Sławomir Mrożek facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sławomir Mrożek
Warsaw, 21 May 2006
Born	(1930-06-29)29 June 1930 Borzęcin, Poland
Died	15 August 2013(2013-08-15) (aged 83) Nice, France
Occupation	Dramatist, writer
Nationality	Polish
Citizenship	Polish, French
Notable works	Tango The Police
Notable awards	Kościelski Award (1962) Austrian State Prize for European Literature (1972) Legion of Honour (2003) Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2013)
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Sławomir Mrożek (born June 29, 1930 – died August 15, 2013) was a famous Polish writer, playwright, and cartoonist. He was known for his unique and often funny plays.

Mrożek joined the Polish United Workers' Party, which was the main political party in Poland at the time. He started his career writing about politics for newspapers. In the late 1950s, he began writing plays. His plays are often called "absurdist fiction." This means they use strange or unrealistic events to make a point. They often made audiences think about politics and history in new ways.

In 1963, Mrożek moved away from Poland to live in Italy and France. He later lived in Mexico for a while. In 1996, he came back to Poland and lived in Kraków. He moved back to France in 2008. Sławomir Mrożek passed away in Nice, France, when he was 83 years old.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Sławomir Mrożek's family lived in Kraków during World War II. He finished high school in 1949. In 1950, he started his writing career as a political writer for a magazine called Przekrój.

In 1953, during a difficult time in Poland, Mrożek signed a letter. This letter supported the government's actions against some religious leaders. He later moved to Warsaw in 1959. In 1963, Mrożek traveled to Italy with his first wife, Maria Obremba. They decided to stay there. After five years in Italy, he moved to France. He became a French citizen in 1978.

After leaving Poland, Mrożek became critical of the Polish government. He also spoke out against the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia.

His first wife, Maria Obremba, died in 1969. Later, in 1987, he married Susana Osorio-Mrozek from Mexico. In 1996, he returned to Poland and settled in Kraków. In 2002, he had a stroke, which affected his ability to speak. It took him several years to recover. He left Poland again in 2008 and moved to Nice, France. Sławomir Mrożek died in Nice on August 15, 2013. He was buried in Kraków in September 2013.

Exploring Mrożek's Plays

Daniel Mróz illustration for Mrożek's 1957 book Słoń (The Elephant)

Mrożek's first play, The Police, was published in 1958. His first full-length play was Tango (1965). This play was about totalitarianism, a type of government where one person or group has total control. Tango used the style of the Theatre of the Absurd. This made Mrożek one of the most famous Polish playwrights around the world. Tango became his most successful play, performed in many countries.

In 1975, his second popular play, Emigranci (The Émigrés), was produced. It was a story about two Polish people living in Paris. Mrożek traveled to many European countries. After a time of military rule in Poland in 1981, Mrożek wrote a play called Alfa. This play was about the imprisoned leader of the Solidarity movement, Lech Wałęsa. Productions of Alfa and two other plays were banned during this time.

Mrożek's plays were often called "absurd" because the times people lived in often felt very strange and illogical.

List of Mrożek's Works

Here is a list of plays written by Sławomir Mrożek:

English Translations of His Works

Some of Sławomir Mrożek's works have been translated into English:

• Tango. New York: Grove Press, 1968.
• The Ugupu Bird (selected stories from: Wesele w Atomicach, Deszcz and an excerpt from Ucieczka na południe). London: Macdonald & Co., 1968.
• Vatzlav. London: Cape, 1972.
• The Elephant (Słoń). Westport: Greenwood Press, 1972.

See also

In Spanish: Sławomir Mrożek para niños