Jan Krzysztof Kelus
Encyclopedia
Jan Krzysztof Kelus, also known by his initials JKK, (born 1942) is a Polish
singer, poet, composer and a member of the democratic opposition in Poland between the 1960s and 1980s. A professional sociologist, Kelus is best known for a number of ballads which gained him a nickname of the Bard
of the opposition and Polish Woody Guthrie
.
After a brief period at the faculty of law, Kelus graduated from the faculty of sociology of the Warsaw University. After the events of March 1968
he became involved in various groups of the democratic opposition to the Communist regime of the People's Republic of Poland
. Arrested in 1969 for his involvement in smuggling books published in Paris by Jerzy Giedroyc
's Kultura
through the Tatra Mountains
, he was sentenced to imprisonment in the so-called Tatra Climbers' Trial. Released from the prison after the advent of Edward Gierek
's rule, Kelus was involved in the Workers' Defence Committee
(KOR) where he organized legal and financial aid to workers and labor activists persecuted by the communist authorities. About that time his songs, passed in bootleg
copies outside of the official market and without acceptance of the censorship
, became one of the symbols of the opposition. During that time he also translated several songs by Czech artist Karel Kryl
.
Simultaneously to his anti-communist activities, in the 1970s Kelus was working at the Gynaecological Institute of the Medical University of Warsaw
. Dismissed from the job due to his political activity in 1979, Kelus continued his involvement in the opposition. In early 1980s he was among the founders of the Niezależna Oficyna Wydawnicza CDN
, the largest underground printing house
of that time. Arrested in 1981 after the imposition of the Martial Law in Poland
, Kelus was interned in Białołęka, along with other notable leaders of the Solidarity. During that time JKK's songs were performed by numerous artists, among them Jacek Kaczmarski
and Antonina Krzysztoń
. After the peaceful transition of power in Poland in 1989, Kelus withdrew from public life to a house near Białowieża, where he owns a small beekeeping
farm. Most of his songs were officially issued after 1989 for the first time.
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...
singer, poet, composer and a member of the democratic opposition in Poland between the 1960s and 1980s. A professional sociologist, Kelus is best known for a number of ballads which gained him a nickname of the Bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
of the opposition and Polish Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
.
After a brief period at the faculty of law, Kelus graduated from the faculty of sociology of the Warsaw University. After the events of March 1968
Polish 1968 political crisis
The Polish 1968 political crisis, also known in Poland as March 1968 or March events pertains to the major student and intellectual protest action against the communist government of the People's Republic of Poland...
he became involved in various groups of the democratic opposition to the Communist regime of the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
. Arrested in 1969 for his involvement in smuggling books published in Paris by Jerzy Giedroyc
Jerzy Giedroyc
Jerzy Giedroyc was a Polish writer and political activist....
's Kultura
Kultura
Kultura , sometimes referred to as "Kultura Paryska", was a leading Polish-émigré literary-political journal, published from 1947 to 2000 by Instytut Literacki , initially in Rome, then Paris....
through the Tatra Mountains
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...
, he was sentenced to imprisonment in the so-called Tatra Climbers' Trial. Released from the prison after the advent of Edward Gierek
Edward Gierek
Edward Gierek was a Polish communist politician.He was born in Porąbka, outside of Sosnowiec. He lost his father to a mining accident in a pit at the age of four. His mother married again and emigrated to northern France, where he was raised. He joined the French Communist Party in 1931 and was...
's rule, Kelus was involved in the Workers' Defence Committee
Workers' Defence Committee
The Workers’ Defense Committee was a Polish civil society group that emerged under communist rule to give aid to prisoners & their families after the June 1976 protests & government crackdown...
(KOR) where he organized legal and financial aid to workers and labor activists persecuted by the communist authorities. About that time his songs, passed in bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
copies outside of the official market and without acceptance of the censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
, became one of the symbols of the opposition. During that time he also translated several songs by Czech artist Karel Kryl
Karel Kryl
Karel Kryl was a popular Czech singer-songwriter and performer of many protest songs in which he strongly criticized and identified the shortcomings and inhumanity of the Communist and later post-communist regime in his home country.-Biography:Kryl was born on April 12, 1944, in Kroměříž, in...
.
Simultaneously to his anti-communist activities, in the 1970s Kelus was working at the Gynaecological Institute of the Medical University of Warsaw
Medical University of Warsaw
The Medical University of Warsaw was founded in January 1950, building on the University of Warsaw's former Faculty of Medicine, which had been established in the early nineteenth century...
. Dismissed from the job due to his political activity in 1979, Kelus continued his involvement in the opposition. In early 1980s he was among the founders of the Niezależna Oficyna Wydawnicza CDN
Niezalezna Oficyna Wydawnicza CDN
The Independent Printing House CDN was an underground printing house operating in Poland between 1982 and 1990....
, the largest underground printing house
Polish underground press
Polish underground press devoted to prohibited materials has a long history of combatting censorship of oppressive regimes in Poland...
of that time. Arrested in 1981 after the imposition of the Martial Law in Poland
Martial law in Poland
Martial law in Poland refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983, when the authoritarian government of the People's Republic of Poland drastically restricted normal life by introducing martial law in an attempt to crush political opposition to it. Thousands of opposition...
, Kelus was interned in Białołęka, along with other notable leaders of the Solidarity. During that time JKK's songs were performed by numerous artists, among them Jacek Kaczmarski
Jacek Kaczmarski
Jacek Kaczmarski was a Polish singer, songwriter, poet and author.Kaczmarski was a voice of the Solidarity trade union movement in 1980s Poland, for his commitment to a free Poland, independent of Soviet rule. His songs criticized the ruling communist regime and appealed to the tradition of...
and Antonina Krzysztoń
Antonina Krzyszton
Antonina Krzysztoń is a Polish singer-songwriter.On May 3, 2006 Polish President Lech Kaczyński awarded her the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.-Discography:* 1990 Inne światy...
. After the peaceful transition of power in Poland in 1989, Kelus withdrew from public life to a house near Białowieża, where he owns a small beekeeping
Beekeeping
Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper keeps bees in order to collect honey and other products of the hive , to pollinate crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers...
farm. Most of his songs were officially issued after 1989 for the first time.