
Artur Franciszek Oppman (August 14, 1867 – November 4, 1931) was a Polish poet of the
Young Poland
Young Poland ( pl, Młoda Polska) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts
The visual arts are Art#Forms, genres, media, and styles, art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, vi ...
period, who wrote under the pen name "Or-Ot".
Biography
Oppman was born August 14, 1867, in Warsaw
to a burgher family with German roots, which had arrived in Poland in 1708 from
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
. The family quickly became attached to Poland and cultivated Polish patriotism; Artur's grandfather took part in the Polish
November Uprising
The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution,
was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in ...
and his father in the
January Uprising
The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
.
Artur studied initially at a
gymnasium in Warsaw, but due to severe
Russification
Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...
pressure (Warsaw at the time was part of the
Russian partition
The Russian Partition ( pl, zabór rosyjski), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of P ...
of Poland) he moved to an alternate trade school. It was there that he began writing poetry. His peculiar pen-name materialized in the publication of his second poem, when an abbreviation of his name, "Ar-Op", was mistakenly rendered as "Or-Ot" by the type-setter. His first poems were published in magazines such as ''Kurier Warszawski'', ''Wędrowiec'' and ''Kurier Codzienny'', which sought to promote new talent. Between 1883 and 1885 he also published in ''Tygodnik Ilustrowany'', ''Kłosy'' and ''Świt''.
Between 1890 and 1892 he studied
philology
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...
at the
Jagiellonian University, in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...
. He was particularly interested in the literature and the Polish language of the sixteenth century. In 1892 he married Władysława Trynkiewicz and suspended his studies, returning to Warsaw. He frequented the city's
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
, and studied the borough's people, lifestyle, customs and local legends. On the basis of these experiences in 1893 he published a collection of poems ''Ze Starego Miasta'' ("From the Old Town"), and in 1894 a related volume ''Pieśni'' ("Songs").
In 1920 he enlisted in the army of the newly reconstituted
Republic of Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
, as a private in the infantry. He was made the editor of the army's magazine, ''Żołnierz Polski'' ("Soldier of Poland").
Works
His poems which celebrated the charms of Warsaw's old towns were especially popular. His poems were also published in several other magazines, and between 1901 and 1905 he became the editor of ''Wędrowiec''. Oppman established extensive contacts in Warsaw's literary world, and often met with
Bolesław Prus
Aleksander Głowacki (20 August 1847 – 19 May 1912), better known by his pen name Bolesław Prus (), was a Polish novelist, a leading figure in the history of Polish literature and philosophy, as well as a distinctive voice in world li ...
,
Stefan Żeromski
Stefan Żeromski ( ; 14 October 1864 – 20 November 1925) was a Polish novelist and dramatist belonging to the Young Poland movement at the turn of the 20th century. He was called the "conscience of Polish literature".
He also wrote under ...
,
Felicjan Faleński
Felicjan ( uk, Феліцян, ''Felitsian'') is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Gorzków, within Krasnystaw County, Lublin Voivodeship
The Lublin Voivodeship, also known as the Lublin Province ( Polish: ''województwo lubelsk ...
,
Władysław Reymont
Władysław Stanisław Reymont (, born Rejment; 7 May 1867 – 5 December 1925) was a Polish novelist and the 1924 laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known work is the award-winning four-volume novel ''Chłopi'' (''The Peasants' ...
,
Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer
Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer (12 February 1865 – 18 January 1940) was a Polish Goral poet, novelist, playwright, journalist and writer. He was a member of the Young Poland movement.
Life
Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer was born in Ludźmierz in P ...
,
Bolesław Leśmian
Bolesław Leśmian (born Bolesław Lesman; January 22, 1877The exact date of his birth is disputed: the act of birth mentions 1877, Leśmian himself used 1878, while the date mentioned on his tombstone is 1879. – November 5, 1937) was a Pol ...
,
Antoni Lange
Antoni Lange (1863 – 17 March 1929) was a Polish poet, philosopher, polyglot (15 languages), writer, novelist, science-writer, reporter and translator. A representative of Polish Parnassianism and symbolism, he is also regarded as belonging t ...
,
Wojciech Kossak
Wojciech Horacy Kossak (31 December 1856 – 29 July 1942) was a noted Polish painter and member of the celebrated Kossak family of artists and writers. He was the son of painter Juliusz Kossak, and twin brother of freedom fighter Tadeusz Kos ...
,
Jan Lechoń
Leszek Józef Serafinowicz (pen name: Jan Lechoń; 13 March 1899 in Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire – 8 June 1956 in New York City) was a Polish poet, literary and theater critic, diplomat, and co-founder of the Skamander literary movem ...
and others.
Oppman also wrote numerous works for children, and edited calendars, almanacs and poetry compilations.
References
External links
*
*
1867 births
1931 deaths
19th-century Polish poets
Polish male poets
{{Poland-poet-stub