Antoni Słonimski


Antoni Słonimski 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 justice.
Słonimski was the grandson of Hayyim Selig Slonimski, the founder of "ha-Tsefirah"- the first Hebrew weekly with an emphasis on the sciences. His father, an ophthalmologist, converted to Christianity when he married a Catholic woman. Słonimski was born in Warsaw and baptized and raised as a Christian. Słonimski studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. In 1919 he co-founded the Skamander group of experimental poets with Julian Tuwim and Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. In 1924 he travelled to Palestine and Brasil and in 1932 to the Soviet Union.
Słonimski spent the war years in exile in England and France, returning to Poland in 1951. He worked as contributor to popular periodicals: Nowa Kultura, Szpilki and Przegląd Kulturalny. He was an active anti-Stalinist and supporter of liberalization. In 1964 he was one of the signatories and the main author of the so-called Letter of 34 to Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz regarding freedom of culture. Słonimski died on 4 July 1976 in a car accident in Warsaw.

Works

Sonety Parada Godzina poezji Torpeda czasu, a science fiction novel influenced by H. G. WellsDroga na wschód, a collection of poems inspired by his travels to Palestine and BrazilZ dalekiej podróży Rodzina, a comedy about two brothers: a communist, and a fascistOkno bez krat Dwa końce świata, a novel predicting Warsaw's destruction by a Nazi dictatorAlarm Wiek klęski Nowe wiersze Wiersze 1958–1963 138 wierszy
Science FictionTorpeda czasu Warszawa: Towarzystwo Wydawnicze "Ignis" ; drukowana odcinkach w drugiej połowie 1923 roku na łamach Kuriera Polskiego, powojenne wydanie Warszawa: Czytelnik, 1967 Dwa końce świata Warszawa: J. Przeworski, powojenne wydanie Warszawa: Książka i Wiedza, 1991

Awards and decorations