman after Stanisław Lem. Since the film was intended to be a parody of American
pulp science fiction Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their cheap nature. ...
shot in Eastern Europe, Stillman thought that it would be hilarious to hint at the writer whose works have nothing to do with little green men.


Adaptations of Lem's works

''Solaris'' was made into a film in 1968 by Russian director Boris Nirenburg, a film in 1972 by Russian director
Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...
—which won a Special Jury Prize at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
in 1972—and an American film in 2002 by
Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...
. Film critics have noted the influence of Tarkovsky's adaptation on later science fiction films such as ''Event Horizon'' (1997) and
Christopher Nolan Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmma ...
's ''
Inception ''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action heist film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced it with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by inf ...
'' (2010). A number of other dramatic and musical adaptations of his work exist, such as adaptations of ''The Astronauts'' ('' First Spaceship on Venus'', 1960) and ''The Magellanic Cloud'' ('' Ikarie XB-1'', 1963). Lem himself was, however, critical of most of the screen adaptations, with the sole exception of ''
Przekładaniec ''Przekładaniec'' is a 1968 Short film, short science fiction comedy film directed by Andrzej Wajda based on the screenplay by Stanisław Lem, which was a loose adaptation of Lem's 1955 short story turned into a radio play ''Czy pan istnieje, M ...
'' in 1968 by
Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "P ...
. In 2013, the Israeli–Polish co-production '' The Congress'' was released, inspired by Lem's novel ''The Futurological Congress''. György Pálfi directed a film adaptation of ''His Master's Voice'' with the same title, which was released in 2018. In 2023, 11 Bit Studios published '' The Invincible'', an adventure video game developed by Starward Industries. The game is an adaptation of Stanisław Lem's 1964 novel.


Honors


Awards

* 1957 – City of Kraków's Prize in Literature (''Nagroda Literacka miasta Krakowa'') * 1965 – Prize of the Minister of Culture and Art, 2nd Level (''Nagroda Ministra Kultury i Sztuki II stopnia'') * 1973 ** Prize of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for popularization of Polish culture abroad (''nagroda Ministra Spraw Zagranicznych za popularyzację polskiej kultury za granicą'') ** Literary Prize of the Minister of Culture and Art (''nagroda literacka Ministra Kultury i Sztuki'') and honorary member of Science Fiction Writers of America * 1976 – State Prize 1st Level in the area of literature (''Nagroda Państwowa I stopnia w dziedzinie literatury'') * 1979 –
Grand Prix de Littérature Policière The (or the Police Literature Grand Prize) is a French literary award, literary prize founded in 1948 by author and literary critic Maurice-Bernard Endrèbe. It is the most prestigious award for crime fiction, crime and detective fiction in Franc ...
for his novel ''Katar''. * 1986 – Austrian State Prize for European Literature for year 1985 * 1991 – Austrian literary * 1996 – recipient of the Order of the White Eagle * 2005 – Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (on the list of the first recipients of the newly introduced medal)


Recognition and remembrance

* 1972 – member of commission "Poland 2000" of the
Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...
* 1979 – a
minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
, 3836 Lem, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh is named after him. * 1981 – ''Doctor honoris causa'' honorary degree from the Wrocław University of Technology * 1986 – the whole issue (#40 = Volume 13, Part 3) of ''
Science Fiction Studies ''Science Fiction Studies'' (''SFS'') is an academic journal founded in 1973 by R. D. Mullen. The journal is published three times per year at DePauw University. As Science fiction studies, the name implies, the journal publishes articles and ...
'' was dedicated to Stanislaw Lem * 1994 – member of the
Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning (, PAU), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of sciences (the other being the Po ...
* 1997 – honorary citizen of
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 ...
* 1998 – ''Doctor honoris causa'':
University of Opole The University of Opole () is a public university in the city of Opole. It was founded in 1994 from a merger of two parallel educational institutions. The university has 17,500 students completing 32 academic majors and 53 specializations. The ...
, Lviv University,
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 ...
* 2003 – ''Doctor honoris causa'' of the University of Bielefeld * 2007 – A street in Kraków is to be named in his honour. * 2009 – A street in Wieliczka was named in his honour * 2011 – An interactive Google logo inspired by ''
The Cyberiad ''The Cyberiad'' (), sometimes subtitled ''Fables for the Cybernetic Age'', is a series of humorous science fiction short story, short stories by Polish writer Stanisław Lem published during 1964–1979. The first collected set of stories was or ...
'' was created and published in his honor for the 60th anniversary of his first published book: ''
The Astronauts ''The Astronauts'' (Polish language, Polish: ''Astronauci'') is a 1951 science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem. It was Lem's first science fiction novel published as a whole: his earlier science fiction novel ''The Man from Mars ...
''. * 2013 – two planetoids were named after Lem's literary characters: ** 343000 Ijontichy, after
Ijon Tichy Ijon Tichy () is a fictional character who appears in several works of the Polish science fiction writer Stanisław Lem: initially in '' The Star Diaries'', later in '' The Futurological Congress'', '' Peace on Earth'', '' Observation on the Spot' ...
** 343444 Halluzinelle, after Tichy's holographic companion Halluzinelle from German TV series '' Ijon Tichy: Space Pilot'' ** Lem (satellite), a Polish optical astronomy satellite launched in 2013 as part of the Bright-star Target Explorer (BRITE) programme * 2015 – Pirx (crater), a90 km (55.9 miles) wide
impact crater An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...
on
Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of Trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Su ...
's
natural satellite A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are colloquially referred to as moons, a deriv ...
Charon In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon ( ; ) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the worlds of the living and ...
, discovered in 2015 by the American
New Horizons ''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institut ...
probe * 2019 – the star
Solaris Solaris is the Latin word for sun. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Sol ...
and its planet Pirx, after the novel ''
Solaris Solaris is the Latin word for sun. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Sol ...
'' and '' Tales of Pirx the Pilot'' * In December 2020
Polish Parliament The parliament of Poland is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Poland. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate of Poland, Senate) and a lower house (the Sejm). Both houses are accommodated in the Sejm and Senate Complex of Poland, S ...
declared year of 2021 to be the Year of Stanisław Lem. * The Museum of City Engineering, Kraków, has the Stanislaw Lem Experience Garden, an outdoor area with over 70 interactive locations where children can carry out various physical experiments in acoustics, mechanics, hydrostatics and optics. Since 2011 the Garden has been organizing out the competition "Lemoniada", inspired by the creative output of Lem. * 2021 – Lem Prize has been established by Wrocław University of Science and Technology to commemorate the 100th birthday Stanisław Lem. It is awarded annually to one young (under 40) European researcher whose creative work in science or engineering has potential for positive impact on the future of civilization increasingly filled with technology.


