Janusz Szpotański, (pen names Władysław Gnomacki, Aleksander Oniegow; 12 January 1929 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

– 13 October 2001 in Warsaw), was a

Polish poet List of poets who have written much of their poetry in Polish. See also Discussion Page for additional poets not listed here. There have been five Polish-language Nobel Prize laureates in literature: Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław Reymont, Cz ...

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-1960 ...

, critic, translator,

literary theorist Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, mora ...

and

chess player This list of chess players includes people who are primarily known as chess players and have an article on the English Wikipedia. A * Jacob Aagaard (Denmark, Scotland, born 1973) * Manuel Aaron (India, born 1935) * Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan, bor ...

(a three times chess champion of

, he also held a nationwide title of

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

). He was the creator of satirical tragi-comedic poems which ridiculed the communist government of Poland. These works were often written in an absurdist, grotesque style, and specifically lampooned prominent members of the Polish communist party, as well as the general "low life" mentality of the average

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

member. He is best known for creating the character of "Towarzysz Szmaciak" (literally: ''Comrade Dishrag'', but

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...

atically ''Comrade Cretin'' or ''Comrade Scumbag'') - an uneducated, dull, cynical, sadistic, anti-semitic and stupid individual who supported the communist party out of opportunistic, not ideological motives. The metaphor of a "dishrag" alludes to the fact that individuals of this kind, while forming the support base of communism in Poland at the time, where considered useful by the party elite (much like a dishrag is necessary to clean up dirt) but at the same time despised by them (since the dishrag itself is dirty). For ridiculing

Władysław Gomułka Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the ''de facto'' leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. Go ...

in his poem "Cisi i gęgacze" (''The Silent and the Blabbers'') he was arrested in 1967 and in 1968 sentenced to three years in prison on the charge of "spreading information harmful to the interests of state". During the March events of 1968, Gomułka referred to him in several of his official speeches, calling him "a man with a mentality of a pimp" and referring to his work as "reactionary doggerel" which "breathed with poisonous sadistic venom against our (communist) authority". Szpotański was a member of the

Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich The ''Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich'' is a Polish Writers' Association, an organization of Polish writers, poets, playwrights, critics and translators. SPP, established in 1989 is a continuation of the Professional Union of Polish Writers, found ...

(Union of Polish Writers). On 23 September 2006 he was posthumously awarded the

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 ...

Commander's Cross by President of Poland,

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he prev ...

Works

*''Cisi i gęgacze czyli bal u prezydenta'', 1964 *''Targowica czyli opera Gnoma (poświęcona obchodom milenijnym)'', 1966 *''Ballada o cudzie na Woli: W Warszawie na Woli ukazał się duch Bieruta i sprzedawał kiełbasę po 26 zł za kilo'', 1966 *''Lament Wysokiego Dygnitarza'', 1966 *''Ballada o Łupaszcze'', 1968 *''Rozmowa z Kartoflami'', 1968 *''Gnomiada'', 1976 *''Caryca i Zwierciadło'', 1974 *''Towarzysz Szmaciak'', 1977 *''Szmaciak w Mundurze, Czyli Wojna Pcimska'', 1983 *''Sen Towarzysza Szmaciaka'', 1984 *''Bania w Paryżu'' (Unfinished), 1974-1979

References

*Dziennik Teatralny, "Zmarł Janusz Szpotański", 10/5/2001

*Antoni Libera, ed. "Janusz Szpotański, Fragmenty nienapisanej biografii" (Janusz Szpotański, Fragments of an unwritten biography)

*Janusz Szpotański, "Utwory Zebrane" (Collected Works)

1929 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Polish poets 20th-century Polish male writers {{Poland-chess-bio-stub