He was born in the village of Kobiele Wielkie, near Radomsko in 1867. His parents wanted him to become an organist or a tailor but he was stubborn and run away several times. Even though the title of journeyman tailor is his only formal certificate of education, he started out by writing poetry and eventually became a Nobelist in literature. Władysław Stanisław Reymont – a Polish novelist and the 1924 laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known work is the award-winning four-volume great national epic “The Peasants” (Polish: “Chłopi”).
The reportage “Pilgrimage to Jasna Góra Monastery” was a turning point in his literary career. As a correspondent for Tygodnik Ilustrowany, Reymont blended into the crowd of pilgrimages and traveled all the way with them, creating the image of a fleeting community connected by a religious experience, consisting of various colorful individual figures.
polandiatravel.com/ Jasna Góra Monastery
During the next 10 years, Reymont wrote 4 large novels that became a permanent part of the history of literature. Władysław Reymont was very popular in communist Poland due to his style of writing and the symbolism he used, including socialist concepts, romantic portrayal of the agrarian countryside and toned criticism of capitalism, all present in literary realism. His work is widely attributed to the Young Poland movement, which featured decadence and literary impressionism.
culture.pl – “Portrait of Władysław Reymont” by Jacek Malczewski, 1905, oil on canvas, rep. FoKa / Forum. Reproduction of the Nobel Prize honorary diploma for Władysław Reymont, photo: rep. FoKa / Forum
Despite some connections with Young Poland’s poetics (mainly in terms of language), Reymont’s writing is based primarily on realistic depiction. One could accuse it of not having enough depth, but what remains is momentum, color and richness of details. As a result, his novels made excellent film material. In the Nobel Prize awarded novel “The Peasants” (Polish: “Chłopi”), Reymont created a complete and suggestive picture of country life, full of its authenticity, material reality, customs, behaviour and spiritual culture of the people. Moreover, it is authentic and written in the local dialect.
As a result, Reymont’s work is an inspiration for other artists. Dorota Kobiela, the author of “Loving Vincent” movie, created a new cinematic experience in the same painting technique that won the hearts of fans – “The Peasants” movie, based upon the Nobel Prize winning novel by Władyslaw Reymont.
In 2022 @PenguinClassics will publish Anna Zarenko’s luminous new translation of The Peasants – the first English translation of the novel since 1925, granting this celebrated epic the attention it has long deserved in the English language ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ipA1CeeFNW
— The Peasants Movie (@PeasantsMovie) June 21, 2021
We encourage you to check the rest of the articles regarding the Polish Nobel laureates series below:
THE POLISH NOBEL LAUREATES SERIES: MARIA SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE