Jerzy Putrament (14 November 1910 – 23 June 1986) was a Polish writer, poet, editor, publicist and politician.
Biography
Jerzy Putrament was born in Minsk into a family with patriotic traditions. His mother was of Russian origin and adhered to Eastern Orthodox Church, as did Jerzy.
In his youth he was a member of the poetic circle Żagary (Firestorm). His story is told, as the character " Gamma, slave of history", in a chapter of Czesław Miłosz's book The Captive Mind.
In the People's Republic of Poland, he became a writer, publishing many works supporting the ideals of communism, and a politician. He became an editor of two literary journals (Miesięcznik Literacki from 1966 to 1971 and Literatura from 1955 to 1968), and as such he had significant influence on Polish cultural policy.[2] He was Ambassador to Switzerland from 1945 to 1947,[2] Ambassador to France from 1947 to 1950,[2] a deputy to the Polish Parliament from 1952 to 1961,[2] and eventually a member of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers Party from 1964 to 1981.[2]
He was a president of the Polish Chess Federation from 1954 to 1957 and 1963 to 1973. He died in Warsaw in 1986.
Works
Altogether Putrament wrote some 50 fictional works.[2]
He published his first works (poetry) before the war; his poetry anthologies Wczoraj powrót ("Yesterday the Return", 1935) and Droga leśna, ("Forest Road", 1938) were well received.[2] Their main themes were revolutionary politics and beauty of the countryside.[2]
His first novel was Rzeczywistość (1947; "Reality") which draws on his experiences of the trial for communist activism in Poland before the war.[2] His most renowned writings include the political novels Rozstaje (1954; "At the Crossroads") and Małowierni (1967; "Those of Little Faith") and the wartime novel Bołdyn (1969).[2]Bołdyń was filmed in 1982 by Czesław and Ewa Petelska.
List of works
Poetry
1934 – Wczoraj powrót (Yesterday back)
1937 – Droga leśna (Forest road)
1944 – Wojna i wiosna (War and spring)
1951 – Wiersze wybrane (Anthology)
Prose
1936 – Struktura nowel Prusa (The structure of novels)
1946 – Święta kulo (Holy ball)
1947 – Rzeczywistość (Reality)
1952 – Wrzesień (September)
1952 – Notatnik chiński (Chinese notebook)
1953 – Od Wołgi do Wisły (From the Volga to the Vistula)
1954 – Rozstaje (Crossroads)
1955 – Trzy powroty (Three returns)
1956 – Notatki polemiczne (Polemic notes)
1956 – Dwa łyki Ameryki (Two sips of America)
1956 – Wakacje (Holiday)
1957 – Wypadek w Krasnymstawie (An accident in Krasnystaw)
1957 – Trzynasty z Wesołka (The thirteenth of Wesołek)
1958 – Strachy w Biesalu (Fears in Biesal)
1959 – Kronika obyczajów (Chronicle of customs)
1959 – Fiołki w Neapolu (Violets in Napels)
1961 – Arka Noego (Noah's ark)
1961 – Arkadia (Arcadia)
1961 – Chińszczyzna (Chinese food)
1961 – Pół wieku, t. I (Half a century)
1961 – Pół wieku, t. II (Half a century)
1963 – Cztery strony świata (Four sides of the world)
