Jan Brzechwa
Encyclopedia
Jan Brzechwa (ˈbʐɛxfa), born Jan Wiktor Lesman in Żmerynka, Podolia
to a Polish family of Jewish descent was a Polish poet and author, mostly known for his contribution to children's literature
.
He studied at the Jesuit school Zakład Naukowo-Wychowawczy Ojców Jezuitów w Chyrowie
and upon moving to the city of Warsaw
he graduated from the School of Law at Warsaw University. During the Polish-Soviet War
, he served in the 36th Regiment of the Academic Legion and his formal writing debut took place in 1920 by way of various humor magazine
s. In 1926 he published Oblicza zmyślone, his first book of poems and his first set of poems for children Tańcowała igła z nitką was published in 1937. He also worked as a lawyer and attorney for the Polish Society of Authors and Composers (ZAIKS) where he specialized and excelled in copyright law.
Brzechwa was the writer's pseudonym; and translates into 'fletching
' (the tail section of an arrow). He changed his name in order to better integrate and avoid being confused with his cousin Bolesław Leśmian, also a poet.
Brzechwa was also a translator of Russian literature
, translating works by Aleksandr Pushkin
, Sergey Yesienin and Vladimir Mayakovskiy. He was married twice and had a daughter, Krystyna, from his first marriage.
Among his works is Chrząszcz
(A Beetle), a poem famous for being one of the hardest to pronounce texts in Polish literature
, even for adult, native Polish
speakers. Its first line “W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie” (In [the town of] Szczebrzeszyn
a beetle buzzes in the reeds) is a popular Polish tongue-twister
, where almost all of the consonants make distinct buzzing sounds. Brzechwa is well known in Poland for having written a number of lyrical and amusing children's poems.
Brzechwa also wrote a long running series of children's books based on the adventures of Pan Kleks
, the headmaster of a magical academy, and his students. Many of the Kleks books and plot points were made into a series of films in the 1980s. While a poem Pchła Szachrajka (Adventures of a Cheating Flea) was developed into an animated film in 1989.
Many of Brzechwa’s texts have been translated into English
by Walter Whipple
, but as of 2004 they have yet to be published.
He died in Warsaw in 1966 and is buried at the Powązki cemetery.
Podolia
The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
to a Polish family of Jewish descent was a Polish poet and author, mostly known for his contribution to children's literature
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
.
He studied at the Jesuit school Zakład Naukowo-Wychowawczy Ojców Jezuitów w Chyrowie
Zakład Naukowo-Wychowawczy Ojców Jezuitów w Chyrowie
Zakład Naukowo-Wychowawczy Ojców Jezuitów w Chyrowie was a Jesuit academic institution, with the status of high school, founded and run by the Jesuits in Khyriv, near Przemyśl, southeast Poland between 1883 - 1939...
and upon moving to the city of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
he graduated from the School of Law at Warsaw University. During the Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
, he served in the 36th Regiment of the Academic Legion and his formal writing debut took place in 1920 by way of various humor magazine
Humor magazine
A humor magazine is a magazine specifically designed to deliver humorous content to its readership. These publications often offer satire, but some put an emphasis on cartoons, one-liners or humorous essays.-Out-of-print humor magazines:...
s. In 1926 he published Oblicza zmyślone, his first book of poems and his first set of poems for children Tańcowała igła z nitką was published in 1937. He also worked as a lawyer and attorney for the Polish Society of Authors and Composers (ZAIKS) where he specialized and excelled in copyright law.
Brzechwa was the writer's pseudonym; and translates into 'fletching
Fletching
Fletching is the aerodynamic stabilization of arrows or darts with materials such as feathers, each piece of which is referred to as a fletch. The word is related to the French word flèche, meaning "arrow," via Old French; the ultimate root is Frankish fliukka...
' (the tail section of an arrow). He changed his name in order to better integrate and avoid being confused with his cousin Bolesław Leśmian, also a poet.
Brzechwa was also a translator of Russian literature
Russian literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...
, translating works by Aleksandr Pushkin
Aleksandr Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a Russian author of the Romantic era who is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature....
, Sergey Yesienin and Vladimir Mayakovskiy. He was married twice and had a daughter, Krystyna, from his first marriage.
Among his works is Chrząszcz
Chrzaszcz
Chrząszcz by Jan Brzechwa is a poem famous for being one of the hardest to pronounce texts in Polish literature, and may cause problems even for adult, native Polish speakers....
(A Beetle), a poem famous for being one of the hardest to pronounce texts in Polish literature
Polish literature
Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages, used in Poland over the centuries, have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Yiddish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, German and...