Political views

Lem's early works were socialist realist, possibly to satisfy state censorship, and in his later years he was critical of this aspect of them. In 1982, with the onset of the
martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...
, Lem moved to Berlin for studies, and the next year he moved for several years (1983–1988) to Vienna. He never showed any wish to relocate permanently in the West. By the standards of the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
, Lem was financially well off for most of his life. Lem was a critic of
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
,
totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
, and of both Stalinist and Western ideologies. Lem believed there were no absolutes. He said: "I should wish, as do most men, that immutable truths existed, that not all would be eroded by the impact of historical time, that there were some essential propositions, be it only in the field of human values, the basic values, etc. In brief, I long for the absolute. But at the same time I am firmly convinced that there are no absolutes, that everything is historical, and that you cannot get away from history." Lem was concerned that if the human race attained prosperity and comfort, this would lead it to passiveness and degeneration.


Personal life

Lem was a
polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
: he knew Polish, Latin (from medical school), German, French, English, Russian and Ukrainian.Tomasz Lem, ''Awantury na tle powszechnego ciążenia'', Kraków, Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2009, , p. 198. Lem claimed that his IQ was tested at high school as 180. In 1953, Lem met
radiology Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...
student Barbara Leśniak, whom he married in a
civil ceremony A civil, or registrar, ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the United Kingdom, this person is typically called a registrar. In the United States, civil ceremonies may be performe ...
the same year. The couple's church marriage ceremony was performed in February 1954. Barbara died on 27 April 2016. Their only child, (born 1968), who graduated with a degree in physics from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, has written ''Awantury na tle powszechnego ciążenia'' (''Tantrums on the Background of the Universal Gravitation''), a memoir which contains numerous personal details about Lem. The book jacket says Tomasz works as a translator and has a daughter, Anna. As of 1984, Lem's writing pattern was to get up a short time before five in the morning and start writing soon after, for 5 or 6 hours before taking a break. Lem was an aggressive driver. He loved sweets (especially
halva Halva (also halvah, halwa, halua, and other spellings; ) is a type of confectionery that is widely spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Central Asia, and South Asia. The name is used for a broad va ...
and chocolate-covered
marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...
), and did not give them up even when, toward the end of his life, he fell ill with
diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
. In the mid-80s due to health problems he stopped smoking. Coffee often featured in Lem's writing and interviews. Stanisław Lem died from a heart failure in the hospital of the Jagiellonian University Medical College,
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 ...
on 27 March 2006 at the age of 84. He was buried at Salwator Cemetery, Sector W, Row 4, grave 17 (). In November 2021,
Agnieszka Gajewska Agnieszka is the Polish equivalent of the female given name Agnes. Notable people with this name include: * Agnieszka Arnold, Polish documentary filmmaker * Agnieszka Baranowska (1819–1890), Polish playwright and poet * Agnieszka Bednarek (bo ...
's biography of Lem, ''Holocaust and the Stars'', was translated into English by Katarzyna Gucio and published by
Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
. It discussed aspects of Lem's life, such as being forced to wear the
yellow badge The yellow badge, also known as the yellow patch, the Jewish badge, or the yellow star (, ), was an accessory that Jews were required to wear in certain non-Jewish societies throughout history. A Jew's ethno-religious identity, which would be d ...
and being struck for not removing his hat in the presence of Germans, as required of Jews at the time. Lem loved movies and greatly enjoyed artistic cinema (especially the movies of
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
). He also liked
King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...
,
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
, ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'', and ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' movies but he remained mostly displeased by movies which were based upon his own stories. The only notable exceptions are '' Voyage to the End of the Universe'' (1963) (which didn't credit Lem as writer of the original book ''The Magellanic Cloud'') and ''Przekładaniec'' (''Layer Cake'') (1968) (which was based upon his short story "Do You Exist, Mr Jones?").


Bibliography

A list of works by Stanisław Lem and their subsequent adaptations in other media: A list of books and monographs about Stanisław Lem:


Explanatory notes


Citations


Further reading

* Jameson, Fredric. "The Unknowability Thesis." In ''Archaeologies of the Future: This Desire Called Utopia and Other Science Fictions.'' London and New York: Verso, 2005. * Suvin, Darko. "Three World Paradigms for SF: Asimov, Yefremov, Lem." ''Pacific Quarterly (Moana): An International Review of Arts and Ideas'' 4.(1979): 271–283.


External links

* , maintained by Lem's son and secretary *
forum.lem.pl
internet forum about Lem and his works *
Lemopedia, The Lem Encyclopedia
wiki * * *
Stanisław Lem: Did the Holocaust Shape His Sci-Fi World?
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