Pshibyshevskii [Przybyszewski], Stanislav [Stanisław] (1868 - 1927) Rits [Ritz], German, preface. Repina, I., compiler, comments.	Zaupokoinaia messa. Proza. P´esa. Esse. M., 'Agraf', 2002. [352 p.] (Simvoly vremeni [Series]	€20,00

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8 vo, publisher´s binding designed by Z. Iu. Buttaev. Stanisław Przybyszewski was a writer, poet, dramatist and essayist. Upon graduation from a German gymnasium in Toruń (Thorn), Przybyszewski went to Berlin to study architecture and medicine from 1889. In 1892 he edited 'Gazeta Robotnicza', the Polish socialist weekly appearing in Berlin. The following year he married the Norwegian writer Dagny Juel and in 1894-98 lived mostly in Norway. While in Germany and Norway, he stayed in close touch with the circles of international Bohemia; he was friends with Edvard Munch, Richard Dehmel, August Strindberg and others. From 1906 to 1918 he stayed in Munich. In 1917-18 he contributed to the Expressionist magazine 'Zdrój' which was published in Poznan. In 1919 he returned to Poland. He got involved in social responsibility projects - he was the champion and organizer of the construction of a Polish gymnasium and the Polish House in Gdansk. In 1924 he got employed at the Civil Office of the President of the Republic. An active man of letters till his last days, he was the author of a great many publications and gave tremendously popular public lectures. Przybyszewski's role in the Young Poland period goes beyond the facts contained in his curriculum vitae and, indeed, beyond what he wrote. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries he was a major figure, if not a prophet, of literary life. He had an eccentric personality.His scandalizing legend which included erotic excesses, drinking and the notorious divorce of Jadwiga and Jan Kasprowicz which he had caused. More than that, he was the one to formulate the main philosophical ideas of his generation in a most extreme and dramatic way, and did it through literary provocation. He earned fame in Berlin, where he became a hero of the international artistic community. It was in Berlin that he published his resonant essay 'Zur Psychologie des Individuums. I - Chopin und Nietzsche. II - Ola Hansson' 1892 as well as poems Totenmesse, 1895; Vigilien, 1895 ; De profundis, 1895 (Polish version 1900), and more. They introduced themes which would be central to all of his work: individualism, the metaphysical and social status of creative individuals, fate of geniuses, the sense of such attributes of genius as 'degeneration' and 'illness'. Przybyszewski's manifesto, affirmative of creative individuals as bearers of metaphysical insight, was targeted against the positivist program of socially involved art and the positivist concept of progressive natural and social evolution. His books violated taboos of social behaviour and were - intentionally - morally provocative, all of his books aroused intense public response. Translated into English, Italian, Russian, Yiddish and many other languages, his novels and essays had a major influence on the period's literature, particularly in Scandinavia and Central Europe. Przybyszewski played a major role in Polish cultural life as an artist, thinker and taboo-breaking provocateur. Writing in Polish as well as German, he was among the best-known Polish writers in Russia and Europe.'- Adopted from Halina Floryńska-Lalewicz.