, even for adult, native Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
speakers. Its first line “W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie” (In [the town of] Szczebrzeszyn
Szczebrzeszyn
Szczebrzeszyn is a city in southeastern Poland in Lublin Voivodeship, in Zamość County, about 20 km west of Zamość. From 1975–1999, it was part of the Zamość Voivodeship administrative district. The town serves as the seat to Gmina Szczebrzeszyn. A 2004 census counted 5,357 inhabitants...
a beetle buzzes in the reeds) is a popular Polish tongue-twister
Tongue-twister
A tongue-twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken word game. Some tongue-twisters produce results which are humorous when they are mispronounced, while others simply rely on the confusion and mistakes of the speaker for their...
, where almost all of the consonants make distinct buzzing sounds. Brzechwa is well known in Poland for having written a number of lyrical and amusing children's poems.
Brzechwa also wrote a long running series of children's books based on the adventures of Pan Kleks
Pan Kleks
Ambroży Kleks, commonly referred to as Pan Kleks , is a fictional character in a series of books by Polish writer Jan Brzechwa. A series of movie adaptations of the books has been directed by Krzysztof Gradowski....
, the headmaster of a magical academy, and his students. Many of the Kleks books and plot points were made into a series of films in the 1980s. While a poem Pchła Szachrajka (Adventures of a Cheating Flea) was developed into an animated film in 1989.
Many of Brzechwa’s texts have been translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Walter Whipple
Walter Whipple
Walter Whipple is a Teaching Professor Emeritus of Polish in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah...
, but as of 2004 they have yet to be published.
He died in Warsaw in 1966 and is buried at the Powązki cemetery.
Works
- 19261926 in literatureThe year 1926 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is founded in Middlebury, Vermont....
– Oblicza zmyślone - 19371937 in literatureThe year 1937 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*January 9 - The first issue of Look magazine goes on sale in the United States.*Thomas Quinn Curtiss meets Klaus Mann.-New books:*Eric Ambler - Uncommon Danger...
– Tańcowała igła z nitką - 19381938 in literatureThe year 1938 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The trilogy, U.S.A. by John Dos Passos, is published containing his three novels The 42nd Parallel , 1919 , and The Big Money ....
– Kaczka Dziwaczka - 19461946 in literatureThe year 1946 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*November 7 - Walker Percy marries Mary Bernice Townsend.*Launch in the United Kingdom of Penguin Classics under the editorship of E. V...
– Akademia Pana Kleksa - 1946 – Ptasie plotki
- 1946 – Pan Drops i jego trupa
- 19481948 in literatureThe year 1948 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The Pulitzer Prize for the Novel is renamed the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction....
– Na wyspach Bergamutach - 1948 – Opowiedział dzięcioł sowie
- 1948 – Przygody rycerza Szaławiły
- 19511951 in literatureThe year 1951 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*E. E. Cummings and Rachel Carson are awarded Guggenheim Fellowships.*Flannery O'Connor is diagnosed with lupus....
– Uczymy się chodzić
- 19531953 in literatureThe year 1953 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* January 22 - The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, opens on Broadway....
– Teatr Pietruszki - 1953 – Wagary
- 19571957 in literatureThe year 1957 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Lawrence Durrell publishes the first volume of The Alexandria Quartet. The final of the four volumes will be published in 1960....
– Magik - 19581958 in literatureThe year 1958 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*August 18 - Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in United States.*First volume of The Civil War by Shelby Foote is published....
– Wyssane z palca - 1958 – Sto bajek
- 19611961 in literatureThe year 1961 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*First English production of Bertolt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui*Michael Halliday publishes his seminal paper on the systemic functional grammar model....
– Podróże pana Kleksa - 19641964 in literatureThe year 1964 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Jean-Paul Sartre becomes head of the Organization to Defend Iranian Political Prisoners....
– Śmiechu warte - 19651965 in literatureThe year 1965 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Lloyd Alexander - The Black Cauldron*J. G. Ballard - The Drought*Ray Bradbury - The Vintage Bradbury*John Brunner...
– Od baśni do baśni - 1965 – Tryumf pana Kleksa
See also
- List of Polish language poets
- Polish literaturePolish literaturePolish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages, used in Poland over the centuries, have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Yiddish, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, German and...
External links
- "AT THE VEGETABLE STALL" ("Na straganie") in English translation
- Jan Brzechwa in English Translation (translated by Pacze Moj)
- Exile ("Banita")
- November ("Listopad")
- Parallel Lines ("Równoległe linie")
- The Road ("Droga")
- The Slouch ("Leń")
- Too Soon ("Za wcześnie")
- Voice of America ("Głos Ameryki")
- We Are Three ("Jest nas troje")