Born in Warsaw in 1935, he is a literary critic and historian of literature, essayist, poet, translator and playwright. In recent years he has become a political commentator.
-
Rymkiewicz was born 13 July 1935 in Warsaw. Rymkiewicz studied Polish philology at the University of Łódź and holds a doctor's degree and other post-graduate qualifications; he lives in Warsaw and works there at the Literary Research Institute of Polish Academy of Sciences and Letters.
The son of Hanna from Baranowskie, a doctor, and prose writer Władysław Szulc, the family chose to change their name in the 1940s after their wartime experiences. Rejecting their previous German name, they chose to use Rymkiewicz, a pseudonym Władysław Sr had published under during the interwar period – it was his mother’s maiden name. After the war, the family moved to Łódź, where Rymkiewicz completed his studies.
Rymkiewicz’s debut took place in 1957 with a poetry collection entitled Konwencje (Conventions). The title speaks to the poet’s literary beliefs: belief in the literary merits of convention and a love of classicism. This is also confirmed by his book Czym Jest Klasycyzm. Manifesty Poetyckie (What is Classicism? Poetic Manifestos) from 1967, containing a declaration of Rymkiewicz’s worldview. He wrote::
Text
Classicism is a never-ending battle of one’s place in culture, and in the present, it’s a relentless knowledge that the past is the present, knowledge that there is no poetic idiom of the past and present, because it is a great sea of poetic language existing outside of time; it is a constant projecting of yourself and others into the future.
The underpinning of his philosophy comes from Carl Gustav Jung’s depth psychology, especially his conception of archetypes and collective subconscious. In other places, Rymkiewicz proposed a different definition:
Text
Classicism in poetry is nothing more than an attempt to control one’s emotions and writing in an appropriately disciplined way that refers to both past and present forms.
It’s worth noting that he did not divide ‘past forms’ into more and less classical. Classicism in Rymkiewicz’s worldview did not necessarily have to reach back to antiquity and the Renaissance – the poet was in fact rather reluctant to mindlessly copy ancient poetry; as he said, ‘the past is not a used bookstore’. Rymkiewicz’s expansive conception of classicism was confirmed not only by his treatises on the subject but by his own poetry as well, which often referred to baroque traditions, both in subject and form. The works show a fascination with themes of death and passing, stylistically bringing to mind the repetitions of Jan Andrzej Morsztyn, the philosophical lyricism of Daniel Naborowski as well as the stilus furiatus of Józef Baka.
Rymkiewicz showed an obsessive interest in the physical dimensions of death, of bodily decomposition and the natural ecosystem that grows around it. A common motif was the description of a corpse through contradiction and baroque paradoxes (ex. ‘He lies there, not knowing for whom he lies’). In Moje Dzieło Pośmiertne (My Posthumous Work), the poet defined the poem as an ‘open casket’.
Apart from the baroque, Rymkiewicz was also interested in romanticism. He has previously combined the two styles in his literary analysis, as in Ludzie Dwoiści: Barokowa Struktura Postaci Słowackiego (Human Duality: Baroque Structures in Słowacki’s Characters). Ryszard Przybylski wrote about the vampiric and romantic character of the corpses described by the poet, though a more interesting analogy is proposed by Wojciech Kaliszewski. He connects Rymkiewicz’s work with surrealism (referring to both the tone in the poems, as well as the use of collage and the author’s already mentioned interest in depth psychology).
Regardless of the source of inspiration, there is an almost obsessive need for the poems to ascribe to something, to be part of a tradition and to comment upon it. Wiesław Paweł Szymański considers this to be a core trait of Rymkiewicz’s work:
Text
The act of creation requires a second person for Rymkiewicz: tradition, culture, philosophy, a theory of poetry, this or another artist. To the then created work, he adds something of his own.
In Rymkiewicz’s works, the above analysis can be seen in the poet’s many literary allusions, as well as to his tendency to create cycles of works. Some cycles are about redwings, the death of the priest Józef Baka or – as in the case of Zachód Słońca w Milanowie (Sunset in Milanówek) – about provincial sites and dead cats and hedgehogs.
Rymkiewicz also worked as a translator. His translations include, amongst others, American poetry (Thomas S. Eliot and Wallace Stevens) and Spanish poetry (Federico García Lorca and Pedro Calderón de la Barca). To translate de la Barca’s works, Rymkiewicz utilised a baroque literary strategy. He himself referred to these translations as ‘imitations’ meant to underscore the role of a translator as a creator. Some critics preferred to treat these ‘imitations’ as new works. Over time, Rymkiewicz came to doubt his approach to the translation, stating:
Text
I simply had some things to say and sought a method with which to do so. For a time Calderón’s work became the appropriate vehicle.
