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.