SMUSZKIEWICZ Antoni

Born on 30 May 1938 in the village of Wola Koszucka in the Greater Poland region; son of the farmers Stanisław Smuszkiewicz and Walentyna, née Kopczyńska. After completing primary school, he was a pupil in Słupca, initially spending a year at the Comprehensive School for Metalwork for Mechanizing Farming before attending the Grammar School (now named after Marshal Józef Piłsudski) from 1953. He completed advanced secondary education in 1957 and started studying Polish philology at the Adam Mickiewicz University (UAM) in Poznan. He was a member of the Union of Polish Youth (ZMP) from 1954 to 1956, and then of the Polish Students' Association (ZSP) from 1957 to 1963. His first article, Grzegorz czy Gżegoż, czyli kilka słów o poprawnej pisowni (Grzegorz or Gżegoż, or A few words on correct spelling), was published in 1959 in the "Niedziela" Sunday supplement of the Poznan-based newspaper "Gazeta Poznańska" (no. 18). In 1962, he taught Polish Language at the Comprehensive School for Construction and the Technical School for Construction for Working Adults in Poznan. He graduated from UAM with a master's degree in 1963. In subsequent years, he continued to work with the construction schools, combining a role as a teacher with the post of deputy head for educational affairs between 1965 and 1972. He was a member of the Polish Teachers' Union (ZNP) from 1963 to 1980, chairing Branch No. 28 at the Comprehensive School for Construction between 1965 and 1972. He collaborated with the District Methodological Centre which later became the Institute for Teacher Training and Education Research in Poznan. From 1967 to 1973, he was director of the summer holiday courses for teachers of Polish language in primary and vocational schools. In 1972, he was appointed head and teacher in Polish philology at Primary School No. 9 in Poznan. He joined the ruling Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) in 1970. In recognition of his achievements as a teacher, he received the prize of the Council for Educational Progress at the Poznan education office in 1967 and the prize of the Voivodeship Trades Union Council in Poznan in 1973. He was appointed senior assistant at the Department for Teaching Methods at the Institute of Polish Philology (IFP) at UAM in 1974. Beyond his work on theories of teaching literature, he also conducted research on science-fiction literature and children's and youth literature. He was awarded a doctoral degree from UAM in 1977 for his thesis Współczesna polska proza fantastycznonaukowa. Problem stereotypu gatunkowego w literaturze popularnej (Contemporary Polish Science-Fiction Literature: The issue of genre stereotypes in popular literature), which was supervised by Prof. Jerzy Ziomek. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed lecturer. The same year, he became secretary of the Basic Party Unit (POP) of the PZPR at the IFP at UAM, remaining in the post until he gave up his Party membership in 1981. In the 1970s, his articles and reviews primarily appeared in the Poznan-based monthly "Nurt" (intermittently 1972-81; in 1977-79 he published the series of articles Z dziejów polskiej s-f [On the History of Polish Sci-Fi]). From 1978 to 2014, he collaborated with the District Committee of the Olympiad in Polish Literature and Language, becoming chair in 1985. He received an award from the Olympiad's Central Committee in 1987 in recognition of his activities. He was a member of the Gorzów Learned Society from 1979 to 1990. In 1980, he became involved in the activities of the Poznan Society for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences (PTPN), subsequently serving as secretary of its Philological Commission (1984-87), and deputy chair (1996-2005) then chair of its First Section: Philology and Philosophy (2005-08). He joined the IFP UAM Circle of the Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarity in 1980, remaining a member until 1993. During this period, he published articles and reviews in periodicals including the quarterly "Kwazar" (1980-83 and 1985) and the monthly "Fantastyka" (1984-85, and 1988). From 1985 to 1990, he served on the Programme Council of the Poznan-based Polish Centre for Children's and Youth Art. From 1985 to 1994, he was editor of the journal "Studia o Sztuce dla Dziecka" (also serving as academic consultant in 1995), where he also published his own texts. He contributed articles likewise to the bimonthly "Sztuka dla Dziecka" (1987-88 and 1990). He gave lectures, mainly for librarians and teachers of Polish language, on subjects including children's and youth literature, historical novels and fantasy literature. He was also involved in events on science-fiction literature. In 1986, he submitted his study Retoryka współczesnej polskiej powieści historycznej dla dzieci i młodzieży (Rhetoric in Contemporary Polish Historical Novels Young Readers), for which he was awarded a habilitation degree in 1987. He was appointed senior lecturer in 1988. He was deputy director of IFP at UAM in 1987/88, before serving two terms (from 1988 to 1993) as associate dean of the newly-created Faculty of Polish and Classical Philology. He received the UAM Rector's prize on numerous occasions (1977, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1989, 1990, and 1991) in recognition of his achievements in research and administration. In 1991, he was appointed associate professor at UAM and head of the Department of Literary Didactics and Polish Language at IFP, serving in the latter role until 2008. In 1992, he served as an expert for the Ministry of National Education (MEN). From 1995 to 2000, he collaborated with the Methodological Centre for Teacher Training at the Higher School of Education (now the Pedagogical University) in Krakow. In 1995, he became a member of the Editorial Committee of the publication series Prace Komisji Filologicznej Poznańskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk (Studies of the Philological Commission of the Poznan Society for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences), also serving as its chair between 1997 and 2008. He published articles and reviews in periodicals including "Polonistyka" (occasionally in 1992, 1995, and 1998) and in "Nowa Fantastyka" (intermittently 1993-2002). He was involved in the Polish Section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) from 1995. He was a member of the UAM senate from 1996 to 1999. He was made state-appointed professor in 1998. Between 1999 and 2005, he served two terms as Dean of the Faculty of Polish and Classical Philology at UAM. In 2003, he was made full professor at the university. He collaborated with other research centres, including as a member of the editorial board of the journals "Notes Multimedialny" (published by the University of Szczecin; from 2002) and "Notatnik Multimedialny" (published by the Podlaski University, later the Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities; from 2008). In 2000, he joined the Polish Rhetoric Society, while from 2007 to 2009 he was a member of the Education Commission of the Polish Academy of Sciences' Committee on Literary Studies. Between 2008 and 2018, he chaired the jury of the J. Żuławski Literary Prize, which recognizes the best Polish works of fantasy literature. He retired at the end of 2008 and his employment at UAM ended. From 2011, he periodically worked on a contractual basis with the Higher School of Humanities and Journalism in Poznan (WSNHiD; which in 2014 became Collegium Da Vinci). He received the Gold Cross of Merit in 1984 and the Medal of the Commission of National Education in 2008. He married the Polish philologist Zdzisława, née Dukarska, in 1964; they have a son Przemysław, who is an architect. Antoni Smuszkiewicz lives in Poznan.