It’s also worth noting the 2009 publication of translations of Osip Mandelstam’s poems – a poet Rymkiewicz referenced in his own works.
Selected works
Poetry:
- Konwencje (Conventions), Wydawnictwo Łódzkie, Łódź 1957.
- Człowiek Z Głową Jastrzębia, Wydawnictwo Łódzkie, Łódź 1960.
- Metafizyka (Metaphysics), Czytelnik, Warsaw 1963.
- Animula, Czytelnik, Warsaw 1964.
- Anatomia (Anatomia), Czytelnik, Warsaw 1970.
- Co To Jest Drozd (What Is a Redwing?), Czytelnik, Warsaw 1973.
- Wybór Wierszy (Selected Poems), Czytelnik, Warsaw 1976.
- Thema Regium, Czytelnik, Warsaw 1978.
- Poezje Wybrane (Selected Poems), Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, Warsaw 1981.
- Ulica Mandelsztama I Inne Wiersze Z Lat 1979-1983 (Mandelsztam Street and Other Poems 1979-1983), Czytelnik, Warsaw 1983.
- Mogiła Ordona I Inne Wiersze Z Lat 1979-1984 (Ordon’s Grave and Other Poems 1979-1984), Niezależna Oficyna Wydawnicza Poetów I Malarzy ‘Przedświt’, Warsaw 1984.
- Moje Dzieło Pośmiertne (My Posthumous Work), Znak, Kraków 1993.
- Znak Niejasny (Ambiguous Sign), Baśń Półżywa, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warsaw 1999.
- Zachód Słońca W Milanówku (Sunset in Milanówek), Sic!, Warsaw 2002.
- Cicho Ciszej: Wybrane Wiersze Z Lat 1963-2002 (Quiet and Quieter: Selected Poems from 1963-2002), Sic!, Warsaw 2003.
- Do Widzenia Gawrony, (Goodbye Grackles), Sic!, Warsaw 2006.
- Wiersze Polityczne (Political Poems), Sic!, Warsaw 2010.
- Pastuszek Chełmońskiego (Chełmoński’s Shepherd), Sic!, Warsaw 2014.
- Koniec Lata W Zdziczałym Ogrodzie (End of Summer in a Wild Garden), Sic!, Warsaw 2015.
- Metempsychoza: Druga Księga Oktostychów (Reincarnation: Second Book of Octets), Fundacja Evviva L’arte, 2017.
Essays:
- Czym Jest Klasycyzm: Manifesty Poetyckie (What is Classicism? Poetic Manifestos), Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warsaw 1967.
- Myśli Różne O Ogrodach (Various Thoughts on Gardens), Czytelnik, Warsaw 1968.
- Aleksander Fredro Jest W Złym Humorze (Aleksander Fredro is in a Bad Mood), Czytelnik, Warsaw 1977.
- Juliusz Słowacki Pyta O Godzinę (Juliusz Słowacki Asks the Time), Czytelnik, Warsaw 1982.
- Żmut, Instytut Literacki, Paryż 1987; Wydanie Przejrzane I Poprawione: Sic! 2005.
- Baket, Aneks, Londyn 1989.
- Kilka Szczegółów (A Couple of Details), Arcana, Kraków 1994.
- Do Snowia I Dalej, Arcana, Kraków 1996.
- Leśmian: Encyklopedia, Sic!, Warsaw 2001.
- Przez Zwierciadło (Through the Looking Glass), Znak, Kraków 2003.
- Słowacki: Encyklopedia, Sic!, Warsaw 2004.
Works translated:
- German: Umschlagplatz. Berlin: Rowohlt, 1993.Polnische Gespräche im Sommer 1983. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrmkamp,1986.
- French: La Dernière gare (Umschlagplatz). Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont, 1989.Conversations au bord du lac. Un Été 1983 en Pologne. Paris, 1983.
Selected awards & nominations:
- 2003 – laureate of the Nike Literary Award for Sunset in Milanówek
- 2010 – Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis
- 2012 – 'Person of the Year' from Gazeta Polska
- 2015 – Laureate of the Julian Tuwim Award for lifetime achievement