Mrożek, one of the world’s most famous Polish writers, was born on June 29, 1930 in town of Borzęcin. After the Second World War he took up studies in Krakow, enrolling on several courses but completing none. However, the most interested in the world of art, he devoted himself to it entirely. Mrożek debuted in 1950 as a cartoonist, and three years later he already had his own comic strip in the prestigious “Przekrój” weekly based in Krakow. In 1953 he also debuted as writer – author of “Tales from Bumblebee Hill” and “Practical Half-Armours”. Mrożek’s first theatre play – “The Police” – premiered in 1958. He rose to international fame in 1964 with his play “Tango”, and then his other works include “The Émigrés”, “Love in the Crimea”,” The Elephant”. Plays by Mrożek appeal to a universal audience, which explains why they continue to be performed the world over.
In 1963 Mrożek emigrated from Poland, moving from the Italia to Paris, the United States, Germany and Mexico, where he met his Mexico-born wife Susana Oreiro-Mrożek. As an active artist, he kept a keen interest in Polish affairs. In 1968, the French press published his protest against the Warsaw Pact intervention in Czechoslovakia. In December 1981, he also criticised the introduction of the martial law in Poland.
In 1996, Mrożek returned to Poland, settling down in Krakow. After a 2002 stroke he began to suffer from aphasia, losing his linguistic faculties, both oral and written ones. Following a therapy he recovered the capacity to communicate, and the first book he wrote after the stroke –“Baltazar. An Autobiography” – was dedicated to people suffering from aphasia. He managed to write down the story of his life until the 29th year of life, so the book focuses on the author’s childhood in Borzęcin and Krakow, as well as his student times.
In 2008 he emigrated again, settling down with his wife in Nice, on the French Riviera. Mrożek would pay brief visits to Poland, usually to meet readers or receive prizes and distinctions.
Photo © Mariusz Kubik
Source: www.poland.gov.pl,