The Modern Novel

Biography

Witold Gombrowicz was born in Małoszyce in 1904. His family were well-to-do gentry. He studied law at the University of Warsaw and then went to study in Paris. He worked for a while in the legal profession in Poland. He started writing short stories and when they had a certain success, wrote reviews and articles for the press. His first novel, Ferdydurke (Ferdydurke), was published to great acclaim but was also criticised by both the far left and far right. His first play was also published in Poland at that time. At this time he took a boat journey to Buenos Aires. However, war broke out while he was here and he decided to stay. Though he did write, he had to take a variety of jobs to feed himself, finally working in a bank. After the war, he stayed in Buenos Aires, publishing in Buenos Aires and in Paris. He received much criticism from Polish émigré circles as he was not considered serious enough though, when there was a brief political thaw in Poland in 1957, his books sold well there. In 1963, he left Buenos Aires for Berlin and gave an interview to a journalist which was highly critical of the Communist regime, which meant his books could not be published there. The following year he moved to France and got married. However, he was suffering from ill health and died in France in 1969, though much better known than he had been.

Other links

Witold Gombrowicz
Witold Gombrowicz
Reading Witold Gombrowicz
Witold Gombrowicz, and to Hell with Culture
Gombrowicz or The Sadness of Form
His website (in French and Polish only)