Jan Józef Szczepański

(1919–2003) – prose writer, reporter, essayist, screenwriter, translator.

Jan Józef Szczepański was born on 12 January 1919 in Warsaw. His father was an economist, diplomat and brother of the writer Maria Kuncewiczowa; his mother was a translator of Serbian literature and a French teacher. He graduated from secondary school in Katowice in 1937 and began a degree in Oriental studies at the University of Warsaw, which was interrupted by the war. Szczepański fought in the resistance against the invasion of Poland, an experience that influenced his first novel, “Polska jesień” (Polish Autumn), excerpts of which were published in 1943 in the underground monthly “Droga” alongside poems by Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński. In 1941, he joined the resistance organisation “Związek Jaszczurczy”. From 1942 he was a soldier of the National Armed Forces, and from 1943 of the Home Army. He actively participated in partisan fighting, which was also reflected in his work.  After the war, he settled in Kraków and continued his studies at the Jagiellonian University. In 1946, he started collaborating with “Tygodnik Powszechny”, where his short story “Buty” (Boots), which he considered his proper prose debut, was published in 1947.

At the same time, he worked as a translator in the editorial office of “Głos Anglia” (1946–1947), and then as a guide at the Wawel Royal Castle (1947–1948). In 1947, he obtained an MPhil degree in Oriental studies. That same year, he married Danuta Wolska. From 1948 he was a member of the Polish Writers’ Trade Union. Between 1949 and 1953 (when the publication was taken over by the PAX Association), he was a member of the editorial team of “Tygodnik Powszechny”; after the magazine was reactivated by the former team in December 1956, he became a regular contributor. From 1953 he worked as a technical editor at the publishing house Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, and between 1959 and 1966 he was the literary director of the Groteska Puppet Theatre in Kraków.

He undertook numerous trips abroad, later publishing accounts of his experiences in his books of literary reportage. He spent time in France (1957; a grant holder of the Ministry of Culture and Art), the United States (1958; a participant of an international seminar at Harvard University), Spitsbergen (1959; a member of the Polish polar expedition), Italy, and again France (1960). He participated in sea voyages, including to the Persian Gulf and India (1961), East and Southern Africa (1963–1964), and South America (1967). In 1969, he visited the US again (a grant holder of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa), and later travelled to the Soviet Union (1970) and Greece (1975). His work was published in “Życie Literackie” (1957–1971) and “Twórczość” (1962–1983). In 1975, he signed “Memorial 59” in protest against the proposed changes to the Constitution of the Polish People’s Republic, for which he received a two-year publication ban.

In 1976, he joined the Polish PEN Club (Member of the Board). He published articles in the underground magazine “PPN” (1977, 1979–1980); the articles were printed anonymously but signed: “Zespół Problemowy Polskiego Porozumienia Niepodległościowego” (Polish Independence Agreement Problem Team). In 1978, he signed the manifesto of the Society for Scientific Courses and contributed to the work they were doing. From 1978 he was a member of the Polish Writers’ Union (ZLP), becoming the president of the General Board in 1980. In August 1980, he joined the so-called “Apel 64”, an appeal signed by a group of 64 scholars, writers and journalists calling for the communist authorities to enter into discussion with striking shipyard workers. In December 1981, he was a member of the organising committee of the Congress of Polish Culture in Warsaw.

After martial law was declared, Szczepański participated in the underground activities of the ZLP (including after the union was disbanded in 1983). He continued to travel abroad, including to Mexico (1981) and the US (1987). He published prose, articles and reviews in independent magazines, including “Miesięcznik Małopolski” (1984–1985, 1988–1989; also signed: A.; Piotr Kowalski; Wojciech Klem) and “Kultura Niezależna” (1985–1989; also signed: J. Pawłowski). In 1989, he took part in the Round Table talks as a representative of the Solidarność (Solidarity) opposition movement. He was the initiator and co-founder of the Polish Writers Association (SPP) and the first president of the Association, elected at the founding convention in May 1989 (honorary president from 1990). He continued his collaboration with “Tygodnik Powszechny” and also published in “Tygodnik Solidarność” (1989), “Dekada Literacka” (1990–1991) and “Odra” (1990–1992); he was a Member of the Board of the magazine “NaGłos” (1990–1997) and of the Assembly of “Tygodnik Literacki” (1990–1991). In 1991, he travelled to the US and Nepal. In 1994, he became a member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences in Kraków (Faculty of Artistic Creativity). He died on 20 February 2003 in Kraków and was buried in the parish cemetery in Tyniec.

Szczepański is the author of profound reflections on the secular sources of ethics (“Przed nieznanym trybunałem”; Before the Unknown Tribunal), a writer unyielding in the face of political pressures. He was the last president of the Polish Writers’ Union, dissolved by the martial law authorities, and fought for its existence to the end, which he described in his renowned book “Kadencja” (Term of Office). His wartime prose includes his simple story about the defeat of the opposition to the invasion of Poland (“Polska jesień”), and above all, his collection of partisan short stories (“Buty”), in which he deals critically with the heroic legend of the “forest people”. His novels “Ikar” (Icarus) and “Wyspa” (The Island) tell the bitter tale of a young Polish insurgent from 1863, who emigrates to France and fails to assassinate Tsar Alexander II.

Szczepański used his writing to glorify people and causes that were lost, painful and morally ambiguous; he subjected his heroes to shocking experiences and exposed the dark and shameful sides of their lives. His novels and short stories met with equal success. He also knew how to tell funny anecdotes, sometimes invented (“Portki Odysa”; Odysseus’s Shorts), sometimes based on his own experiences (“Historyjki”; Little Stories). His sensitivity to the beauty of the world and the diversity of cultures shone through in his reportage accounts from several continents, and he was also an eminent screenwriter.

Szczepański won many awards, including the Polish Filmmakers Association Critics Award, twice (1971, 1975), for the best publications about the National and International Short Film Festival in Kraków (printed in “Tygodnik Powszechny”). He received the monthly “Odra” award (1980), the “Solidarity” cultural award (1987), the K. Pruszyński Polish PEN Club Award (1989), the Kraków Voivode’s award in the field of culture and art (1994), and the W.S. Reymont Award granted by the Board of the Polish Craft Association in cooperation with the SPP and ZLP (1995). In 2001, he received the J. Parandowski Award granted by the Polish PEN Club, the award of the city of Kraków in the field of culture and art, and the Samuel Bogumił Linde Literary Award established by Toruń and Göttingen. He was also the recipient of the Home Army Cross, awarded by the government-in-exile in London, as well as the Knight’s Cross (1974) and the Commander’s Cross (1997) of the Order of Polonia Restituta.