An Overview
While it may not typically be well-known globally, Poland has a very rich literary tradition. As you will see, much of this literature was often influenced by and dealt with the tumultuous historical circumstances of the nation (partition, war, etc.). That being said, Polish literature did not develop in a bubble, separate from the rest of Europe. Rather, Polish writers were very much engaged with European cultural traditions (Renaissance, Romanticism, Positivism, etc.), influenced by but also contributing greatly to these various movements.
Given that Poland had adopted Christianity as its official religion in 966, most of its earliest texts were written in Latin. This was the language that the educated, literate classes wrote in, while Polish was considered more of an everyday, lowbrow language. Latin remained the primary written language throughout the Middle Ages.
This began to change more considerably around the 16th century, as more writers started developing a comprehensive Polish literary language that was no longer so heavily influenced by Latin. Mikołaj Rej (1505-1596), often called the “father of Polish literature,” was the first to write exclusively in Polish.
Portrait of Mikołaj Rej. From the collection of the National Museum in Kraków.
Polish literature continued to develop greatly in the 17th and 18th centuries, influenced first by the Baroque and then the Enlightenment styles emerging throughout Europe. But the literature that would go on to have probably the biggest influence on Polish modern thought and national identity emerged in the 19th century, specifically during the era of Romanticism. Early Romantic literature in Poland shared various thematic affinities with Romantic traditions elsewhere in Europe (i.e., the lovelorn poetic experiencing angst and alienation, rebellion against social restraints, the sublimity and power of nature, a love of folklore, etc.). However, particularly after the failed November Uprising of 1830, Polish Romanticism developed its own unique tenor. Many of the leading writers at this time, forced to live outside of Poland due to the political situation at home, became preoccupied with national concerns, seeing themselves as responsible for Poland’s spirit and legacy. Faced with the erasure of the Polish state, these poets, or rather “national bards”—which include, first and foremost, Adam Mickiewicz (described below), as well as Juliusz Słowacki (1809-1849) and Zygmunt Krasiński (1812-1859)—used their work to try to sustain Polish identity, to provide unity to a fragmented community of people, and to continue to fight for the reestablishment of the Polish nation.
Portrait of a young Adam Mickiewicz. From the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw.
After the January Uprising of 1863, which also failed, the revolutionary fervor stoked by the Romantics became more subdued. Recognizing that a partitioned Poland was an inevitability for the time being, the so-called Positivists believed it would be more productive to use literature to address various weaknesses of society, such as the illiteracy and poverty of the peasantry, equal rights for woman, etc., in order to strengthen the foundations of the Polish community and make it better prepared for independence in the future. In a change from previous generations of Polish writers, many Positivists wrote short stories and novels, opting for prose instead of poetry. But tales meant to evoke a sense of patriotism were still popular and continued to be produced—Henryk Sienkiewicz, as noted below, was primarily known for such work.
The realism, rationalism, and austerity of the Positivist period would largely give way at the turn of the 20th century to the expressive lyricism of Young Poland. A modernist movement, Young Poland was at times akin to the decadent symbolist trends sweeping across the rest of Europe at the time, championing a kind of “art for art’s sake.” Some writers of the period have, however, been described as neo-romantic, impressionist in style, but very much still engaged in Polish history, politics, and social issues and embracing some of the themes and aesthetics of Polish Romanticism to address such things.
A self-portrait of Stanisław Wyspiański (1869-1907), a key poet, playwright, and painter of the Young Poland movement. From the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw.
After Poland regained independence in 1918, culture thrived. The Interwar period, i.e. the period between the two World Wars (1918-1939), would see the emergence of some of the most influential Polish writers who would go on to have a massive effect on world literature. Futurism, an avant-garde movement that developed in Europe in the 1920s and was particularly successful in Italy and Russia, was embraced in Poland as well—no doubt its doctrine of rejecting the past and embracing a new and exciting future felt especially apt given what was happening in Poland. Other, more lyrical, poetic groups also flourished at this time, most notably Skamander, which sought to celebrate the present and the beauty of everyday people, everyday language, and everyday life. Julian Tuwim (1894-1953), a founder of the group, wrote in one poem, for example:
Life? Relaxing, my arms I shall spread,
And fill my lungs with the morning breeze;
I shall humbly bow to the azure sky
And shall cry, joyously cry:
How glad I am that my blood is red!(Trans. Adam Gillon)
Portrait of Julain Tuwim by another leading writer and artist of the Interwar period, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (also known as Witkacy; 1885-1939). From the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw.
