Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński (23 January 1905 – 6 December 1953), alias ''Karakuliambro'', was a Polish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. He is well known for the "paradramatic" absurd humorous sketches of the .

Biography

Born to a lower-middle-class family 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 ...

, Gałczyński was evacuated with his parents at the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and from 1914 to 1918 he lived in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, where he attended a Polish school. Returning to Poland in 1918, he studied classics and English language at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, 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 ...

, submitting a dissertation on a non-existent nineteenth-century Scottish poet, Morris Gordon Cheats. His literary debut came in 1923 and was a member of the group of poets, and he was linked to

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

and political publications. In 1930 he married Natalia Avalov. From 1931-33, he held the post of

cultural attaché Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. From 1934-36 he was in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

. He settled there at 2 Młynowa Street. There, in 1936, the couple's daughter Kira was born. Through his works, Gałczyński refers to the atmosphere of Vilnius, and that which

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

left behind. With the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Gałczyński received a draft card from the army. He took part in the Polish

September Campaign The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Sovie ...

of 1939. On 17 September, he became a

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

and was later captured by the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

. He spent the duration of the occupation in the Stalag XI-A prisoner-of-war camp in Altengrabow, his poems printed secretly in

anthologies In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...

. After the war he travelled to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, returning to Poland in 1946. He established The 13 Muses Club in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

in 1948 before moving back to Warsaw, and produced work for numerous weekly magazines. Many of his postwar pieces, including "A Poem for the Traitor" ("Poemat dla zdrajcy"), an attack on

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz ( , , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry in Polish language, Polish. Regarded as one of the great poets of the ...

, "Chryzostom Bulwieć’s Trip to Ciemnogród" ("Podróż Chryzostoma Bulwiecia do Ciemnogrodu") and the

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of - ' ...

"Stalin is Dead" ("Umarł Stalin") (1953), were written according to socialist realist conventions. In 1950, he became the object of an ideological battle, his artistic work denounced by

Adam Ważyk Adam Ważyk born Ajzyk Wagman (17 November 1905 – 13 August 1982) was a Polish poet, essayist and writer born to a Jewish family in Warsaw. In his early career, he was associated with the Kraków avant-garde led by Tadeusz Peiper who published ...

at the Reunion of Polish Writers as petit bourgeois. In the later years of his life, he wrote several greater poetic forms: * "Jan Sebastian Bach's Easter" (1950) ("Wielkanoc Jana Sebastiana Bacha") * "

Niobe Niobe (; : Nióbē) was in Greek mythology a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa. She was the wife of Amphion and the sister of Pelops and Broteas. Niobe is mentioned by Achilles in Homer's ''Iliad ...

" (1951) * "Wit Stwosz" (1952) * "Olsztyn Chronicle" (1952) ("Kronika Olsztyńska") From 1950 to 1953, he was associated with the forester’s lodge at Lake Nidzkie, where he wrote numerous works, including "Olsztyn Chronicle". It is there that his

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

is currently located. He published the volumes of poetry ''Enchanted Droshky'' (1948) ("Zaczarowana dorożka"), ''Wedding Rings'' (1949) ("Ślubne obrączki") and ''Songs'' (1953) ("Pieśni"). He also produced

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, or

paraphrase A paraphrase () or rephrase is the rendering of the same text in different words without losing the meaning of the text itself. More often than not, a paraphrased text can convey its meaning better than the original words. In other words, it is a ...

s, of ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

(1952) and ''

Ode to Joy "Ode to Joy" ( ) is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by the German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller. It was published the following year in the Thalia (German magazine), German magazine ''Thalia''. In 1808, a slightly revi ...

'' by

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

. He is portrayed, under the name of 'Delta,' in Miłosz's ''

The Captive Mind ''The Captive Mind'' ( Polish: ''Zniewolony umysł'') is a 1953 work of nonfiction by Polish writer, poet, academic and Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz. It was first published in English in a translation by Jane Zielonko in 1953. Overview ''Th ...

'' (1953).

Death

He died on 6 December 1953, aged 48, following a third

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Artistic legacy

Gałczyński's poetry is an inspiration to many authors of

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

; some of his poems having a number of interpretations. They were used by Olga Lipińska in her TV cabaret among others. At the time of the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

, his poem ''Beloved Country'' (''

Ukochany kraj „Ukochany kraj“ ("Beloved Country"), also known by its incipit „Wszystko tobie, ukochana ziemio“ ("Everything For You, Beloved Land"), is a poem written by Polish poet Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński in 1953 and put to music as a song (in se ...

