Julian Tuwim (13 September 1894 – 27 December 1953), known also under the pseudonym Oldlen as a lyricist, was a

Jewish-Polish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

poet, born in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, then part of the

Russian Partition The Russian Partition (), 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 Poland. The Russian ac ...

. He was educated in Łódź and in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

where he studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well as 100 specializat ...

. After Poland's return to independence in 1918, Tuwim co-founded the

Skamander Skamander was a Polish group of experimental poetry, poets founded in 1918 by Julian Tuwim, Antoni Słonimski, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Kazimierz Wierzyński and Jan Lechoń. Initially unnamed, in December 1919 it adopted the name ''Skamander'' ...

group of experimental poets with

Antoni Słonimski Antoni Słonimski (15 November 1895 – 4 July 1976) was a Polish poet, artist, journalist, playwright and prose writer, president of the Union of Polish Writers in 1956–1959 during the Polish October, known for his devotion to social justic ...

and

Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz Jarosław Leon Iwaszkiewicz (; also known under his literary pseudonym Eleuter; 20 February 1894 – 2 March 1980), was a Polish writer, poet, essayist, dramatist and translator.Bartłomiej Szleszyński, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. 2003 Culture.plJ ...

. He was a major figure in

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

, admired also for his contribution to

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

. He was a recipient of the prestigious Golden Laurel of the Polish Academy of Literature in 1935.Julian Tuwim (1894-1953)
''Qlturka.pl.'' Europejski Fundusz Rozwoju Regionalnego. Retrieved December 12, 2011.

Life and work

Tuwim was born into a family of assimilated

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. The

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

comes from the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

''tovim'' () meaning "good ones". His parents, Izydor and Adela, provided Julian with a comfortable middle-class upbringing. He was not a particularly diligent student and had to repeat the sixth grade. In 1905 the family had to flee from Łódź to

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

(Breslau) in order to escape possible repercussions following Izydor's involvement in the

Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

. Initially, Tuwim's poetry, even more than that of the other Skamandrites, represented a decisive break with turn-of-the-20th-century mannerism. It was characterized by an expression of vitality, optimism, in praise of urban life. His poems celebrated everyday life in the city, with its triviality and vulgarity. Tuwim often used vernacular language in his work, along with slang as well as poetic dialogue. Witkacy Julian Tuwim

His collections ''Czyhanie na Boga'' ("In Lurking for God"; 1918), ''Sokrates tańczący'' ("Dancing Socrates"; 1920), ''Siódma jesień'' ("Seventh Autumn"; 1922), and ''Wierszy tom czwarty'' ("Poems, Volume Four"; 1923) are typical of his early work. In his later collections – ''Słowa we krwi'' ("Words in the Blood"; 1926), ''Rzecz Czarnoleska'' ("The Czarnolas Matter"; 1929), ''Biblia cygańska'' ("The Gypsy Bible"; 1933) and ''Treść gorejąca'' ("A Burning Matter"; 1933) – Tuwim became restless and bitter, and wrote with fervour and vehemence about the emptiness of urban existence. He also drew more heavily from the romantic and

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

traditions, while perfecting his form and style, and becoming a

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

wordsmith. Laweczka Tuwima

From the very beginning and throughout his artistic career, Tuwim was satirically inclined. He supplied sketches and monologues to numerous

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

s. In his poetry and articles, he derided

obscurantism In philosophy, obscurantism or obscurationism is the Anti-intellectualism, anti-intellectual practice of deliberately presenting information in an wikt:abstruse, abstruse and imprecise manner that limits further inquiry and understanding of a subj ...

and

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

as well as militaristic and nationalistic trends in politics. His

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

''Bal w Operze'' ("The Ball at the Opera"; 1936) is regarded as his best satirical poem. In 1918, Tuwim co-founded the

(comedy troupe) named Picador and worked as a writer or artistic director with many other comedy troupes, such as Czarny Kot (1917–1919), Quid pro Quo (1919–1932), Banda, Stara Banda (1932–1935), and finally Cyrulik Warszawski (1935–1939). Since 1924, Tuwim was a staff writer at ''Wiadomości Literackie'' where he wrote a weekly column titled ''Camera Obscura''. He also wrote for the satirical magazine '' Szpilki''. Tuwim displayed his caustic sense of humour and unyielding individuality in works such as "Poem in which the author politely but firmly implores the vast hosts of his brethren to kiss his arse." Here, Tuwim systematically enumerates and caricatures various personalities of the European social scene of the mid-1930s -- 'perfumed café intellectuals', 'drab socialists', 'fascist jocks', 'Zionist doctors', 'repressed Catholics' and so on, and ends every stanza by asking each to perform the action indicated in the title. The poem ends with a note to the would-be censor who would surely be tempted to expunge all mention of this piece for its breach of 'public standards.' His poem '' Do prostego człowieka'' (''To the Common Man''), first published on 7 October 1929 in '' Robotnik'', provoked a storm of attacks on Tuwim both from left-wing circles, which criticized the poem's "bourgeois expression of pacifist sentiment", and from

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

groups which accused Tuwim of calling for the disarmament of the young state. Julian's aunt was married to Adam Czerniaków, and his uncle from his mother's side was

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein Order of the British Empire, KBE OMRI (; 28 January 1887 – 20 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

World War II and after

In 1939, at the beginning of World War II and the German occupation of Poland, Tuwim emigrated through

