Poets

Laureate - 1987

Tadeusz Różewicz

Poland

Biography

He was born on 9 October 1921 in Radomsko, Poland. Różewicz belongs to the first generation Polish poets, born and educated after the independence of Poland in 1918. His first youth poems were published in 1938. During the World War II, together with his brother Janusz (also a poet), he was a soldier in the illegel anti-fascistically oriented Army Krayova. Unlike Janusz, who was executed by Gestapo in 1944, Tadeusz survived the war and by the time of his literary debut in 1960, he was the author of twelve highly acclaimed volumes of poetry. He has since also written over fifteen plays. This eruption of dramaturgical energy was also accompanied by major volumes of poetry and prose. Różewicz is considered one of Poland’s best post-war poets and most innovative playwrights. Some of his best known plays include: The Card Index, The Interrupted Act, Birth Rate, The Hunger Artist Departs, and White Marriage.