'') was made into a socialist feel-good song. A

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

, ''Beloved Country'', was directed by Janusz Józefowicz at Studio Buffo musical theatre. The most famous

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

s based on a Gałczyński text include the following: * "The Ballad about Two Sisters" ("Ballada o dwóch siostrach"), with music by

Stanisław Staszewski Stanisław Staszewski (18 December 1925 – 22 January 1973) was a Polish architect and poet. He was the father of Kazimierz Staszewski and the author of many songs and ballads, sung both by his son and by Jacek Kaczmarski. Biography Stanisław ...

, sung by

Kazik Staszewski Kazimierz Piotr Staszewski (born 12 March 1963), also known as Kazik, is a Polish singer and songwriter. He is the son of the architect and poet Stanisław Staszewski. He is the frontman of the band Kult, which he founded in 1982; their latest ...

with Kult * "The Ballad about Two Sisters" ("Ballada o dwóch siostrach"), with music by

Adam Sławiński Adam Sławiński (born 27 November 1935, in Leśniczówka) is a Polish composer. In the years 1957–1962, he worked as an editor of music in Telewizja Polska. Then he composed music for television series and has written music for some 40 films ...

, sung by Stan Borys * "The Ballad about Easter Ham" ("Ballada o Wielkanocnej szynce"), with music by Krzysztof Knittel, sung by Jan Kobuszewski * "Barbara Ubryk" ("Barbara Ubryk"), with music by Krzysztof Knittel, sung by Jan Kobuszewski * "What Have I Done?"/"What am I Guilty of?" ("Cóżem winien"), with music by Adam Tkaczyk, sung by Tkaczyk with Wyspy Dobrej Nadziei * "The Woodpecker and the Girl" ("Dzięcioł i dziewczyna"), sung by Maryla Rodowicz * "The Woodbine" ("Dzikie wino"), music Wojciech Trzciński, sung by Magda Umer * "Today I Was Lying Again" ("Dziś znowu leżałem"), with music by Jerzy Derfel, sung by Jan Kobuszewski * "If You Were to Stop Loving Me One Day" ("Gdybyś mnie kiedyś"), with music by Tomasz Łuc, sung by Katarzyna Groniec *·"I Say! Let Us In" - II and III part of "Seven Heaven" poem ("Hola, wpuść nas!"), with music by

Grzegorz Turnau Grzegorz Jerzy Turnau (born 31 July 1967) is a Polish composer, pianist, poet and singer. He has released eleven albums to date, including one (Cafe Sułtan) made up of his own versions of songs by Jeremi Przybora and Jerzy Wasowski, and most ...

, sung by Turnau * "Darling, My Darling" ("The Letter of the Prisoner") ("Kochanie moje, kochanie" – "List jeńca"), with music by A. Panas, sung by Michał Bajor * "Cocaine" ("Kokaina"), with music by Jerzy Derfel, sung by Piotr Fronczewski * "Lyric, lyric" ("Liryka, liryka"), with music by Grzegorz Turnau, sung by Turnau * "Mother Earth" ("Matka Ziemia"), with music by Stanisław Syrewicz, sung by Piotr Fronczewski * "A Prayer to Guardian Angel" ("Modlitwa do Anioła Stróża"), with music by Adam Tkaczyk, sung by Tkaczyk with Wyspy Dobrej Nadziei * "A Prayer to Guardian Angel" ("Modlitwa do Anioła Stróża"), with music by Robert Kasprzycki, sung by Kasprzycki and Janusz Radek * "Everything Will Turn Out Well" ("Na sto dwa"), with music by Jerzy Derfel, sung by Jan Kobuszewski * "A Night" ("Noc"), with music by the ProForma quartet, sung by Przemysław Lembicz with ProForma * "I Don’t Write Letters" ("Nie piszę listów"), sung by Mroku on the album ''Mroczne Nagrania'' * "To Rescue from Oblivion" ("Ocalić od zapomnienia"), with music by Marek Grechuta, sung by Grechuta * "A Song" ("Piosenka"), with music by Artur Gadowski, sung by Gadowski * "Lament over Izolda" ("Płacz po Izoldzie"), with music by Grzegorz, sung by Turnau * "A Pump" ("Pompa"), with music by Grzegorz Turnau, sung by Turnau * "A Request for Happy Islands" ("Prośba o wyspy szczęśliwe"), with music by Stanisław Syrewicz, sung by Magda Umer * "With Lunar Dust" ("Pyłem księżycowym"), with music by Stanisław Syrewicz, sung by Magda Umer * "Romance about Three Emigrant Sisters" ("Romanca o trzech siostrach emigrantkach"), with music by Wojciech Waglewski, sung by Jacek Bończyk * "A Secretary" ("Sekretarka"), with music by Ewa Kornecka, sung by Jacek Wójcicki * "An Owl" ("In a Dream…") ("Sowa" – "We śnie"), sung by Grzegorz Turnau * "The Confession of a Fool" ("Spowiedź kretyna"), with music by Stanisław Syrewicz, sung by Piotr Fronczewski * "A Poet’s Death" ("Śmierć poety"), with music by Stanisław Staszewski, sung by Kazik Staszewski with Kult * "A Poet’s Death" ("Śmierć poety"), with music by Włodzimierz Korcz, sung by

