TheMorawOne
kiwifarms.net
I thought, that because kiwis are an international bunch, there must be certainly some members who would love to share their nation's works.
Being Polish, I must recommend Adam Mickiewicz, usually considered the greatest poet that ever wrote in Polish language, even though Lithuanians and Belarussians consider him as their own. He is also known for having long-time beef with another great romantic poet Juliusz Słowacki. Their rivalry escalated to the point of dissing Słowacki's stepfather in Mickiewicz's most important work Dziady, part III. Also known for translating Byron into Polish.
Some of the more contemporary poets are Wisława Szymborska (Nobel Prize), Czesław Miłosz (Nobel Prize), Zbigniew Herbert, Władysław Broniewski (His works are sometimes called "revolutionary lyric". After WW2 he was considered a traitor, because he started writing socrealist poetry, but still great to read). However, my favourite is Jacek Kaczmarski. He was a great singer and a poet, spiritual student on Vladimir Vysotsky. Through whole his life, he tried not to be engaged in politics, yet his songs became anthems of anti-communist movements. Themes in his songs ranged from history, social commentary to paintings. Unfortunately, he had a drinking problem and his chain smoking (which he picked on just to make his voice more gritty, like Vysotsky's) led to him developing a throat cancer. He refused to have it cut, because the operation might destroy his vocal chords. The result is obvious:
. He died on 10 April 2004.
No point in crying and howling.
Until there is blood in my veins,
I'll be the first to kill my own brother,
If he scowls "we're no longer wolves".
Jacek Kaczmarski, "Obława II"
Also, we had one fantastic Sci-fi author, in the person of Stanisław Lem. His works were so good, that Phillip K. Dick wrote a letter to CIA, that LEM must be a cryptonym of a Soviet propaganda cell, that is trying to indoctrinate Americans trough science fiction.
Being Polish, I must recommend Adam Mickiewicz, usually considered the greatest poet that ever wrote in Polish language, even though Lithuanians and Belarussians consider him as their own. He is also known for having long-time beef with another great romantic poet Juliusz Słowacki. Their rivalry escalated to the point of dissing Słowacki's stepfather in Mickiewicz's most important work Dziady, part III. Also known for translating Byron into Polish.
Some of the more contemporary poets are Wisława Szymborska (Nobel Prize), Czesław Miłosz (Nobel Prize), Zbigniew Herbert, Władysław Broniewski (His works are sometimes called "revolutionary lyric". After WW2 he was considered a traitor, because he started writing socrealist poetry, but still great to read). However, my favourite is Jacek Kaczmarski. He was a great singer and a poet, spiritual student on Vladimir Vysotsky. Through whole his life, he tried not to be engaged in politics, yet his songs became anthems of anti-communist movements. Themes in his songs ranged from history, social commentary to paintings. Unfortunately, he had a drinking problem and his chain smoking (which he picked on just to make his voice more gritty, like Vysotsky's) led to him developing a throat cancer. He refused to have it cut, because the operation might destroy his vocal chords. The result is obvious:
No point in crying and howling.
Until there is blood in my veins,
I'll be the first to kill my own brother,
If he scowls "we're no longer wolves".
Jacek Kaczmarski, "Obława II"
Also, we had one fantastic Sci-fi author, in the person of Stanisław Lem. His works were so good, that Phillip K. Dick wrote a letter to CIA, that LEM must be a cryptonym of a Soviet propaganda cell, that is trying to indoctrinate Americans trough science fiction.
