Zbigniew Herbert

Zbigniew Herbert
Example of one of his poems
in Polish
Jest cały czarny, lecz ogon ma elektryczny.
Gdy śpi na słońcu, jest najczarniejszą rzeczą,
jaką sobie można
wyobrazić. Nawet we śnie łapie przerażone
myszki. Poznać
to po pazurkach, które wyrastają mu z łapek.
Jest strasznie
miły i niedobry. Zrywa z drzew ptaszki, zanim
dojrzeją.
Zbigniew Herbert
Example of one of his poems
in English
It is all black, but the tail is electric.
When he is sleeping in the sun, it is the darkest
thing you can
Imagine. Even in a dream he catch the frightened
mouse. Know
It's claws that grow from his feet. It is terribly
Kind and unkind. He breaks the birds from the
trees before they are ripe.
Zbigniew Herbert
Biography
Zbigniew Herbert was born on 29th October in 1924. He died
in 1998.
He studied at the:
Jagiellonian University in Krakow
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun
Warsaw University
Zbigniew Herbert was friends with Czeslaw Milosz. They were
good friends. Zbigniew was always welcome in the Milosz's
house . They liked to talk together.
The poet was affiliated with Toruń. He wrote this about
Toruń:
"And just a day or two to get to know and have known them to
make friends and maybe even fall in love ..."
His poems:
Poetry :
• Struna światła ("Chord of Light")
• Hermes, pies i gwiazda ("Hermes, Dog and Star")
• Studium przedmiotu ("A Study of the Object")
• Napis ("Inscription")
• Pan Cogito ("Mr. Cogito")
• Raport z oblężonego Miasta i inne wiersze ("Report
from the Besieged City and Other Poems")
• Elegia na odejście ("Elegy for the Departure")
• Epilog burzy ("Epilogue to a Storm")
• 89 wierszy, ("89 Poems")
Essays, stories :
• Barbarzyńca w ogrodzie ("Barbarian in the
Garden")
• Martwa natura z wędzidłem ("Still Life with
Bridle")
• Labirynt nad morzem ("Labyrinth on the
Sea-Shore")
• Król mrówek ("King of the Ants")
• Węzeł gordyjski oraz inne pisma
rozproszone 1948-1998 ("The Gordian Knot
and Other Scattered Writings")
Drama :
• 'Jaskinia filozofów' ("Cave of
Philosophers")
• 'Drugi pokój' ("The Other Room")
• 'Rekonstrukcja poety' ("The
Reconstruction of the Poet")
• 'Lalek. Sztuka na głosy'
• 'Listy naszych czytelników' ("Letters
From Our Reader")
• 'Dramaty' ("Drama")
How did he affect Polish democracy?
During the occupation, he worked producing vaccines against typhus
Institute Professor. Rudolf Weigl undertook a variety of jobs. He
worked in the office of the Department of Gdansk Polish Writers
Union (1949-1950). In 1948 he was a member of the candidate ZLP.
From 1950 to 1953 as Martha Stefan published in "Today and
Tomorrow” .These periodicals, representing different strands of
Catholicism, was indeed legal, being home to the official
propaganda for the "black reaction". In the years 1956-1957 he
worked as a director of the Board of the Polish Composers' Union.
Herbert returned to Poland at the beginning of 1981. Following
the introduction of martial law to support his or her person and
the name of the opposition - took part in the illegal ceremonies,
published in samizdat. His work has become, especially for the
younger generation, a manifesto of freedom and expression of
resistance, a symbol of the attitude of the poet's character
uncompromising opposition. In 1989, he joined the Polish Writers'
Association. Zbigniew Herbert died on 28 July 1998 in Warsaw.
was buried in the Cemetery.