Marian Opania Marian Opania (, born 1 February 1943) is a Polish film actor and singer. He has appeared in more than 50 films since 1965. Biography He was born on 1 February 1943 in Puławy as the second son of Julian and Jadwiga. His father was a forester ...

* "In a Dream" ("We śnie"), with music by Adam Tkaczyk, sung by Adam Tkaczyk with Wyspy Dobrej Nadziei * "Spring Is Supposed To Come Back, Baroness" ("Wróci wiosna, baronowo"), with music by Stanisław Staszewski, sung by Kazik Staszewski with Kult * "An Invitation for the Trip" ("Zaproszenie na wycieczkę"), with music by Adam Tkaczyk, sung by Tkaczyk with Wyspy Dobrej Nadziei

Commemoration

Since 1998 a biennial poetry competition has been organised in Szczecin, named ''Gałczynalie'' in honour of the poet. A ''Green Goose'' foundation was formed in Warsaw in September 2007. Gałczyński was portrayed in the book ''

'' (''Zniewolony umysł'') by

; he is Delta. There is Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński Street in Warsaw.

Institutions named after Gałczyński

Approximately 30 schools in Poland are named after Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński, among them Secondary School No 1 in

Otwock Otwock (Yiddish: אָטוואָצק) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in east-central Poland, some south-east of Warsaw, with 43,895 inhabitants (2024). Otwock is part of the Warsaw metropolitan area. It is situated on the right bank of the ...

, Secondary School No 2 in

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

, Gymnasium No 7 in

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

, Primary School No 7 in

Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...

, Gymnasium No 2 in Stargard Szczeciński and in

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

Secondary School No 20 and, until 2000, the former Primary School No 37. Gałczyński is also the

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of libraries, one

community centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

and the Happy Islands Foundation for Friends of Children with Cancer.

The Green Goose Theatre

Among Gałczyński's best known works are the satirical mini-pieces of the ''Green Goose Theatre'' ("Teatrzyk Zielona Gęś"). Several hundred of these ostensible dramas, usually only a few lines long, appeared in the Kraków literary journal ''Przekrój''. They frequently parody serious drama and cultural icons – in ''Hamlet and the Waitress'',

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

is unable to choose between coffee and tea in a café and expires from indecision to be buried in a coffin marked HAMLET IDIOT, while in ''Greedy Eve''

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

fails to get a bite of the apple, causing the entire Bible to be "a total loss".Gerould, Daniel (ed.), ''Twentieth-Century Polish Avant-Garde Drama: Plays, Scenarios, Critical Documents'' (Cornell University Press 1977), pp.231, 237 The final curtain is frequently brought into the action, being variously scripted as falling "optimistically", as coming down accidentally and then going up again, or as being lowered by an anteater.

References

External links

Official Website of Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński
– English sub-site of the Polish website
Konstanty Ildefons Galczynski Museum

Biography

The Vices and Virtues of Versemaker Gałczyński
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galczynski, Konstanty Ildefons 1905 births 1953 deaths Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Polish military personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by the Soviet Union World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Polish prisoners of war Writers from Warsaw 20th-century Polish translators 20th-century Polish poets Polish male poets Polish radio writers 20th-century Polish male writers People from Warsaw Governorate