Leopold Henryk Staff (November 14, 1878 – May 31, 1957) was a Polish poet; an artist of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

twice granted the Degree of

Doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

by universities in Warsaw and in Kraków. He was also nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

by Polish PEN Club. Representative of

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

and symbolism in the poetry of Young Poland, he was an author of many

philosophical 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 ...

poems influenced by the

philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) developed his philosophy during the late 19th century. He owed the awakening of his philosophical interest to reading Arthur Schopenhauer's ''Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung'' ('' The World as Will and Repres ...

(from whom he translated several books into Polish), the ideas of Franciscan order as well as paradoxes of Christianity.

Life

Staff was born in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

(then in the Austrian partition; now

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, Ukraine) during the military

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

. He was one of three children of the local

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...

of Czech & German origin. He studied law and philosophy at the Lwów University, and in 1918 settled 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 ...

at the cusp of Poland's return to independence. He died at the age of 78 in

Skarżysko-Kamienna Skarżysko-Kamienna () is a city in northern Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in south-central Poland by Kamienna (river), Kamienna river, to the north of Świętokrzyskie Mountains; one of the voivodship's major cities. Prior to 1928, it bore the name ...

soon after the end of Stalinism in postwar Poland, and was buried in

at the renowned Powązki Cemetery. Staff was highly influential in the interwar period, including in the literary life of Julian Tuwim, one of Poland's best-known poets. He served as vice-president of the Polish Academy of Literature since 1933, and since 1949 resided in Warsaw.

Literary career

Staff's writing can be divided into three periods: Young Poland until 1918,

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

(1918–39), and postwar Poland (following the end of World War II). In the early 20th century, Staff became probably the most famous and influential Polish poet. He called his popularity a ''retiring, soft glory''. He was also the main role-model for Polish group of experimental poets named ''

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'' ...

'' (founded in 1918). In the 1950s, he moved to

blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metre (poetry), metrical but rhyme, unrhymed lines, usually in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th cen ...

in line with the ideals of Polish

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

. Some of his best-known short poems include ''The Bridge'' ("Most"), ''Foundations'' ("Podwaliny", transl. by Czesław Miłosz), and ''Three Towns'' ("Trzy miasta", 1954).

References

* Mortkowicz-Olczakowa, Hanna (1961). ''Bunt wspomnień.''

Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy The State Publishing Institute PIW () is a Polish publishing house founded in Warsaw by the Polish state after World War II, in 1946. ''PIW'' specializes in literature, history, philosophy, and the social sciences. One of its more popular liter ...

External links

* * __NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Staff, Leopold 1878 births 1957 deaths Writers from Lviv Polish male poets Polish people of Czech descent Polish people of German descent Polish male writers Members of the Polish Academy of Literature Burials at Powązki Cemetery Translators of Friedrich Nietzsche Recipients of the State Award Badge (Poland)