Janusz Andrzej Głowacki (13 September 1938 – 19 August 2017), better known as Janusz Głowacki or colloquially simply as Głowa, was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

playwright,

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

ist and screenwriter. Głowacki was the recipient of multiple awards and honours, including Guggenheim Fellowship, two

Nike Award The Nike Literary Award ( pl, Nagroda Literacka „Nike") is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award fo ...

nominations and

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

nomination. He was awarded the Gloria Artis Gold Medal in 2005 for his contribution to Polish culture, and in 2014, the Commander's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

Biography

Janusz Andrzej Głowacki was born into an intelligentsia family on 13 September 1938 in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

. He was the son of Helena Głowacka (née Helena Rudzka, d. 1991), a

literary editor A literary editor is an editor in a newspaper, magazine or similar publication who deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews.

, sister of Polish character actor,

Kazimierz Rudzki Kazimierz Rudzki (6 January 1911, in Warsaw, Poland – 2 February 1976, in Warsaw) was a Polish stage and film actor, theatre director. Studied directing at Państwowy Instytut Sztuki Teatralnej. Actor of Syrena Theatre (also director), Nat ...

; and Jerzy Głowacki, a

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

novelist. Głowacki appeared in two plays produced by the Students' Satirical Theatre during his high school years and was interested in serious theater, which led to his enrollment to the

Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw ( pl, Akademia Teatralna im. Aleksandra Zelwerowicza) is a public higher education institution in Warsaw, Poland. Its focus is on the theatre arts. It is headquartered in the C ...

. He attended Academy, but by his own account had problems adjusting to the college, and dropped out. He later attended the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields o ...

, where he studied both

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

Polish philology Polish studies, or Polonistics ( pl, filologia polska, or ''polonistyka'') is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates the Polish language and Polish literature in both historic and present-day forms. In the United State ...

and eventually earned a Master of Arts in the latter in 1961. He began his literary career by publishing his collections of

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

depicting the cultural and social reality of the 1960s and 1970s in Poland, such as ''The Nonsense Spinner'' (1968) and ''The New La-ba-da Dance'' (1970). His works achieved great popularity and made him famous, thanks especially to his satirical portrayal of social phenomena in regularly published articles. He wrote the screenplay for

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

's ''

Polowanie na muchy ''Hunting Flies'' ( pl, Polowanie na muchy) is a 1969 Polish comedy film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It was entered into the 1969 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Włodek ( Zygmunt Malanowicz) is a young man who is stuck in a boring job in a library. ...

'' (1969) (''Hunting Flies'') and co-wrote the screenplay of the popular Polish movie ''

Rejs ''Rejs'', known in English as ''The Cruise'' (or ''The Trip Down the River''), is a Polish comedy film released in 1970, directed by Marek Piwowski who also co-wrote the screenplay with Andrzej Barszczyński, Janusz Głowacki and Jerzy Karaszk ...

'' (''The Cruise''), released in 1970. The 2001 film ''

Mechanical Suite ''Mechanical Suite'' (russian: Механическая сюита, Mekhanicheskaya syuita) is a 2001 Russian comedy-drama film directed by Dmitry Meskhiev. The film is based on the story ''Brothers'' by Janusz Głowacki. Plot Kolya (Sergei Gol ...

'' is based on his short story ''Brothers''. Głowacki co-wrote screenplay for '' Cold War'', which was selected to compete for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. In 1981 he emigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in the wake of the imposition of martial law in Poland by its Communist government. There, he was nominated for the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play for ''Antigone in New York'' (1994). He was prominent in New York City society and the arts. Głowacki taught creative writing at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

. Additionally he worked as the visiting playwright at

New York Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American L ...

, Mark Taper Forum and

Atlantic Center for the Arts Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA) is a nonprofit, interdisciplinary artists’ community and arts education facility providing artists an opportunity to work and collaborate with contemporary artists in the fields of composing, visual, liter ...

. On August 19, 2017, Głowacki died unexpectedly during his holidays in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Awards and honours

* 1982: ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' named ''Cinders'' the best play of the year * 1987: American Theatre Critics Association Award for ''Hunting Cockroaches'' * 1987: Joseph Kesselring Honorary Mention * 1987: John S. Guggenheim Award * 1987: Hollywood Drama League Critics Award * 1987: ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...

'' named ''Hunting Cockroaches'' the best play of the year * 1988:

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

* 1993: ''Time Magazine'' named ''Antigone in New York'' one of the best plays of the year * 1994: Nomination for The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play for ''Antigone in New York'' * 1994: Jurzykowski Prize * 1997: Le Baladin Award, Paris * 1997: Students of

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

Award, Paris * 1998: Critics Award for ''Antigone in New York'', staged in Proscenium Theatre in Paris * 1999: Tony Cox Award at Nantucket Film Festival * 2001: ''The Fourth Sister'' wins at International Theatre Festival in Dubrovnik * 2002: Grand Prix for the best author at "Rzeczywistość przedstawiona" Festival * 2002: Nomination for

* 2003: Grand Prix at Two Theatres Festival * 2005: Śląski Wawrzyn Literacki * 2005: Award of

Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego) is a governmental administration office concerned with various aspects of Polish culture. It was formed on 31 October 20 ...

for literature * 2005: Nomination for

* 2011: Czesław Miłosz Award given by US Embassy in Warsaw * 2011: Warsaw Literary Award * 2013: Gustaw Award * 2013: Special Award "Diamond of Polish Radio Three" * 2013: Neptune Award - Gdańsk Literary Award *2013:

Jan Michalski Prize for Literature Jan Michalski Prize for Literature (French: Prix Jan Michalski) is a Swiss literary prize for any work of fiction or non-fiction published anywhere in the world in any language. It is meant to recognize authors from around the world and world liter ...

, finalist, ''Good Night, Dzerzi!'' *2018: Winner of European Film Award for Best Screenplay for Cold War (with Paweł Pawlikowski) *2019: Nomination for

BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Best Original Screenplay has been presented to its winners since 1984, when the original category (BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay) was split into two awards, the other being the B ...

(with

Paweł Pawlikowski Paweł Aleksander Pawlikowski (; born 15 September 1957) is a Polish filmmaker. He garnered early praise for a string of documentaries in the 1990s and for his award-winning feature films of the 2000s, '' Last Resort'' (2000) and '' My Summer of ...

)

References

External links

Glowacki's homepage

Janusz Głowacki's Alphabet

Janusz Głowacki
at Culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Glowacki, Janusz 1938 births 2017 deaths American male screenwriters Polish emigrants to the United States Writers from Poznań Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis International Writing Program alumni 20th-century Polish screenwriters Male screenwriters 20th-century Polish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Polish male writers 21st-century screenwriters 21st-century Polish dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Polish male writers