And it wasn’t only poetry that flourished during the Interwar years—Witold Gombrowicz and Bruno Schulz, described below, would become known around the world for their beautiful, thought-provoking, if sometimes strange, prose works. Unfortunately, their careers, and indeed the entire cultural movement of this period in Polish history, was cut short by World War II, the Holocaust, and the post-war Communist takeover.
Once the Communist regime took control, writers had to contend with censorship and often had to be careful of what, and even how, they wrote in order not to get on the bad side of authorities (particularly in the late forties and fifties but to some extent throughout this period). Some writers chose to emigrate; others followed government-imposed rules and restrictions, at least for a time; and many published “underground,” independently and in secret, or in émigré presses abroad. That being said, there was a lot of rich, powerful literature produced at this time.
The war was a common topic many writers dealt with during this period. Zofia Nałkowska’s (1884-1954) Medaliony (Medallions; 1947) and Tadeusz Borowski’s (1922-1951) Pożegnanie z Marią (This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen; 1946) are two pivotal texts published immediately after the war that provide insight into various wartime experiences, Borowski’s dealing with his experiences at Auschwitz. Writers like Hanna Krall (c. 1935) and Henryk Grynberg (1936) would chronicle the experiences of Polish Jews who lived through the Holocaust in their short prose works, while other writers, including Tadeusz Różewicz (1921-2014) and Czesław Miłosz, dealt with wartime experiences in their poetry.
Indeed, poetry—on all topics—flourished during the Communist period. The three most celebrated poets of this time are Miłosz and Wisława Szymborska (described below) as well as Zbigniew Herbert (1924-1998). Miłosz and Szymborska would go on to receive Nobel Prizes for their work. Herbert, though never winning the award, was nominated several times.
After the fall of Communism in 1989, Polish writers, no longer having to contend with censors and controlling ideologies or indeed having to carry the weight of Polish heritage on their shoulders, were free to write the literature that they wanted, how they wanted. Contemporary Polish literature is diverse and varied, encompassing everything from the fantasy writing of Andrzej Sapkowski (1948), to the thrilling crime tales of Marek Krajewski (1966) and postmodern narratives of Dorota Masłowska (described below). Many writers—including Stefan Chwin (1949), Paweł Huelle (1957-2023), Andrzej Stasiuk (1960), and Olga Tokarczuk (described below)—explore the traces of Poland’s multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-cultural past that still exist in its present despite the erasures propagated by the Communist regime. In many ways, their texts encompass what some of the most popular and critically acclaimed post-communist literature in Poland is all about—a championing of diversity, a questioning of objective truths and histories, and the creation of new modes of interpretation and representation.
If you’re looking for more information on Polish literature, continue reading to learn about some of Poland’s most famous literary figures and check out the resources that can be found in the Introduction to Poland Resource Guide. In addition, Culture.pl’s A Foreigner’s Guide to Polish Literature is a great quick guide to major literary movements as well as key writers. Take a look at their 11 Great Polish Books You Have to Read too!
Some Key Figures
It’s impossible to introduce all of the major writers that made an impact on both Polish and world literature, but besides those mentioned above, here are some more must-know names to get you started:
Jan Kochanowski (1520-1584) The status of “father of Polish literature” is sometimes given, not to Rej, but to Kochanowski, considered the first great Polish poet and the greatest Slavic poet of the Renaissance. He is typically credited with creating modern Polish poetry and with helping to transform Polish into a language that could be used for more highbrow literature. His volume Treny (Laments; 1580), which deals with his grief over the death of his daughter, is considered a masterpiece of Polish literature.
Ignacy Krasicki (1735-1801) A key writer of the Enlightenment era, Krasicki was a poet and prose writer. He authored the first Polish novel, Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki (The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom, 1776).
Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855) Considered Poland’s (and Lithuania’s and Belarus’s) national poet, Mickiewicz left an indelible mark on the Polish cultural imagination. Before 1830, Mickiewicz’s work was similar to other leading Romantic poets in Europe, such as Byron and Goethe. After the failed November uprising, however, he fashioned himself into a kind of poet-prophet, using his work to rally support for the Polish cause. His famous four-part Dziady (Forefather’s Eve; 1823-1832) is indicative of this shift—earlier parts of the work reflect more typical Romantic themes, but Part III, published in 1832 and considered one of Poland’s most important poems, is far more patriotic in tone and content. Mickiewicz also wrote Pan Tadeusz (1834), Poland’s national epic, another text written to inspire Polish peoples and to unify them under a common heritage and shared customs.
Eliza Orzeszkowa (1841-1910) Orzeszkowa’s short stories and novels helped define late 19th century Polish literature. Like other Positivists, her prose tackled various pressing social concerns of the time—she critiqued the backwardness of the nobility, for example, and dealt with relations between Jewish people and non-Jewish Poles. In the novel Nad Niemnem (On the Niemen; 1888), arguably her best-known work, she presents a kind of overview of various issues plaguing Polish society after the January Uprising. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1905 along with famed Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy—they both ended up losing to another Polish writer, Henryk Sienkiewicz.
Portrait of Eliza Orzeszkowa. From the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw.
Bolesław Prus (pen name of Aleksander Głowacki; 1847-1912) Another leading writer of Poland’s Positivist period, Prus was a journalist, short story writer, and novelist. His Lalka (The Doll; 1890) has been called Poland’s greatest novel, providing readers with a nuanced yet realistic and comprehensive picture of 19th century life in Warsaw.
Bruno Schulz (1892-1942) One of the most influential writers of the Interwar Era, Schulz is best known for two volumes of short stories, Sklepy cynamonowe (The Street of Crocodiles; 1934) and Sanatorium pod klepsydrą (Sanitorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass; 1937). Inspired by his birthplace of Drohobycz (Drohobych, today a part of Ukraine), Schulz wrote stories about everyday life in this small town, but in a manner that has been described as poetic, dreamlike, fantastical, and mythical. An innovator of language, known for crafting rich metaphors, he was also a very talented visual artist, which no doubt influenced his writing style. Although his impact on world literature has been huge, his literary and artistic output is, unfortunately, small—a Polish Jew, Schulz was forced into the Drohobycz Ghetto after the Nazi invasion during World War II and was killed by a Gestapo officer.
The Quay Brothers’ animated Street of Crocodiles (1986) was inspired by Schulz’s work. You can watch a clip here.
A self-portrait of Bruno Schulz. From the collection of the National Museum in Kraków.
Witold Gombrowicz (1904-1969) Another great writer of the Interwar period, Gombrowicz made a splash with his controversial and acclaimed novel Ferdydurke (1937), an absurdist satire featuring a man who wakes up one day as schoolboy. Having traveled to Argentina on the eve of World War II, Gombrowicz ended up staying in the country until the 1960s, often living in great poverty. Despite his pre-war success, his work was considered subversive and banned by the Communist regime, leaving him relatively unknown by the reading public both at home and abroad. His reputation skyrocketed when his work was published by the émigré press in Paris, however. Considered by some one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century, he would go on to be nominated for the Nobel Prize four times.
Stanisław Lem (1921-2006) Poland’s premier writer of science fiction, Lem is probably best known for his novel Solaris (1961) but wrote scores of short stories as well as philosophical works. Dealing with the strict censorship of Poland’s Stalinist years in the late forties and fifties, Lem actually gravitated towards science fiction to find a sense of freedom in his writing. In his works he deals with themes such as the ethical dilemmas of science, the role of technology in human life, and the limits of human intelligence and communication.
Dorota Masłowska (1983) Masłowska burst onto the scene at 19 with the publication of the postmodern Wojna polska-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną (Snow White and Russian Red; 2002). Set against the backdrop of the transition from communism to capitalism, the novel courted controversy for its crude language and difficult, disjointed, and at times metafictional style, but would go on to be a best-seller and win awards. In 2006, Masłowska won the Nike Award, Poland’s highest literary honor, for the novel Paw królowej (no English translation published yet; 2005).
