Polish and Danish writers who are known abroad.

Hi everyone! :) 

We (Tobias, Tobias, Izabela, Aleksandra) are going to tell you something about Polish and Danish writers who are known abroad. Read it even if you are not interested in art. I’m sure that you’ll like it or maybe you’ll learn something new.

Polish Writers

Stanisław Lem

Stanisław Lem was born in Lwow in Poland on 12 September 1921. In 1940 he started to study medicine at Lwow University. During the war, he earned a living as a car mechanic and welder. In 1945 he took up medical studies at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, but he didn’t take his final examination. Earlier, when he worked as an assistant in a hospital, he started writing stories in his free time. His literary debut was in 1946 when he published a number of works of different genres, including poetry as well as a science fiction novel “The Man from Mars”. Between 1948 and 1950 he wrote for Tygodnik Powszechny. His first book ‘The astronauts’ was published in 1951. He gained more and more fame. His most popular books are: “Solaris”, “The Star Diaries”, “Fables for Robots”. Stanisław Lem died on 27 March 2006 in Cracow, Poland.

“Raising my eyes through the convex porthole I could see the walls of the bay and higher up, leaning in, Moddard’s face. It quickly disappeared and everything went dark as the heavy protective cone was put in place from above. I heard the eight-times-repeated whirr of the electric motors tightening the screws. Then the hiss of air entering the shock absorbers. My eyes were getting using to the dark. I could already make out the pale green shape of the only gauge.” - Solaris 1961

Wisława Szymborska

Wisława Szymborska was born on 2 July 1923 in Prowent in Poland. In 1931 she moved to Cracow. When World War II started, she continued her education in underground classes. During the war she began writing stories and occasional poems. In 1945 she started studying Polish literature and she switched  sociology at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. In 1945 she published her first novel “Looking for words”. She continued writing. In 1996 she won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her most popular collections of poems are: “That’s Why We Are Alive”, “The End and the Beginning”, “Calling Out to Yeti”. She died on 1 February 2012 in Cracow.

Nothing twice

Nothing can ever happen twice.

In consequence, the sorry fact is

that we arrive here improvised

and leave without the chance to practice.

Even if there is no one dumber,

if you’re the planet’s biggest dunce,

you can’t repeat the class in summer:

this course is only offered once.

No day copies yesterday,

no two nights will teach what bliss is

in precisely the same way,

with precisely the same kisses.

One day, perhaps some idle tongue

mentions your name by accident:

I feel as if a rose were flung

into the room, all hue and scent.

The next day, though you’re here with me,

I can’t help looking at the clock:

A rose? What could that be?

Is it a flower or a rock?

Why do we treat the fleeting day

with so much needless fear and sorrow?

It’s in its nature not to stay:

Today is always gone tomorrow.

With smiles and kisses, we prefer

to seek accord beneath our star,

although we’re different (we concur)

just as two drops of water are.

Andrzej Sapkowski

Andrzej Sapkowski was born on 21 June 1948 in Łódź in Poland. He studied economics. Before he started writing, he translated science fiction works. His first book “The Witcher” was written in order to enter a contest by a Polish magazine Fantastyka. Readers and critics really enjoyed that story. Andrzej Sapkowski created a cycle of tales based on the world of “The Witcher”. His most popular  books are: “Sword of Destiny”, “The Last Wish”, “Baptism of Fire”. CD Project RED crated game series based on The Witcher universe.

“There is only evil and big evil, and behind them both, in the shadow, stands very big evil. Very big evil, Geralt, is such that you even can't imagine, even if you thought that nothing can surprise you. And you see Geralt, sometimes it happens that very big evil will grab you by the throat and say "Choose, brother, or me, or those, a little smaller than me". Smaller evil exist, but we can't choice it themselves. That very big evil can force us for this choice. Whether we like it or not.”-The Last Wish 1993

Danish Writers

Hc Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was a famous danish Writer, maybe you know some of his Fairy Tales. He has written The ugly duckling (Den grimme ælling), Tinderbox (fyrtøjet), The princess on the pea (Prinsessen på ærten) and many others.

He was born April 2nd, 1805 in Odense -  Sadly he died August 4th, 1875.

H.C. Andersen fairy tales is translated to 125 different languages and there is still coming new reprint of his masterpieces.

 Andersen often fell in love with unattainable women, and many of his stories are interpreted as references. At one point, he wrote in his diary: "Almighty God, thee only have I; thou steerest my fate, I must give myself up to thee! Give me a livelihood! Give me a bride! My blood wants love, as my heart does!" A girl named Riborg Voigt was the unrequited love of Andersen's youth. Andersen also experienced same-sex love.

His attempts at writing fairy tales were revisions of stories that he had heard as a child. Andersen then brought this genre to a completely new level by writing a vast number of fairy tales. Those fairy tales were both bold and original.

Initially they were not met with recognition, due to the difficulty in translating them and capturing his genius for humor and dark pathos

Tove Ditlevsen

Tove Irma Margit Ditlevsen (14 December 1917 – 7 March 1976) was a Danish poet and author.

She was born in Copenhagen and grew up in the working-class neighbourhood of Vesterbro. Her childhood experiences were the focal points of her work. Ditlevsen was married four times.

She published 29 books including short stories, novels, poetry and memoirs. She was awarded the Tagea Brandt Rejselegat in 1953. Her poem "Blinkende Lygter", from the book of the same name, is featured in the 2000 film Flickering Lights, directed by Anders Thomas Jensen.

Her novel Barndommens gade was made into a film in mid-1980s and Anne Linnet released an album with poems by Ditlevsen, sung by Linnet. The music from the album was also used in the movie Barndommens gade.

She died by suicide in 1976 by taking an overdose of sleeping pills, so thats sad.

She has written, Pigesind, poems 1939, Slangen i Paradiset, poems 1939, Man gjorde et barn fortræd, novel 1941, De evige tre, poems 1942, Lille Verden, poems 1942, Barndommens gade, novel, 1943 and many others.

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