Norwid, Cyprian K.

Norwid, Cyprian
Poet, sculptor, philosopher, writer. Born in 1821 in Laskowo-Gluchy near Warsaw, Poland. Received all education in Poland. In 1842 left Poland and studied sculpture and painting in Italy, Germany, France and Belgium. In 1852 sailed for United States of America spending two years in New York City. In 1854 returned to Paris where he settled and lived in poverty until his death in 1883. Some of his writings are: "Promethidion," "Krakus," "Zwolona," "Wanda," "Wigilia," "Sursum Corda," "Fortepian Chopina," "Kleopatra Stygmat."
From: "Who's Who in Polish America" by Rev. Francis Bolek, Editor-in-Chief; Harbinger House, New York, 1943
Norwid, Cyprian Kamil -- writer, graphic artist
Of all Polish writers, Cyprian Norwid (1821-1883) was perhaps the least understood in his lifetime. Regarded by his contemporaries as a gifted writer, he was nevertheless treated as an eccentric. Unable to find a regular publisher, he was forced to rely on the support of friends. Fiercely independent to the end, he lived in dire poverty subsisting on a meager stipend from a friend as a resident of a Charity House run by Polish Sisters. When he died in 1883, his work was mostly unpublished. Norwid, however, had an abiding faith in the quality of his work and often wrote that posterity would discover and appreciate him.
And so it turned out to be. Norwid has found an audience among the educated elite ln Poland. His 19th century dictums fascinate his 20th century readers. In spite of his difficult style, Norwid is rated by some critics as one of the most important influences in Polish literature today. The fact that he was memorialized in one of the most popular National Parks in the United States (Harpers Ferry National Historic Park in West Virginia) seems to be a fulfillment of his prophesy. He alone of all the great national poets of Poland has attained this singular honor.
The National Park Service became interested in the Cyprian Norwid sculpture when its historians learned about Norwid's poems addressed to John Brown. In them Norwid expressed sympathy for the humanistic anti-slavery ideals which motivated Brown in his attack on the Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry on October 16, 1859. According to Park historians, no other non-American literary personality is known to have responded to John Brown's cataclysmic act. In one of his poems written six years before the first shots of the American Civil War, Norwid predicted an uprising of the American people.
From: Wally West