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Stanislaw VincenzPolish writer, thinker, essayist, translator.
Date of Birth: 30.11.1888
Country:  Poland |
Content:
- Stanisław Vincenz: A Polish Literary Giant
- Literary Career
- Exile and Collaboration
- Legacy and Impact
- Notable Works
Stanisław Vincenz: A Polish Literary Giant
Early Life and EducationStanisław Vincenz, a Polish writer, essayist, and translator, was born on May 28, 1888, in Rungurska Sloboda, Galicia (present-day Ukraine). His great-grandfather, a French émigré, married a Polish woman, giving Vincenz a diverse cultural heritage. Raised in a multilingual environment, he spoke fourteen languages, including Ukrainian, learned from his Hutsul nanny.
Vincenz attended high school in Kolomyja and Stryj, where he befriended the poet Kazimierz Wierzyński. He studied law, biology, psychology, philosophy, and Sanskrit at the University of Lviv and the University of Vienna. In Vienna, he earned a doctorate for his dissertation on the influence of Hegel's philosophy on Ludwig Feuerbach.
Literary Career
Vincenz published his first articles in the early 1900s. During World War I, he served in the Austrian army and later in the Polish army. After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he translated Russian literature, including Dostoyevsky's works.
In the 1920s, Vincenz became the editor of the Warsaw-based journal "Droga," where he published essays on philosophy and religion. In 1934, he began his magnum opus, "Na wysokiej połoninie" (On the High Polonyna), a massive literary saga depicting the complex and multifaceted life of the Hutsul people.
Exile and Collaboration
In 1939, Vincenz was arrested by the Soviet authorities but later released. He fled to Hungary, where he assisted Jews in hiding from anti-Semitic pogroms and Nazi persecution. After the war, he spent time in Germany, France, and Switzerland, collaborating with the influential Paris-based publishing house "Kultura."
Legacy and Impact
Stanisław Vincenz died in Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 17, 1971. His ashes were buried in Krakow, Poland. Throughout his life, he remained a tireless advocate for universal understanding and the importance of local roots.
Vincenz's writings, filled with philosophical and historical insights, have been translated into many languages and continue to be widely read and studied. His legacy as a literary giant of Poland and the international literary scene remains secure.
Notable Works
On the High Polonyna(Na wysokiej połoninie)Conversation with Time(Rozmowa ze временем)
Beautiful Word(Słowo piękne)
Thoughts About Europe(Myśli o Europie)
Literary Notes(Notatki literackie)
