BŁOŃSKI Jan

Born on 15 January 1931 in Warsaw; son of the civil servant Józef Błoński and Jadwiga, née Lewandowska. His grandmother was French, meaning that he grew up bilingual. He spent the German occupation in Warsaw. After World War II, he moved to Torun where, in 1948, he completed his advanced secondary education exams at the Nicolaus Copernicus Grammar School. He subsequently moved to Krakow where he studied Polish philology at the Jagiellonian University (UJ). He made his debut as a critic in 1949 with the article Poezja Różewicza (Różewicz's Poetry), which appeared in the monthly "Twórczość" (issue 7). From 1950 until 1960, he was editor of the literary section of the weekly "Przekrój", where he published texts, including articles promoting French culture. In 1951, he married Teresa Płońska, then a medicine student and later a paediatrician. The same year, he joined the Polish Writers' Union (ZLP). He graduated from UJ with a master's degree in 1952. He developed his output as a literary critic, collaborating with periodicals including "Życie Literackie" (1952-70; including in 1967 the column series Powtórki krytyczne [Critical repetitions]), as well as with "Nowa Kultura" (1952-62), "Twórczość" (1955-58 and 1967-72), "Dialog" (1956-63 and 1966-1978) and "Przegląd Kulturalny" (1956-63; including the column series Bez względów [Regardless; 1956] i Moje narzekania [My complaints; 1962]). From 1959 to 1962 (and again in 1967/68), he was a senior research assistant at the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IBL PAN). In his research, he focused on contemporary literature, initially poetry and then later also prose and plays. Between 1961 and 1966, he and his family lived in Sarcelles, France (with short breaks for holidays in Poland) and he was a tutor at the Faculty of Literature and Humanities at the Sorbonne. After returning to Poland, he was appointed literary director of the Stary Theatre in Krakow, serving from 1 June 1967 to the end of the 1970/71 season and again from 1 September 1977 to 31 August 1981. He was awarded a doctorate in the humanities from IBL in 1968 for his dissertation Dramaty Stanisława Ignacego Witkiewicza (Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz's Plays). He was supervised by Prof. Kazimierz Wyka. The follow year, he was a awarded a habilitation degree for his book Mikołaj Sęp Szarzyński a początki polskiego baroku (Mikołaj Sęp Szarzyński and the origins of the Polish Baroque). He received the prize of the Geneva-based Kościelski Foundation in 1968 in recognition of this book and his entire oeuvre. He was appointed senior lecturer at UJ in 1970. He was co-founder and then editor-in-chief from 1972 to 1974 of the bimonthly "Teksty", which was published by IBL. He then served on the journal's editorial board until it was suspended in 1981. He joined the Polish PEN Club in 1972. From 1974 to 1976, he was a lecturer at the University of Clermont-Ferrand. He was also a visiting professor there in 1984/85, 1988/89 and then intermittently to 1994. Upon his return to Krakow, he continued to work at the Institute of Polish Philology at UJ where between 1977 and 1980 he was head of the Theatre Department. In 1979, he was made a member of the jury of the Geneva-based Kościelski Prize, serving on the Foundation's Council from 1989. In 1980, he was also a visiting professor at the University of Paris X (Paris-Nanterre). The same year, he was elected to the Main Board of the ZLP, serving until the Union was dissolved in 1983. He was appointed associated professor and prorector of of UJ in 1981, serving in the latter role until 1984. He was also a member of the Scientific Council of IBL PAN and of the Scientific Society of the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL). In 1981, he became a co-editor of the Ossolineum publication series Biblioteka Narodowa (National Library), serving in this role until 1995. During this time, his achievements included founding the series' third strand, Biblioteka Narodowa – Dla młodzieży (National Library – For younger readers). In the 1980s, he won prizes including the Kazimierz Wyka award for essays in literary history and literary criticism (1981), the prize of the Minister of Science, Higher Education and Technology – second class (1982) and the New York-based Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation (1983). During this period, he also published articles and reviews in periodicals including "Tygodnik Powszechny", "Więź" and "Twórczość". He was a visiting fellow at the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (Institute for Human Science, IWM) in Vienna in 1985/86. He served on the board of the Association Internationale de Littérature Comparée (International Comparative Literature Association) from 1985 to 1991. From 1989 to 1991, he was director of the Institute of Polish Philology at UJ. He was made full professor in 1989. The same year, he joined the newly-founded Association of Polish Writers (SPP), serving on its Main Board. In 1989, he also became co-editor of the series Dramat w Teatrze, Teatr w Dramacie (Drama in Theatre, Theatre in Drama), published by the Wroclaw-based publishing house Wiedza o Kulturze. He was also appointed to the editorial boards of the periodicals "Res Publica" and "NaGłos", while becoming a regular contributor to the journal "Teksty Drugie". In 1990, he was appointed chair of the Polish Committee of the European Cultural Foundation while in 1991 he was made a corresponding member of the Philological Section of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (PAU). He was a member of the Committee of Scientific Research (1991-93) and the Committee on Polish Literary Studies at PAN from 1993. He was involved until 2005 in the Council for Polish-Jewish Relations of the President of the Republic of Poland, which was founded in 1991. He was a co-founder of the Judaica Foundation Centre for Jewish Culture, which was established in Krakow in 1993. He chaired the Foundation Council from 2001. Between 1995 and 1997, he held the Chair of Twentieth-Century Polish Literature at UJ. In 1996, he conceived the publication series Biblioteka Polska (Polish Library) for the Universitas publishing house (Towarzystwo Autorów i Wydawców Prac Naukowych Universitas). He served as its editor-in-chief to 2004. He chaired the jury of the prestigious Nike literary prize between 1996 and 2001. He was awarded the Prize of the City of Krakow in 2002. Owing to ill health, he limited his academic activities in the final years of his life. He was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit in 1975, as well as the Knight's Cross (1982), the Officer's Cross (1998) and the Commander's Cross (2006) of the Order of Polonia Restituta. In 2007, he received the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis. He lived in Krakow. He died on 10 February 2009 and is buried at the Salwator Cemetery in Krakow. He was posthumously awarded the Father Stanisław Musiał Prize in 2009, which is funded by the rector of the Jagiellonian University and by the mayor of Krakow in recognition of contributions to Polish-Jewish reconciliation.