The Golden Disposition of the Athlete: Poetry at the Olympics
What goes into the makeup of an athlete? How can people know how hard athletes work physically? How can they comprehend the beauty of their craft? Just ask one Polish writer who knew the golden disposition of the athlete, the Olympic medal-winning poet – Kazimierz Wierzyński.
Wierzyński was born on 27 August 1894 in Drohobycz, Austria-Hungary (formerly part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). He was a co-founder of the Polish poetry group Skamander, whose poets came together to reflect on the language of contemporary life. Kazimierz Wierzyński was even a sports journalist, serving as the editor-in-chief of Przegląd Sportowy (Sports Overview). Wierzyński’s writing talent, combined with his sports knowledge, led him to win a gold medal at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics for his book of poems titled Laur Olimpijski (Olympic Laurel).
The History of Olympic Art Competitions
Baron Pierre de Coubertin brought art to the Olympic Games to showcase both the body and the mind. Baron’s vision was also a return to the history of events, such as the Isthmian Games, which combined art with sport. The art competitions debuted at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden – featuring five events. These were architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. Each artist's work in the art competitions had to be about sports. The art competitions also grew to include subcategories in each category. The 1948 Olympics in London were the last summer Olympics to carry the art competitions.
Poles won eight medals throughout the history of the art competitions at the Summer Olympics. In the music category, Zbigniew Turski won a gold medal for Olympic Symphony. In the painting category, Janina Konarska won a silver medal for Stadium, Władysław Skoczylas won a bronze medal for Posters, and Stanisław Ostoja-Chrostowski won a bronze medal for Yachting Club Certificate. In sculpture, Józef Klukowski received a gold medal for Sport Sculpture II and a silver medal for Ball. Lastly, in literature, Jan Parandowski won a bronze medal for Olympic Discus, while Kazimierz Wierzyński won a gold medal for Olympic Laurel.
'Olympic Laurel': Acoustics & Transformations
Kazimierz Wierzyński, photo: National Digital Archives (NAC)
Wierzyński showcases his immense appreciation and compassion for athletes inside and outside the stadium in Olympic Laurel. Wierzyński uses his words to describe the sounds of spectators at athletic events. In Defiliada atletów (Parade of the athletes) Wierzyński depicts the Olympic opening ceremony, where the Olympic athlete's 'song' is their appearance, which excites the audience. In Match footballowy (Soccer match) Wierzyński describes the explosion of cheer at a soccer match when a goal is scored. Both poems demonstrate the power of sports from a fan’s perspective, and Wierzyński demonstrates his agility as a writer in representing common visual scenes through their sounds.
Wierzyński also looks at the transformation of athletes in specific events. In 100m (100 meters) he compares a sprinter to a spring that bursts forward when the race begins. In another poem he compares a pole vaulter to a bird and cat when they throw themselves over the bar. These two images exemplify Wierzyński’s appreciation of the athlete as well as his connection of athletes to natural forces. Sport, like life, is a game of transformation. Elite athletes’ transformations are much quicker than an ordinary person’s—because of talent, an event’s time limit, or the skills needed for a specific type of event—and the poet shows how we can glimpse and understand those instinctual movements through similes and metaphors.
Documentary Verses
'Olympic Laurel' by Kazimierz Wierzyński, photo: public domain
Olympic Laurel also features poems about athletes ripped from real-life headlines. One of these poems is Paddock and Porritt, which concerns Charley Paddock, an American track athlete who won four Olympic medals (two gold and two silver), as well as Arthur Porritt, a New Zealand track athlete who won a bronze medal. Wierzyński’s poem contrasts the two athletes. He compares Paddock to a kangaroo and Porritt to an antelope. But he does not attempt to fuel a never-ending debate by saying that one athlete is better than the other: Wierzyński just wants sports fans to appreciate the diversity of techniques between athletes in sport.
Another sports figure featured in Olympic Laurel is Roald Amundsen. Amundsen did not compete in organised sports but was an explorer who along with his four friends became the first people to reach the South Pole. In Pieśń o Amundsenie (Song of Amundsen) Wierzyński writes about this non-traditional athlete from Amundsen’s point of view. Wierzyński posits that Amundsen became an explorer because he felt repelled from everyday life. Amundsen as an explorer still faces the same obstacles in life as everyone else, but he finds freedom in exploring the world. Wierzyński’s poem suggests the relevance of athletes, outside of the sports arena and their human varieties of victories and losses.
Hoplitodromos
Spartanin (The Spartan) is a poem about an ancient Greek athlete who competes in an armour race that required the runner to wear their gear during the race. The runner’s gear consisted of a helmet, greaves (which were later dropped from the event), and their shield. The race, called the hoplitodromos, was two stades long (two lengths of the stadium) at the ancient Olympics. Wierzyński’s poem mentions a hoplitodromos race being run with the runner carrying a shield. But his poem makes no mention of the specific length of the race or the wearing of greaves or a helmet.
The narrator in The Spartan does a play-by-play commentary of a runner competing in the hoplitodromos. The narrator contemplates the daunting task of the race. The runner the narrator describes ends up winning the race but losing their strength. The poem ends with the runner collapsing on their shield. The irony is that the ancient Greek soldiers, hoplites, wore a shield to protect themselves. Yet the winner collapses on the shield with no one lifting them up. Wierzyński uses the hoplitodromos to exhibit the timeless tenacity of athletes. Athletes will give it their all despite what level of support they receive.
Moving & the Feeling Body
'Foutbool' by Janina Konarska, 1931, photo: National Museum in Kraków
Kazimierz Wierzyński died on 13 February 1969 in London. Wierzyński’s book of poems keeps alive the Olympic ideal of art and sport despite the summer Olympics no longer carrying the art competitions. When they did, however, they suggested that only when we use both disciplines of physical and mental activity can we be well-rounded, even champion, individuals.
