Zbigniew Herbert was born in Lwow in 1922. During the war, he began
studying Polish literature at the clandestine Jan Kazimierz University.
He also came into contact with the Home Army resistance movement. In 1944,
in Cracow he began studying in the Fine Arts Academy. He also studied law
and philosophy. Herbert moved to Warsaw in 1950. His first book of poetry,
STRING OF LIGHT, came out only in 1956.
The poet and essayist, author of plays and radio dramas he was a regular
contributor to "Tygodnik Powszechny", while also publishing in many other
domestic and emigré journals. In December, 1975, he was a signatory
of the "Protest of 59" against the planned changes in the Polish constitution.
He joined the editorial staff of the illegal magazine "Zapis" in 1981,
and went to France, where he lived for several years afterwards, in 1986.
After returning to Poland, he lived in Warsaw until his death in 1998. |
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