Witold Gombrowicz
Witold Gombrowicz (
August 4,
1904,
Małoszyce, near
Kielce,
Poland –
July 24,
1969,
Vence, near
Nice,
France) was a
Polish novelist and
dramatist active from the
1930s until the end of his life.
Gombrowicz was born as the youngest of four children of Jan and Antonina (née Kotkowska), in a rather wealthy noble family. In
1911 his family moved to Warsaw. After completing his education at the Saint Stanislaus Kostka's Gymnasium he studied law at
Warsaw University from
1926 to
1932 and
philosophy and
economics in
Paris. During his studies he was involved in
Warsaw cultural life, arguing with young writers and intellectuals in the then-famous Ziemiańska and Zodiak cafés. In
1933, Gombrowicz published a collection of short stories titled
Memoirs of a Time of Immaturity; it received poor reviews. His first success came with the novel
Ferdydurke, which won notoriety from the virulent criticism directed at it by more nationalistic segments of the Warsaw establishment.
Several days before the outbreak of
World War II, Gombrowicz bought a boat ticket for
Buenos Aires,
Argentina. After
Germany invaded
Poland on September 1, 1939, Gombrowicz decided to stay in Argentina as a freewill
emigrant. He settled in Buenos Aires, where his woeful economic condition forced him to rely on others for food and aid, even attending the funerals of people he did not know in order to eat. During this time he carried on numerous homosexual affairs with male prostitutes and sailors who frequented the dock area he lived in. After a number of years of struggle, in 1947 he found work as a bank officer at the Banco Polaco, the Argentinian branch office of the Polish state bank.
Gombrowicz chose not to return to
communist Poland at the end of World War II. His novels and plays were banned there until the late
1970s; however, they were published in Polish-language editions by
Jerzy Giedroyc, who in
1950 had established a Polish publishing house (
Kultura, "Culture") in
Paris,
France. Gombrowicz's works have been translated into many languages. In the late
1950s, the semi-autobiographical novel
Trans-Atlantyk was staged in Paris and met with interest from French theater critics. In the 1960s, Gombrowicz became internationally known. In 1963 he received a
Ford Foundation residential scholarship in
Berlin, and in
1964 he settled in
Royaumont near
Paris, where he employed Rita Labrosse, a Canadian from
Montreal, as his personal secretary. Later in 1964, he married Labrosse and moved to Vence near
Nice in the south of France, where he spent the rest of his life.
Gombrowicz's works are characterized by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and an absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his first novel,
Ferdydurke, which presents many themes explored in his further writings: the problems of immaturity and youth, the masks taken on by men in front of others, and an ironic, critical examination of class roles in Polish society and culture, specifically among the nobility, representatives of the Catholic Church and provincal Poles. Ferdydurke provoked sharp critical reactions and immediately divided Gombrowicz's audience into rival camps of worshipers and sworn enemies.
Gombrowicz is an exceptional writer who always struggled with Polish traditions and the country's difficult history. However, this battle comprised the starting point for his stories, which remain deeply rooted in this tradition and history. Gombrowicz was always a writer and a man who would not sacrifice his imagination or his originality for any price, person, god, society, or doctrine.
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Ferdydurke – a
1937 novel
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Trans-Atlantyk – a
1953 novel
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Ślub [The Wedding] – a
1953 play
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Bacacay – a
1957 collection of short stories
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Iwona, księżniczka Burgunda [Yvonne, Princess of Burgundy] – a
1958 play
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Pornografia – a
1960 novel
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Historia – a
1962 play
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Kosmos – a
1967 novel
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Dzienniki [Diaries,
1953–
1969]
Gombrowicz's novels and plays have been translated into
English,
French,
German,
Italian,
Spanish,
Japanese and several other languages. The recent English translation of
Ferdydurke (by
Danuta Borchardt) is generally considered very good, as is the interesting translation of
Trans-Atlantyk (
Carolyn French chose to translate it into faux
17th-century English).
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Bacacay, Bill Johnston translator, Archipelago Books, 2004, ISBN 0972869298.
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Cosmos, Danuta Borchardt translator, Yale University Press, 2005, ISBN 0300108486.
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Cosmos and Pornografia: Two Novels, Eric Mosbacher and Alastair Hamilton translators, Grove Press (reissue edition), 1994, ISBN 0802151590.
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Diary Volume 1, Lillian Vallee translator, Northwestern University Press, 1988, ISBN 0810107155.
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Ferdydurke, Danuta Borchardt translator, Yale University Press, 2000, ISBN 0300082401.
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A Guide to Philosophy in Six Hours and Fifteen Minutes, Benjamin Ivry translator, Yale University Press, 2004, ISBN 030010409X.
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Polish Memories, Bill Johnston translator, Yale University Press, 2004, ISBN 0300104103.
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Possessed: The Secret of Myslotch: A Gothic Novel, Marion Boyars Publishers, Ltd. (reissue edition), 1988, ISBN 0714527386.
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Trans-Atlantyk, Carolyn French and Nina Karsov translators, Yale University Press (reprint edition), 1995, ISBN 0300065035.
*
Ferdydurke (1991) in Polish, directed by
Jerzy Skolimowski. Also known as
30 Door Key.
*
Pornografia (2003) in Polish, directed by
Jan Jakub Kolski. Also known as
Pornography.
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Five stories from Bacacay translated by Christopher Makosa*
Polish Culture Profiles: Witold Gombrowicz*
Witold Gombrowicz, and to Hell with Culture, Benjamin Paloff essay*
Witold Gombrowicz, or the Sadness of Form, Ricardo Nirenberg essay