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

to France, where in August 1940 he received a visa to Portugal from the Portuguese consul general in Bordeaux, Aristides de Sousa Mendes. In 1942 he travelled to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, by way of Portugal, and finally to the US, where he settled until the end of the war.. In 1939–1941, he collaborated with the émigré weekly "Wiadomości Polskie", but broke off the collaboration due to differences in views on the attitude towards the Soviet Union. In 1942–1946, he worked with the monthly "Nowa Polska" published in London, and with leftist Polish-American newspapers. He was affiliated with the Polish section of the International Workers Organization from 1942. He was also a member of the Association of Writers From Poland (a member of the board in 1943). During this time he wrote "Kwiaty Polskie" (''Polish Flowers''), an epic poem in which he remembers with nostalgia his early childhood in Łódź. In April 1944 he published a manifesto, entitled "My, Żydzi Polscy" (''We, Polish Jews''). Tuwim returned to Poland after the war in 1946 but did not produce much in Stalinist Poland. He died in 1953 at the age of 59 in

Zakopane Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...

. Although Tuwim was well known for serious poetry, he also wrote satirical works and children's poems, for example ''Lokomotywa'' ('; 1938, tr. 1940), translated into many languages. He also wrote well-regarded

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

s of Pushkin and other

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

poets. Russian Soviet poet Yelizaveta Tarakhovskaya translated most of Tuwim's children's poetry into Russian.

Notable poems

* ''Czyhanie na Boga'' (''Lurking for God'', 1918) * ''Sokrates tańczący'' (''Dancing Socrates'', 1920) * ''Siódma jesień'' (''The Seventh Autumn'', 1921) * ''Wierszy tom czwarty'' (Poems, volume four, 1923) * '' Murzynek Bambo'' (The little black boy, Bambo, 1923 or 1924, published 1935) * ''Czary i czarty polskie'' (''Sorcery and Deuces of Poland'', 1924) * ''Wypisy czarnoksięskie'' (''The Sorcery Reader'', 1924) * ''A to pan zna?'' (''And do you know this, sir?'', 1925) * '' Czarna msza'' (Black Mass, 1925) * ''Tysiąc dziwów prawdziwych'' (A thousand true wonders, 1925) * ''Słowa we krwi'' (Words in the blood, 1926) * ''Tajemnice amuletów i talizmanów'' (Secrets of amulets and talismans, 1926) * ''Strofy o późnym lecie'' (stanzas on a late summer) * ''Rzecz czarnoleska'' (The Czarnolas affair, 1929) * ''Jeździec miedziany'' (The brazen rider, 1932) * ''Biblia cygańska i inne wiersze'' (The Gypsy Bible and other poems, 1932) * ''Jarmark rymów'' (The rhyme market, 1934) * ''Polski słownik pijacki i antologia bachiczna'' (The Polish drunk's lexicon and anthology of Bacchus, 1935) * ''Treść gorejąca'' (A Burning Matter, 1936) * ''Lokomotywa'' (The Locomotive, 1938) * ''Rzepka'' (The Turnip, 1938) * ''Bal w Operze'' (A ball at the opera, 1936, published 1946) * ''Kwiaty polskie'' (Flowers from Poland, 1940–1946, published 1949) * ''Pegaz dęba, czyli panoptikum poetyckie'' (Oaken Pegasus, or the poetical panoply, 1950) * ''Piórem i piórkiem'' (With pen and quill, 1951)

Tuwim's poems set to music

Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 3 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernism (music), modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century. Szymanowski's early w ...

- ''Słopiewnie'' for voice and piano, op. 46bis (1921) *

Witold Lutosławski Witold Roman Lutosławski (; 25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish composer and conductor. Among the major composers of 20th-century classical music, he is "generally regarded as the most significant Polish composer since Szymanow ...

- ''Piosenki dziecinne'' (Children's Songs) (1952); ''Spóźniony słowik'' (The overdue nightingale, 1947), ''O Panu Tralalińskim'' (About Mr. Tralalinski, 1947), for voice and piano (also arr. for orchestra) * Several of his poems were set to music by Zygmunt Konieczny and sung by Ewa Demarczyk, including "Tomaszów" and " Grande Valse Brillante" (this text is part of the Kwiaty Polskie poem, which references the Chopin composition several times) *

Mieczysław Weinberg Mieczysław Weinberg (December 8, 1919 – February 26, 1996) was a Polish, Soviet, and Russian composer and pianist. Born in Warsaw to parents who worked in the Yiddish theatre in Poland, his early years were surrounded by music. He taught him ...

- Symphony No. 8 ''Polish Flowers'', Op. 83 (1964)Recorded by Naxos Records: * Krzysztof Meyer - ''Quartettino'' for voice, flute, cello and piano (1966); ''Symphony No. 2'' (1967); ''Spiewy polskie'' (Polish Songs) for voice and orchestra (1974) * David Bruce - ''Piosenki'' for soprano, baritone and ensemble (2006) - setting of 11 songs
Piosenki at David Bruce's website
* Akurat - ''Do Prostego Człowieka'' *

Czesław Niemen Czesław Niemen (; born Czesław Juliusz Wydrzycki; February 16, 1939 – January 17, 2004), occasionally credited mononymously as Niemen, was one of the most important and innovative Polish singer-songwriters and rock balladeers of the 20th cen ...

- ''Wspomnienie'' * Marek Grechuta - ''Mandarynki i pomarańcze''

Life and work

World War II and after

Notable poems

Tuwim's poems set to music

Further reading

Notes and references

External links