Gombrowicz, Witold (vē`tōld gŏmbrō`vĭch), 1904–69, Polish writer. After studying law at the Univ. of Warsaw, Gombrowicz published his first collection of short stories (1933). This was followed in 1937 by his brilliantly original satirical novel Ferdydurke (tr. 1961, new tr. 2000), which created a literary scandal. From 1938 to 1962 he lived in Buenos Aires, where he wrote a number of well-known diaries. His subsequent work was not published in Poland until the 1950s. Gombrowicz's reputation was established with the translation of his works into French, German, and English. From 1964 until his death Gombrowicz lived in France. His later major novels include Trans-Atlantyk (1953, tr. 1995), Pornografia (1960, tr. 1966) and Kosmos (1965; tr. Cosmos, 1967). Gombrowicz is recognized as an original satirist, an existential innovator who mingled the real with the unreal to convey a highly personal vision of the world. His plays include Princess Ivona (1938, tr. 1969) and The Marriage (1947, tr. 1969).

Bibliography

See his A Kind of Testament (tr. 1972); study by E. M. Thompson (1979).

Gombrowicz, Witold

(born Aug. 4, 1904, Maloszyce, Russian Empire—died July 25, 1969, Vence, France) Polish novelist, story writer, and dramatist. He is best known for his novel Ferdydurke (1937). He spent 24 years (1939–63) in voluntary exile in Buenos Aires, Arg., and later settled in France. His often bizarre and satirical works explore themes of sadomasochistic dependency and innate human immaturity, in sometimes eccentric prose. His writings were long banned in Poland, and he published his postwar works abroad, including the absurdist satires Trans-Atlantyk (1953), Pornografia (1960), and Kosmos (1965). His dramas anticipated the Theatre of the Absurd.