Czeslaw Milosz entered the world on June 30, 1911, in the quaint village of Szetejnie, nestled within the enchanting landscapes of Lithuania. He was born to Aleksander, a dedicated civil engineer, and Weronika (Kunat) Milosz. As Milosz transitioned into his high school years in Wilno (now known as Vilnius), the winds of change enveloped Lithuania as it became a part of Poland. In 1929, he embarked on a new chapter at the University of Wilno, delving into the intricacies of law. It was during this time that he emerged as a notable figure within the Catastrophic School, a literary circle, and unveiled his first collection of poetry, Poem on Time Frozen in 1933. By 1934, Milosz had earned his master's degree in law and ventured to Paris for further studies. Upon returning to Poland, he published his second poetry collection, Three Winters (1936), while contributing to a radio station in both Wilno and later in Warsaw. In 1939, as the thunderous march of German and Soviet forces swept into Poland, igniting World War II, Milosz remained steadfast in a besieged Warsaw, penning works for the clandestine resistance. In the wake of the war, his third poetry collection, Rescue (1945), was released in communist Poland, solidifying his status as a luminary in the pantheon of Polish literature.

Following these tumultuous times, Milosz took on the role of second secretary at the Polish embassy in Washington, D.C., over the span of more than four years. Eventually, he was posted to Paris, where he orchestrated a dramatic defection to the West. Milosz made Paris his home until 1960, during which he prolifically shared his literary genius with the world. Among his works were the insightful nonfiction book, The Captive Mind (1953), and two evocative novels: The Seizure of Power (1955), capturing the essence of his experiences in war-torn Poland, and The Issa Valley (1955). Further enriching his repertoire were A Treatise on Poetry (1957) and his introspective autobiography, Native Realm (1958). His novel, The Seizure of Power, earned him the esteemed Prix Littéraire Européen.

In 1960, Milosz embarked on a new journey across the Atlantic to the United States. By 1961, he was imparting his knowledge as a professor of Slavic languages and literature at the University of California at Berkeley. Between 1962 and 1974, he gifted the literary world with four Polish poetry collections: King Popiel and Other Poems (1962), Bobo’s Metamorphosis (1965), City Without a Name (1969), and From Where the Sun Rises to Where It Sets (1974). The release of his Selected Poems in 1973 marked the first time many of his verses were available in the English language, followed by Bells in Winter in 1978.

Determined to bridge cultural divides, Milosz dedicated himself to bringing Polish literature to the English-speaking world. He published translations of Polish poetry and nonfiction, including the comprehensive The History of Polish Literature (1970). In addition, he translated works of renowned English writers like Shakespeare, Milton, Eliot, and Whitman into Polish.

The year 1980 heralded a crowning achievement for Milosz when he was honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature. That same year, his poetry collections were unveiled in Poland for the first time. A year later, in 1981, he traveled to Poland after an absence of three decades. In 1982, he released his tenth book of poetry, Hymn to a Pearl. His complete works, The Collected Poems, were published in English in 1988.

In 1990, the United States recognized Milosz’s contributions with the National Medal of Arts. Soon after, he was inducted into the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. The accolades continued as Poland’s president bestowed upon him the prestigious Order of the White Eagle in 1994.