Apollo Korzeniowski
Apollo Korzeniowski | |
|---|---|
Austrian Poland | |
| Occupation | Poet, playwright, clandestine political activist |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Spouse |
Ewa Bobrowska
(m. 1856; died 1865) |
| Children | Joseph Conrad |
Apollo Korzeniowski (21 February 1820 – 23 May 1869) was a Polish poet, playwright, translator, clandestine political activist, and father of Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad.
Life
Apollo Korzeniowski was born on 21 February 1820 in the
After graduating from
In 1854, during the Crimean War, Apollo took an active part in preparations to organize in Ukraine—in the rears of the Russian armies fighting in Crimea—a Polish uprising. It came to nought due to British and French reluctance to get involved in the Polish cause.[1]
In April 1856, Apollo married Ewa Bobrowska, sister of Tadeusz Bobrowski[2] and Stefan Bobrowski.[3] Together with his mother-in-law, Apollo leased the village of Derebczynka. On 3 December 1857 the Korzeniowskis welcomed into the world their only child, Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski—who would be referred to by Polish family and friends as Konrad—the future English-language novelist, Joseph Conrad.
In early 1859, after losing all their fortune on the leasehold, the Korzeniowskis moved permanently to Zhytomyr, where Apollo for a time served as secretary of a bookselling and publishing association and became a member of the board of directors of a Polish theatre.
It was Apollo Korzeniowski's years at Łuczyniec, Derebczynka, and Zhytomyr that saw the greatest flowering of his literary creativity. His first substantial work was a manuscript cycle of religious-patriotic poems, Purgatorial Songs (Czyśćcowe pieśni, 1849–54), which came into being under the clear—and none too fortunate
In 1854 Korzeniowski wrote his
In 1858 Korzeniowski published a second drama, For a Pretty Penny (Dla miłego grosza), which was to some extent a continuation of Comedy. The new play likewise contained criticism of the wealthy Polish nobility in Ukraine, which was passing over to new, capitalist methods of management; this time, however, the criticized milieu was contrasted only with an old nobleman-conservative who desperately clung to the feudal system.
Apart from original work, Korzeniowski did
At the turn of the 1850s and 1860s, Korzeniowski once again engaged in sociopolitical activity. Thus, in April 1861 he took part, at Zhytomyr, in deliberations by delegates of the nobility from the three
In May 1861, hearing of a patriotic movement developing in
Korzeniowski became a leading organizer of political demonstrations. He helped organize celebrations of the anniversary of the Union of Lublin, was an organizer of a demonstration connected with the funeral of Archbishop A. Fijałkowski, and was the chief initiator of celebrations of the anniversary of the Union of Horodło. He also worked to organize a boycott of municipal elections that were scheduled to begin in Warsaw on 23 September 1861. When this effort failed and martial law was declared in Congress Poland, Korzeniowski was one of the chief initiators in forming (17 October 1861) a Municipal Committee (Komitet Miejski)—the supreme authority of the "Red" conspiracy.[7]
On the night of 20–21 October 1861, Korzeniowski was arrested and held in custody in the Tenth Pavilion of the
In exile, Korzeniowski resumed his literary work. He produced a memoir on "Poland and Muscovy" ("Polska i Moskwa," published in a periodical in 1864); a fragment of a play, No Rescue (Bez ratunku); and a "Study of Drama in the Works of Shakespeare" ("Studia nad dramatycznością w utworach Szekspira"). He also translated
At Chernihiv, in 1865, Korzeniowski's wife Ewa died of
On 23 May 1869, Korzeniowski died in Kraków. He was interred in the Rakowicki Cemetery. Over his grave stands a monument designed by sculptor Walery Gadomski.[7]
Legacy
Apollo Korzeniowski was long remembered merely as the father of English-language novelist
About two weeks before his death, Korzeniowski supervised the burning of all the manuscripts of his own work that he had in his possession. His son recalled: "I happened to go into his room a little earlier than usual that evening, and remaining unnoticed, stayed to watch the nursing-sister feeding the blaze in the fire-place."[8] However, a few manuscripts and a series of letters written before and during his exile to his most intimate friends survived in the possession of others.
See also
- List of Polish-language poets
- List of playwrights by nationality and date of birth
References
- ^ Polski słownik biograficzny, p. 167
- ^ Later the guardian and mentor of Joseph Conrad.
- ^ Who would be a leading "Red" activist during the January 1863 Uprising.
- ^ a b Taborski, Roman, "Korzeniowski, Apollo", Polski słownik biograficzny, p. 167
- ^ Taborski, Roman, "Korzeniowski, Apollo," Polski słownik biograficzny, p. 167.
- ^ In English, "Henry."
- ^ a b c d e f g h Taborski, Roman, "Korzeniowski, Apollo", Polski słownik biograficzny, p. 168
- ^ Conrad, Joseph (1919), "Author's Note", A Personal Record, London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., pp. xvi
Sources
- Taborski, Roman (1969), "Korzeniowski, Apollo", Polski słownik biograficzny, vol. XIV, Wrocław: Polska Akademia Nauk, pp. 167–69
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