BIO
Born on 26 December 1907 in Kyiv; son of the lawyer Tadeusz Zagórski and Stefania, née Iwaszkiewicz. He spent his childhood both in Kyiv and with his maternal grandparents in Strazhgorod near Teplyk in the Podolia region. From 1917, he attended Polish secondary school, initially in Uman' and then in Kyiv. Between 1918 and 1930, he was a member of the Polish Scouting Association (ZHP), where he became a deputy chief scout and then chief scout of the Polish Republic. He moved to Warsaw in 1919, where he continued his education at the Jan Zamoyski Secondary School. During this period, he started writing poetry, which subsequently appeared in the volume Czas Lota (Lot's Time, 1956). He co-edited the school magazine "Życie Szkoły", where he made his debut in 1928 with the poem Burza na jeziorze (Storm on the lake; no. 3). He continued to publish poetry and articles there until 1931. He completed his advanced secondary education in 1927 and then started a degree in law at the University of Warsaw (UW) before moving to the Stefan Batory University (USB) in Wilno (Vilnius) in 1930. He was active in the USB Circle of Polish Philologists. He was a member of the Żagary poetry group that was associated with the circle, editing its eponymous periodical between 1931 and 1934 (in 1932 it was published under title "Piony"). His works appeared there, including some under the pen name Aron Pirmas, which was also used by other authors. He was chair of the Circle's Original Works Section (Sekcja Twórczości Oryginalnej – STO) and led the satirical Vilnius Academic Nativity Theatre (Wileńska Szopka Akademicka). During this period, he published poetry, reviews and articles in periodicals including "Alma Mater Vilnensis" (1930-35), "Kurier Wileński" (1932-34, under the pen name Tuz), "Państwo Pracy" (1932-35; here in 1933 together with Leon Szreder: the XI Vilnius Academic Nativity Theatre), and in "Pion" (intermittently 1934-39). He also published short volumes of poetry during this period. He was a member of the Polish Writers' Trade Union (ZZLP) from 1934, while in 1935/36 he served on the board of the Union's Vilnius Branch. At the same time, he made a living as a tutor, legal secretary, court reporter, and contributor to Polish Radio. He graduated with a master's degree from USB in 1936 and subsequently took up a post with Polish Radio in Wilno, where, among things, he co-wrote the comedy series Kukułka Wileńska (Vilnius Cuckoo; also using the pseudonym Magister Juraś). He married the translator Maria, née Woycieszonek (Karczewska after her first husband), in 1937. In later years, they worked on translations together. They moved to Lodz, before settling in Warsaw in autumn 1937. He continued to work for Polish Radio, penning radio plays. He collaborated with the Scichapęk cabaret which was based in the Sztuka i Moda (Art and Fashion) café. In 1937/38, he was a member of the editorial board of "Apel", the literary-artistic supplement of the "Kurier Poranny" newspaper. His first play appeared in 1938; titled Będziemy biedni (We shall be poor), it was written with Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński. He remained in Warsaw during the German occupation of the city. Officially, he was employed as a domestic administrator but in fact earned a living from illegal trade. He was involved in Warsaw's underground cultural life, serving on the editorial board of the monthly "Kultura Jutra" (1943; he was awarded first prize in a competition run by the periodical for his piece Psalm), collaborating with the journal "Sztuka i Naród"(1943; he published there anonymously and under the pen name Bronisław Łuski), participating in competition juries, and organizing meetings with authors. During this period he wrote a volume of poetry, Rymy męskie (Male rhymes; using the pen name: Anzelm Niezwojewski), that was purchased in 1943 by Zbigniew Mitzner for the publishing house Wisła, which was due to start operating after the war. Together with his wife, Zagórski was involved in activities aiding Jews. In late July 1944, he and his family left for Wieliszew near Warsaw. During the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, he edited the daily information bulletin for the Home Army (AK) partisan unit operating around Wieliszew. Towards the end of the uprising, he hid in various locations, including the Zakliczyn estate near Myślenice. After the end of the war, he moved to Krakow and worked as head of the Department of Culture and Arts at the Voivodeship Administration. In autumn 1945, he travelled to Czechoslovakia and