Artur Oppman

Artur Franciszek Oppman was a Young Poland poet who wrote under the pen name "Or-Ot".

Life

Artur Oppman was born 14 August 1867, in Warsaw to a burgher family with German roots, which had arrived in Poland in 1708 from Thuringia. The family quickly became attached to Poland and cultivated Polish patriotism; Artur's grandfather took part in the Polish November 1830 Uprising, and his father in the January 1863 Uprising.
Oppman attended a Warsaw gymnasium, but because of severe Russification pressure he switched to an alternate trade school. There he began writing poetry.
His peculiar pen-name began with the publication of his second poem, when an abbreviation of his name, "Ar-Op", was misrendered by the type-setter as "Or-Ot".
Oppman's early poems were published in Kurier Warszawski, Wędrowiec, and Kurier Codzienny, which sought to promote new talent. Between 1883 and 1885 he also published in Tygodnik Ilustrowany, Kłosy, and Świt.
From 1890 to 1892 he studied philology in Kraków at the Jagiellonian University. He was particularly interested in 16th-century Polish language and literature.
In 1892 he married Władysława Trynkiewicz and discontinued his studies, returning to Warsaw. He frequented the city's Old Town and studied the borough's people, lifestyle, customs, and local legends. In 1893, based on these experiences, he published a collection of poems, Ze Starego Miasta, and in 1894 a related volume of Pieśni.
In 1920 he enlisted in the army of resurrected Poland, as an infantry private. He was made editor of the Army's magazine, Żołnierz Polski.

Works

Especially popular were Oppman's poems celebrating the charms of Warsaw's Old Town.
From 1901 to 1905 he edited Wędrowiec.
Oppman established extensive contacts in Warsaw's literary world, meeting often with Bolesław Prus, Stefan Żeromski, Felicjan Faleński, Władysław Reymont, Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Bolesław Leśmian, Antoni Lange, Wojciech Kossak, Jan Lechoń, and others.
Oppman also wrote many works for children, and edited calendars, almanacs, and poetry compilations.