Aleksander Wat
Encyclopedia
Aleksander Wat, (1 May 1900 – 29 July 1967) was a Polish
poet, writer and art theoretician, one of the precursors of Polish futurism
movement in early 1920s.
He was born on 1 May 1900 in Warsaw
. After a brief service with the Polish Army he graduated from the Faculty of Philology of the Warsaw University. In 1919 he was among the young poets to proclaim the advent of new, futuristic poetry. The following year he published the first set of his poems, which gained much popularity among the supporters of the new trends in literature of the epoch. Until 1922 he was one of the creators of the Nowa Sztuka ("New Art") monthly, and then Almanachy Nowej Sztuki and Miesięcznik literacki. Initially a Communist
, until 1931 he was also one of the main journalists of the Marxist Tygodnik literacki. Until the outbreak of World War II
he was also the literary director of Gebethner i Wolff, the biggest and the most renown Polish printing house of the time.
After the Polish Defensive War
he moved to Lwów, then under Soviet occupation. Despite his sympathy for Communism, he was arrested by the NKVD
and, together with his wife Paulina (usually called Ola) and his 9 years old son Andrzej, exiled to Kazakhstan
. Set free in 1948, he was allowed to return to Poland. He became one of the chiefs of the Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy. However, his nine years spent in the Soviet Union cured his Communist sympathies and Wat was considered not reliable enough by the Soviet-sponsored Communist authorities of Poland to allow him to publish his own works. Instead, he devoted most of his time to translating of several classical pieces of English, French, German and Russian literature to Polish. In 1959 he emigrated to France and settled in Paris
. He died on 29 July 1967 in Antony
.
Portions of Wat's literary archive, including the audio recordings of interviews with Czesław Miłosz that were edited into Moj Wiek (translated into English by Richard Lourie as My Century), are held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
poet, writer and art theoretician, one of the precursors of Polish futurism
Futurism (art)
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century. It emphasized and glorified themes associated with contemporary concepts of the future, including speed, technology, youth and violence, and objects such as the car, the airplane and the industrial city...
movement in early 1920s.
He was born on 1 May 1900 in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. After a brief service with the Polish Army he graduated from the Faculty of Philology of the Warsaw University. In 1919 he was among the young poets to proclaim the advent of new, futuristic poetry. The following year he published the first set of his poems, which gained much popularity among the supporters of the new trends in literature of the epoch. Until 1922 he was one of the creators of the Nowa Sztuka ("New Art") monthly, and then Almanachy Nowej Sztuki and Miesięcznik literacki. Initially a Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, until 1931 he was also one of the main journalists of the Marxist Tygodnik literacki. Until the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was also the literary director of Gebethner i Wolff, the biggest and the most renown Polish printing house of the time.
After the Polish Defensive War
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
he moved to Lwów, then under Soviet occupation. Despite his sympathy for Communism, he was arrested by the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
and, together with his wife Paulina (usually called Ola) and his 9 years old son Andrzej, exiled to Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. Set free in 1948, he was allowed to return to Poland. He became one of the chiefs of the Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy. However, his nine years spent in the Soviet Union cured his Communist sympathies and Wat was considered not reliable enough by the Soviet-sponsored Communist authorities of Poland to allow him to publish his own works. Instead, he devoted most of his time to translating of several classical pieces of English, French, German and Russian literature to Polish. In 1959 he emigrated to France and settled in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He died on 29 July 1967 in Antony
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine
-Personalities:Antony was the birthplace of:* Nicola Sirkis singer with the French band Indochine* Agnès Jaoui screenwriter, film director and actress* Laurent Lafforgue , mathematician-International relations:...
.
Portions of Wat's literary archive, including the audio recordings of interviews with Czesław Miłosz that were edited into Moj Wiek (translated into English by Richard Lourie as My Century), are held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
External links
- A guide to the Aleksander Wat Papers at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library