Galczynski, Konstanty Ildefons

Born Jan. 23, 1905, in Warsaw; died there Dec. 6, 1953. Polish poet.

Galczyński was first published in 1923. In 1928 he joined the literary group Quadriga. His first books were the satirical novella Little Donkey Porfirion (1929) and the long poem End of the World (1930). Galczynńki’s works of the 1930’s contain criticism of the ruling circles of Poland. From 1939 to 1945 he was interned in a German prisoner-of-war camp, and in 1946 he returned to Poland. He wrote satirical poems and the poetic feuilletons Letters With a Violet (1948), and he created a cycle of grotesque satirical miniatures called The Green Goose. Galczyński’s lyrical poems express a love for his homeland, for work, and for art. His style combines elements of lyricism, humor, irony, and the grotesque. The long poem Wit Stwosz (1952) is devoted to the brilliant sculptor of the Middle Ages. The cycle of lyric miniatures Songs (1953) is full of reflections on life, love, and art.