Nobel Laureates
Besides the important figures above, Poland can boast of 5 Nobel laureates in the field of literature:
Henryk (Henry) Sienkiewicz (1846-1916) While Sienkiewicz made a name for himself writing stories with positivist themes, he is best known for his epic, historical fiction. This includes his “Trilogia,” a series of three novels published between 1884 and 1887 featuring dramatized accounts of real events that occurred in Poland during the 17th century—the Chmielnicki (Khmelnytsky) Uprising (Ogniem i mieczem [With Fire and Sword]), the Swedish invasion (Potop [The Deluge]), and wars with the Ottoman Empire (Pan Wołodyjowski [Pan Michael]). In all three, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth triumphs over adversity. Written during the era of the partitions, these novels fostered a great sense of national pride. He also traveled throughout the United States from 1876-1878 and published a series of essays and stories detailing his observations on American ways of life. Sienkiewicz received the Nobel Prize in 1905.
Portrait of Henryk Sienkiewicz. From the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw.
Władysław Reymont (1867-1925) Reymont won his Nobel Prize in 1924, largely for his 4-volume novel Chłopi (The Peasants; 1904-1909). With each volume representing a different season, the epic offers an intricate and vibrant picture of Polish country life in the 19th century, from the local dialects spoken by villagers to the cyclical rituals of working the land dictated by nature (ploughing, harvesting, etc.). Reymont also wrote Ziemia obiecana (The Promised Land; 1899), another well-known work that depicts the social inequalities and exploitative labor practices of late 19th century industrial Łódź, a city once known as the Polish Manchester.
Czesław Miłosz (1911-2004) Considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th century (in Poland and around the world), Czesław Miłosz was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1980. One of his most critically acclaimed poetry collections is Ocalenie (Rescue; 1945), which deals with his wartime experiences—Miłosz lived through the Nazi occupation of Warsaw during World War II (you can read “A Poor Christian Looks at the Ghetto,” a key poem in this volume, here). As the Polish Communist government grew more oppressive in the late 1940s, he decided to leave. Considered a kind of traitor for his criticisms of the government’s policies, he was only able to return to Poland after the fall of Communism in 1989. He gained major international recognition after the publication of Zniewolony umysł (The Captive Mind; 1953), a non-fiction text analyzing the influence and impact of totalitarianism on writers and other intellectuals. In 1960, he moved to California, where he continued to write poetry and essays and taught Slavic literature at Berkeley.
Wisława Szymborska (1923-2012) Another famed poet of the 20th century, Szymborska won the Nobel in 1996. Known for her humor, wit, and irony, Szymborska’s poems tend to come across as fairly understated, focused as they often are on ordinary, everyday things and simple statements. But this simplicity generally becomes a platform for ruminations and unique perspectives on life, history, and philosophical concerns. Consider, for example, her poem “The Three Oddest Words”:
When I pronounce the word Future,
the first syllable already belongs to the past.
When I pronounce the word Silence,
I destroy it.
When I pronounce the word Nothing,
I make something no non-being can hold.(Trans. Stanisław Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh)
Szymborska’s poetry continues to remain hugely popular in Poland; abroad, her volume Widok z ziarnkiem piasku (View with a Grain of Sand; 1996) was a particular hit with readers.
Olga Tokarczuk (1962) Poland’s most recent Nobel Laureate for literary achievement, Tokarczuk received the prize in 2018. Known for blurring boundaries and binaries both physical and conceptual, Tokarczuk is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary Polish authors. She exemplifies many of the most prominent trends of the post-Communist period, embracing diverse perspectives, probing seemingly objective truths, and pushing the limits of narrative form. Her text Dom dzienny, dom nocny (House of Day, House of Night; 1998), for example, while often called a novel, features a variety of characters and plots as well as seemingly random observations, mythical stories, and even recipes. Her greatest work, to date, is Księgi Jakubowe (The Books of Jacob; 2014), a nearly 1000-page historical epic that begins in 18th century Poland. Tokarczuk’s text paints a nuanced picture of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at this time, complicating the often-idyllic renderings of this past put forth by authors such as Sienkiewicz and Mickiewicz.
Olga Tokarczuk. Photo by: Fryta73, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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You can learn more about these five laureates here: 5 Polish Writers Who Won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
It is worth mentioning too, that the Nobel winning Yiddish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991), was born and grew up in Poland before emigrating to the United States in 1935. Much of his work details pre-World War II Jewish life in Warsaw.
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For further reading on this topic, visit the Introduction to Poland Resource Guide.