Bavaria, Germany, while in spring 1946, he went to Silesia, with these trips inspiring the book Indie w środku Europy (India in the centre of Europe). He continued to compose and publish poetry, as well as writing literary journalism pieces and literary sketches. His poems, articles and translations of French-language and Russian-language poetry appeared in periodicals including "Odrodzenie" (1945-49), "Twórczość" (1945-51 and intermittently 1954-69), "Tygodnik Powszechny" (1945-47), "Od A do Z" (1946 and 1951-56), "Przekrój" (1946-47 and intermittently 1949-54), "Dziennik Literacki" (1947-50), "Teatr" (1949, 1952-53, 1959, 1962-63, and 1968), "Życie Literackie" (1951-67), and "Nowa Kultura" (intermittently 1950-62). He was deputy president of the ZZLP (which in 1949 became the Polish Writers' Union, ZLP), while from 1950 to 1956 he chaired the Poetry Section of the Union's Krakow Branch. In 1946, he was a reporter at the Paris Peace Conference for the quarterly "Przekrój". The same year, he joined the Polish PEN Club, serving on its Board from 1958 and then as its vice president from 1971. In 1947/48, he was a cultural attaché at the Polish Embassy in Paris. In 1948, he returned to Krakow, where he was literary director of the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre (1949/50 and 1952/53). He was also literary director at the State (Państwowy) Theatre in Bielsko-Biała (1950/51 and 1956-58) and at the Stefan Żeromski Theatre in Kielce (1954-56). In September 1956, he moved to Warsaw, where from 1957 he was employed by "Kurier Polski" as a theatre reviewer. He also published numerous poems and articles in this daily, including in 1967 his correspondence from Italy, while in 1969 he edited the regular column Kramik poetycki (Little poetry shop). From 1956 to 1958, he was a member of the Polish Repatriation Committee. He was a member of the Polish Journalists Association (SDP) from 1960 until its dissolution in 1982. He was co-founder of the Polish Centre of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) and from 1957 a member of the European Cultural Society (SEC). He was awarded the Polish PEN Club's prize for translators in 1964. The same year, he was among the writers and intellectuals who signed the Letter of 34 in defence of free speech. Between 1972 and 1978, he was chair of the Circle of Poets at the Warsaw Branch of the Polish Writers' Union (ZLP). He co-organized the Warsaw Poetry Autumn 1972. He continued to publish poems, translations, articles and reviews in periodicals including "Tygodnik Powszechny" (1974-83), "Życie Literackie" (1976-81), and "Poezja" (intermittently 1966-84). In 1974, he received the prize of the monthly "Przyjaźń" in recognition of his artistic achievements in the field of staging Soviet drama in Polish theatres. In 1976, he was a signatory to the Memorandum of 101, a petition protesting proposed changes to the Constitution of the People's Republic of Poland. He was a participant in the Weeks of Christian Culture. In 1978, he and his wife were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem. Following the imposition of martial law in Poland in December 1981, he became involved in underground cultural life, publishing in periodicals that were issued outside the reach of state censorship. He was also involved in the work of the Pastoral Care for Artists movement. He was the recipient of honours including the Knight's Cross (1955) and the Officer's Cross (1971) of the Order of Polonia Restituta. He died on 5 August 1984 in Warsaw, where he is buried at the Powązki Cemetery.
Twórczość
1. Ostrze mostu. [Wiersze]. Wilno: Koło Polonistów USB 1933, 30 s.
2. Przyjście wroga. Poemat – baśń. Warszawa: „Państwo Pracy" 1934, 53 s.
3. Wyprawy. [Wiersze]. [B.m.:] Związek Zawodowy Literatów Polskich 1937, 46 s.
Zawartość
4. Będziemy biedni. Komedia w 3 aktach. [Współautor:] K.I. Gałczyński. Powst. 1938.
Adaptacje
radiowe
5. Święto Winkelrida. Widowisko w 3 aktach. Napisane wiosną 1944 przez J. Zagórskiego skrócone latem 1946. [Współautor:] J. Andrzejewski. „Twórczość” 1946 z 7/8 s. 120-173. Wyd. osobne Kraków: Związek Zawodowy Literatów Polskich [1946], 59 s. Wyd. nast. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy 1957. Prapremiera: Reżyseria i inscenizacja: K. Dejmek. Łódź, Teatr Nowy 1956.
Przekłady
francuski
6. Indie w środku Europy. Łódź: Książka 1947, 144 s.
Zawartość
7. Wieczór w Wieliszewie. [Wiersze]. Kraków: Książka [1947], 74 s.
Zawartość
8. Czarni pod gwiaździstym sztandarem. [Współautor:] J. Korczak. Powst. 1950. Druk fragmentów „Echo Tygodnia” 1950 nr 15.
