Michał Bałucki, pseudonym ''Elpidon'' (29 September 1837 – 17 October 1901), was a Polish playwright and poet.

Biography

Bałucki was born on 29 September 1837 in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. He studied at Saint's Ann gymnasium in Kraków, and then at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

. He was an active member of a youth organization that wanted to help

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

fighting the tsarist

regime In politics, a regime (also spelled régime) is a system of government that determines access to public office, and the extent of power held by officials. The two broad categories of regimes are democratic and autocratic. A key similarity acros ...

in Russian occupied Poland, but he did not fight in the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

. He was sentenced to prison for conspiracy after being arrested at the end of 1863. He debuted in 1861 with poems based on folklore motifs. In his poems, he attacked Galician aristocrats and the middle class that looked up to them. At the end of his life he suffered from neurosis and depression and, after a virulently critical article written by

Lucjan Rydel Lucjan Rydel, also known as Lucjan Antoni Feliks Rydel (17 May 1870 in Kraków – 8 April 1918 in Bronowice Małe), was a Polish playwright and poet from the Young Poland movement. Life Rydel was the son of Lucjan Rydel, a surgeon, ophthalmolog ...

, he committed suicide in Błonia Park in Kraków. He died on 17 October 1901.

Works

Novels: * 1864 Awakening * 1866 Elders and young * 1870 Glittering poverty * 1871 Jewess * 1872 It is about a piece of land * 1874 From a camp to a camp * 1875 White Negro (Biały murzyn) * 1881 Lordly beggars * 1881 Kraków's images * 1885 In Jewish hands * 1887 The Mayor from Pipidówka Comedies: * 1867 Councillor's councillors * 1871 Hunting a husband * 1871 Hard-working lazybones * 1873 Emancipation * 1879 Cousins * 1880 Neighbours * 1881 Big shot * 1883 Neighbours: Open house * 1889 Neighbours: Hard times * 1890 Neighbours: Bachelors' club

Bibliography

* Rosner E., Cieszyńskie okruchy literackie, Cieszyn 1983, pp. 14–16. * Anna Sobiecka, "Michał Bałucki i teatr: wybrane problemy i aspekty", Słupsk 2006,

External links

Polish Literature in English Translation: Michał Bałucki

Michał Bałucki
at poezja.org * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balucki, Michal 1837 births 1901 deaths Jagiellonian University alumni Polish male dramatists and playwrights Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery Dramatists and playwrights from Austria-Hungary Poets from Austria-Hungary 19th-century Polish poets 19th-century Polish dramatists and playwrights Polish male poets 19th-century Polish male writers 1901 suicides Polish positivists Polish people from the Austrian Empire