Maria Konopnicka nee Wasiłowska (used the pseudonym Jan Sawa and others) (born May 23, 1842 in Suwałki, died October 8, 1910 in Lwów), was a Polish

Poles

thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

 poet, novelist, writer for children and youth, a translator, journalist and critic, as well as an activist for women's rights

Women's rights

Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...

 and Polish independence.

Maria Konopnicka also composed a poem about the execution of the Irish patriot, Robert Emmett. Emmett was executed by the British authorities in Dublin in 1802, but Konopnicka published her poem on the topic in 1908.

Poetry

• Linie i dźwięki (Lines and Sounds, 1897).
• Śpiewnik historyczny (Historical Music Book, 1904).
• Głosy ciszy (Sounds of Silence, 1906).
• Z liryk i obrazków (Lyrics and Pictures, 1909).
• Pan Balcer w Brazylii (Mister Balcer in Brazil) (1910)

Prose

• Cztery nowele (Four Short Stories, 1888).
• Moi znajomi (People I Know, 1890).
• Na drodze (On the Way, 1893).
• Ludzie i rzeczy (People and Things, 1898).
• Mendel Gdański.

For children

• Śpiewnik dla dzieci (Music Book for Children).
• O Janku Wędrowniczku (About Johnnie the Wanderer).
• O krasnoludkach i sierotce Marysi (Little Orphan Mary and the Gnomes).
• Na jagody (Picking Berries).

Poems

• Rota (Oath, 1908).
• Stefek Burczymucha.
• Wolny najmita (The Free Day Labourer).

Further reading

• Brodzka, Alina. Maria Konopnicka, "Wiedza Powszechna", Warszawa, 1975.
• Baculewski, Jan. Śladami życia i twórczości Marii Konopnickiej, Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza, Warszawa, 1966.