Jan Józef Szczepański | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1919-01-12)12 January 1919 |
| Died | 20 February 2003(2003-02-20) (aged 84) |
| Resting place | Powązki Cemetery |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Profession | Writer |
| Awards | Order of Polonia Restituta,Order of Polonia Restituta,Cross of the Home Army |
Jan Józef Szczepański (January 12, 1919 – February 20, 2003) was aPolish writer,reporter, essayist, filmscriptwriter andtranslator,Tatra mountaineer, and traveller. He was the president of the Association of Polish Writers.
Jan Józef Szczepański was born on January 12, 1919, inWarsaw, Poland. His father was Aleksander Szczepański, diplomat of theSecond Polish Republic and economist, associated with the zinc industry ofUpper Silesia, brother ofMaria Kuncewiczowa,[1] and his mother was Maria Znatowicz-Szczepańska, a French teacher, translator of Serbian literature and publicist.[2]
From the years 1932 to 1937, his family lived inKatowice, where Szczepański attended the boys' State Gymnasium and High School at Mickiewicza Street.[2] Then he studiedOriental studies, graduating in 1947.[citation needed]
He took part in theSeptember campaign in 1939. In 1941, he joined theMilitary Organization Lizard Union (from 1942National Armed Forces) and worked in an intelligence unit until 1943, when he became a soldier of theHome Army.[3] In 1944, he fought in theguerrilla movement. He devoted his war prose to this period: a story about the September defeat (Polska Jesień) and guerrilla stories (Buty), in which he critically confronts the legend of the "forest people". War themes were also found in the scripts forStanisław Różewicz's films (Westerplatte and Wolne miasto).[citation needed]
After the war he joined the "Tygodnik Powszechny"; from the years 1947-1953 he was a member of the editorial board. He was the last president of the Association of Polish Writers, dissolved bythe martial law authorities (he documented this period in the book Kadencja). He was one of the founders of the Polish Independence Agreement. In 1978, he also signed the founding declaration of the Society of Academic Courses. He translated into Polish, among others, the prose of Conrad and Greene, Bajki murzyńskie.[citation needed]
He co-signed theLetter of 59 in 1975 and the letter of intellectuals in defense of the brothersJerzy and Ryszard Kowalczyk in May 1981. On August 23, 1980, he joined the appeal of 64 scholars, writers and publicists to the communist authorities to start a dialogue withstriking workers.[4]
He was a keentourist and, in the first years after the war, amountaineer. He climbed, for example, with Stanisław Siedlecki (including an attempt to climb the western wall of Łomnica by a new route through Hokejka) and with Krzysztof Tatarkiewicz. Mountaineering, skiing andZakopane itself appear in several of his books (including Autograf) and in a number of magazine publications. In 1955, he translated John Hunt's book Zdobycie Mount Everestu. His knowledge of the Gorce and Pieniny mountains resulted in the books Portki Odysa and Kipu.[citation needed]
In 1947, he married Danuta Wolska.[5]
He was the closest friend of the writer Stanisław Lem andgodfather of his son Tomasz.[6][7] He was the prototype of the character Prother in the novelHis Master's Voice.[8]
He died on February 20, 2003, inKraków, Poland.[citation needed]