ZIOMEK Jerzy

Born on 7 August 1924 in Dąbrowa Górnicza; son of the trader Mieczysław Ziomek and Maria, née Szetler. He began his secondary education in his home town. He remained in Dąbrowa Górnicza, which was incorporated into the German Reich, following the outbreak of World War II. He initially worked in his father's shop before becoming an office assistant in the Będzin Land and Property Office (Grundstücksgesellschaft), where he worked until January 1945. After the end of the war, he continued his education at the W. Łukasiński Secondary School in Dąbrowa Górnicza. He completed his advanced secondary education in 1946 and started a degree in Polish philology at the Faculty of Humanities at Wroclaw University and Polytechnic (which in 1952 became the University of Wroclaw, UWr). He was a member of the Union of Independent Socialist Youth from 1946 to 1948 and then of the Union of Academic Polish Youth from 1948 to 1950. He made his debut in 1946 with the article Kilka gorzkich uwag o antyhumanizmie (A few bitter remarks about anti-humanism), which appeared in the Krakow-based weekly "Młoda Rzeczpospolita" (no. 9). His first scholarly article, Cytat literacki w „Trylogii ”Henryka Sienkiewicza (Literary references in Henryk Sienkiewicz's Trilogy) appeared in "Pamiętnik Literacki" in 1947. He continued to collaborate with the journal intermittently until 1962. From 1948, he combined his studies with research and teaching as a research assistant at UWr and at the Wroclaw-based Department of the Enlightenment (Pracownia Oświecenia, which later became the Department of the History of Enlightenment Literature at the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences – IBL PAN). He married the Polish philologist Ewa Chodźko in 1949. He graduated from UWr in 1950 with a master's degree and subsequently remained active in teaching and research, working primarily on Old Polish and Enlightenment-era literature, as well as literary theory. His articles and reviews, including pieces on contemporary literature and culture, appeared during this period in periodicals including the "Ekran Tygodnia" supplement of the daily "Gazeta Robotnicza" (1947-49; including pieces under the bylines (j.zmk.) and P. Konoszewicz), the quarterly "Zeszyty Wrocławskie" (1948-52; including pieces under the byline Konoszewicz) and the weekly "Nowa Kultura" (1952-54). zmk.). He joined the ruling United Polish Workers' Party (PZPR) in 1951. He was awarded a doctoral degree the same year for his dissertation Publicystyka Kuźnicy Kołłątajowskiej (The journalism of Kołłątaj's Kuźnica [The Forge]). He was supervised by Prof. Tadeusz Mikulski. In 1952, he was appointed lecturer at UWr. In 1953, he was made to transfer to the University of Poznan (which became the Adam Mickiewicz University, UAM in 1955), where he was employed as an acting professor. Following an application from the Scientific Council of IBL PAN, he made senior lecturer. He was twice awarded the prize of the Minister of Higher Education (for 1952/53 and 1953/54). Between 1954 and 1956, he was vice dean of the Faculty of Philology at UAM. In 1957, he was editor of the philology section of the UAM journal "Zeszyty Naukowe UAM". His articles and reviews appeared in periodicals and journals including "Rocznik Literacki" (1955-57 in the Old Polish Literature section) and "Tygodnik Zachodni" (1958-60). He continued to write for "Nowa Kultura" (1958-61). In late 1959 and early 1960, he spent several months working as a Polish language tutor at the Sorbonne in Paris. After returning to Poland, he held the Chair of Polish Literature at UAM from 1960 until 1969. From 1961 to 1965, he was dean of the University's Faculty of Philology. He was a member of the Committee on Literary Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences from 1961, serving on its Praesidium from 1972. He remained active as a researcher, focusing primarily on the theme of literary-historical processes and translation theory. He was also active as a theatre critic, serving as editor-in-chief of the periodical "Proscenium" (1963-64; he published articles here intermittently until 1966, including some under the byline J.Z.). He occasionally published theatre reviews and texts about theatre in the periodicals "Teatr" (1965-67) and "Nurt" (intermittently, 1966-75). In 1963/64, he was a regular theatre reviewer and commentator for the Poznan station of Polish Television. He joined the Polish Writers' Union in 1964, remaining a member until its dissolution in 1983. He served as deputy chair of the Poznan Branch from 1966 to 1968. In 1965, he was made associate professor at UAM and joined the University's Senate (to 1966). He continued to collaborate with IBL PAN, where he had an employment contract until December 1970 (with the exception of the 1962-64 period) and participated in research projects there. He served on the IBL Scientific Council from 1966 (as deputy chair 1984-89) and was a member of its doctoral commission from 1969, becoming its deputy chair in 1985. He was co-editor of the IBL publication series Studia Staropolskie (Old Polish Studies) between 1966 and 1972, before serving on its editorial committee. From 1968 to 1970, he was head of the Department of the History of 16th-Century Polish Literature at IBL in Warsaw. He was also literary director of the Leon Kruczkowski Lubuski Theatre in Zielona Góra from 1967 to 1971 (and also of its Puppet Theatre in 1970/71). In 1968/69, he was editor of the Zielona Góra-based theatre periodical "Zeszyty Teatralne", while in 1972/73 he was literary director of the New (Nowy) Theatre in Poznan. In 1969, he founded and chaired the Department of Literary Theory at the Institute of Polish Philology at UAM. It was renamed the Chair of Literary Theory with the Centre for Comparative Literature in 1988. His essays, articles and reviews appeared during this period in the bi-monthly "Teksty" (intermittently 1972-78) while he also returned to writing for "Pamiętnik Literacki" (intermittently 1974-90). In 1980, he signed the Appeal of 64 intellectuals, writers and journalists that was addressed to the communist authorities, imploring them to enter into dialogue with the striking dockyard workers. He was awarded the prize of the Minister of Science, Higher Education and Technology – second class, in 1981. He was appointed full professor in 1983. In 1990, he was awarded the prize of the Minister of Education – first class, in recognition of his achievements in training academic staff. He was the recipient of honours including the Gold Cross of Merit in 1954, the Honorary Medal of the City of Szczecin in 1966, the Honorary Medal of the City of Zielona Góra in 1971 the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 1976, the Medal of the Commission of National Education in 1976, and the Honorary Medal of the Poznan Voivodeship in 1979. He died on 13 October 1990 in Puszczykowo near Poznan. He is buried at the Junikowo Cemetery in Poznan.