9. Wiersze wybrane. Warszawa: Czytelnik 1951, 52 s.
Zawartość
10. Męska pieśń. [Wiersze]. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 1954, 108 s.
Zawartość
11. Czas Lota. Wybór poezji. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy 1956, 262 s.
Zawartość
12. Olimp i ziemia. Moralitet z pantomimami (3 akty, 6 odsłon wierszem). „Kultura”, Paryż 1957 nr 9 s. 52-94. Wyd. osobne Paryż: Instytut Literacki 1957, 46 s. Przedruk „Dialog” 1989 nr 6 s. 5-43.
13. Szkice. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 1958, 423 s.
Zawartość
14. Krawędź. [Wiersze]. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy 1959, 108 s.
Zawartość
15. Calendarium Radomiensis. [Utwór dramatyczny]. Prapremiera: Kielce, Radom, Teatr im. S. Żeromskiego 1960.
16. Bajka pienińska. [Wiersze]. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 1961, 90 s.
17. Naszyjnik Serafity. (Dramat w 3 aktach). „Dialog” 1961 nr 12 s. 5-55.
18. Szkice z podróży w przestrzeni i czasie. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 1962, 261 s.
Zawartość
19. Biały bez. Wiersze dla żony. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 1963, 67 s. Przedruk zob. poz. ↑.
20. Kongres w Farsafii. [Utwór dramatyczny]. Prapremiera: Reżyseria: J. Marso. Warszawa, Akademicki Teatr Prób „Centon” 1963.
21. Oto nurt. [Wiersze]. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy 1963, 41 s.
Nagrody
22. Pancerni. Poemat. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej 1964, 123 s.
Adaptacje
radiowe
23. Królestwo ryb. Poemat. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy 1967, 32 s.
24. Rykoszetem. [Wiersze]. Warszawa: Czytelnik 1969, 51 s.
25. Tam gdzie diabeł pisze listy. [Reportaże]. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Ossolineum 1970, 297 s.
26. Poezje wybrane. Wybór wierszy i słowo wstępne: J. Zagórski. Nota biograficzna: J. Bandrowska-Wróblewska. [Warszawa:] Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza1972, 139 s.
27. Komputerie i dylematy. [Wiersze]. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 1975, 61 s.
Zawartość
28. Wybór wierszy. Wyboru dokonał autor. Wstęp: J. Rogoziński. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy 1977, 244 s.
29. Z Żoliborza na Syjon. [Dzienniki]. Powst. 1978-1979. Druk „Przegląd Powszechny” 1987 nr 7/8 s. 123-132, nr 9 s. 323-336, nr 12 s. 416-429; 1988 nr 1 s. 100-124.
30. Białe bzy. [Wiersze]. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 1982, 85 s.
Zawartość
31. Poezje. Warszawa: Czytelnik 1983, 325 s.
Zawartość
32. Nie mrużmy powiek. [Wybór wierszy]. Warszawa: Warszawska Niezależna Oficyna Poetów i Malarzy*; Przedświt* 1985, 38 s.
33. Poezje wybrane. Wybór i wstęp: R. Matuszewski. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 1991, 248 s.
Zawartość
34. Pisma zebrane. Oprac. : T. Bujnicki. Kraków: Collegium Columbinum 2013, 129 s. Biblioteka Tradycji, nr 74.
35. Wiersze wybrane. Wybór i posłowie: Ż. Nalewajk. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Ośrodek „Brama Grodzka-Teatr NN” 2019, 99 s. Biblioteka zapomnianych poetów, 16.
Listy
Wydania osobne tekstów piosenek z nutami, m.in.
Utwory niepublikowane
Utwory w maszynopisach znajdujące się w Muzeum Literatury im. A. Mickiewicza w Warszawie, m.in.
Przekłady utworów literackich w antologiach zagranicznych
białoruski
francuski
niemiecki
rosyjski
serbski
Przekłady
Inne przekłady
Wydania osobne przekładów pieśni i piosenek z nutami, m.in.
Niepublikowane przekłady w maszynopisach znajdujące się w Muzeum Literatury im. A. Mickiewicza w Warszawie, m.in.
Prace redakcyjne
Omówienia i recenzje
• Ankiety dla IBL PAN 1951, 1955.
• Informacje syna, Włodzimierza Zagórskiego, 2004.
Autor o sobie
Wywiady
Słowniki i bibliografie
Ogólne
Książki
Artykuły
Ostrze mostu
Przyjście wroga
Wyprawy
Święto Winkelrida
Zob. też Autor o sobie.
