Jan Twardowski

File:Jan Twardowski 01.jpg

Jan Twardowski, Warsaw (Poland), March 2000

Jan Jakub Twardowski (1 June 1915 – 18 January 2006) was a Polish poet and Catholic priest. He was a chief Polish representative of contemporary religious lyrics. He wrote short, simple poems, humorous, which often included colloquialisms. He joined observations of nature with philosophical reflections.

File:Pomnik ks. Jana Twardowskiego w Warszawie 1.jpg

The Father Jan Twardowski Monument in Warsaw, Poland.

Biography

Jan Twardowski was born on 1 June 1915 in Warsaw, Congress Poland. His parents were Jan Twardowski and Aniela Maria Konderska. Several weeks after his birth, due to the events of World War I, his family moved to Russia After 3 years, they returned to Warsaw. He finished middle school in 1935. In 1932 he began working with the youth newspaper "Kuźnia Młodych" ("Forge of the Young"). He had his own column there, for which he wrote poems, short stories, and interviewed various writers.

After middle school, he began studying literature at the Józef Piłsudski University (University of Warsaw). In 1937 he published his first book of poetry.

During World War II he took part in various operations organised by the Armia Krajowa and fought in the Warsaw Uprising.

After the war, he joined a seminary and began studying theology at the Warsaw University. He became a priest in 1948. In 1959 he became a provost of the Visitationist Church. His writings were published in a popular Polish Catholic magazine, Tygodnik Powszechny. He gained fame in 1960 after publishing his first poetry book, "Znak Ufności" ("The Sign of Trust"). In 1980 he received the PEN Club and Robert Graves lifetime achievement awards, and, in 1996, the Order Uśmiechu (The Order of the Smile). In 2000, Twardowski won the IKAR prize, and was rewarded with the TOTUS prize a year later.

Jan Twardowski died on 18 January 2006 in Warsaw. He was buried within the crypts of the Temple of Divine Providence on the outskirts of the Polish capital, despite the fact that he wanted to be buried at the Powązki cemetery in Warsaw.

Works

File:Klęcznik-epitafium Jana Twardowskiego kościół Wizytek.JPG

A kneeler erected in the memory of Jan Twardowski, engraved with his last poem - Visitationist Church, Warsaw

Poetry:

• 1959: Wiersze, ("Verses"); Warsaw<ref name=tjik>Web pages titled "Jan Twardowski" (in English and Polish Template:Webarchive), at the Instytut Książki ("Books Institute") website , "Bibliography" sections, retrieved February 28, 2010</ref>
• 1970: Znaki ufności, ("Signs of Trust"), Kraków: Znak<ref name=tjik/>
• 1980: Niebieskie okulary, ("Blue Sunglasses"), Kraków: Znak<ref name=tjik/>
• 1983: Który stwarzasz jagody ("Who Made the Blueberry"), Kraków: Wydawnictwo literackie<ref name=tjik/>
• 1986: Nie przyszedłem pana nawracać. Wiersze z lat 1937-1985 "I Have Not Come to Convert You: Poems From the Years 1937-1985"), Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Archidiecezji Warszawskiej ("Warsaw Archdiocese Publisher")<ref name=tjik/>
• 1990: Tak ludzka ("So Human"), Poznań: Księgarnia św. Wojciech<ref name=tjik/>
• 1991: Uśmiech Pana Boga. Wiersze dla dzieci ("The Smile of God. Poems for children"), Warsaw: Nasza Księgarnia<ref name=tjik/>
• 1993: Kasztan dla milionera. Wiersze dla dzieci ("A Chestnut For a Millionaire. Poems for Children"), Warsaw: Nasza Księgarnia<ref name=tjik/>
• 1993: Krzyżyk na drogę ("A cross for the road"), Kraków: Znak<ref name=tjik/>
• 1996: Rwane prosto z krzaka ("Torn Right Off the Bush"), Warsaw: PIW<ref name=tjik/>
• 1998: Bóg prosi o miłość - Gott fleht um Liebe ("God Asks for Love"), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literary<ref name=tjik/>
• 1998: Niebo w dobrym humorze ("Heaven in Good Mood"), Warsaw: PIW<ref name=tjik/>
• 1999: Miłość miłości szuka, Volumes 1 and 2 ("Love Seeks Love"), Warsaw: PIW, Księgarnia i Drukarnia Świętego Wojciecha<ref name=tjik/>
• 2000: Elementarz księdza Twardowskiego dla najmłodszego, średniaka i starszego, Kraków: Wydawnictwo literackie<ref name=tjik/>
• 2001: Kiedy mówisz ("When You Say"), Kraków: Wydawnictwo literackie<ref name=tjik/>
• 2006: Kilka myśli o cierpieniu, przemijaniu i odejściu, Poznan: Księgarnia Św. Wojciecha ("A few thoughts about suffering, passing and leaving")<ref name=tjik/>

Prose:

• 1973: Zeszyt w kratkę ("The Graph-Paper Notebook"), Kraków: Znak<ref name=tjik/>
• 1986: Nowy zeszyt w kratkę ("The New Graph-Paper Notebook"), Poznan: Pallotinum<ref name=tjik/>
• 1987: Patyki i patyczki ("Sticks and Twigs"), Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Archidiecezji Warszawskiej "Publisher of the Archdiocese of Warsaw" <ref name=tjik/>
• 1991: Niecodziennik ("Not Quite a Diary"), Kraków: Maszachaba<ref name=tjik/>

External links

• Group memory in the network Vkontakte - club18291564 (rus)