Adam Asnyk

Adam Asnyk was born on September 11, 1838 in Kalisz. He was the son of Kazimierz Asnyk, a political dissident and leather trader. Asnyk studied in Kalisz until 1856, after which he moved to Warsaw to study at the Institute of Farming and Forestry, the Medical-Surgical Academy in Warsaw, and at universities in Wrocław from 1859 to 1860. Asnyk, like his father, was part of the pro-Polish independence movement and was arrested and imprisoned in the Warsaw Citadel in 1860. He also partook in the January Uprising serving as a member of the September, or Red, Government. During his studies at the Ruprecht and Charles University in Heidelberg, Asnyk began writing while working on a doctorate in philosophy. His works from this period mirrored his spiritual dilemma after the defeat of the January Uprising, grappling with themes of bitterness, blasphemy, and rebellion. From 1870, Asnyk’s writing turned more towards the genre of erotyk, poems based on folk motifs. He also translated poetry and prose into the Polish language.

Asnyk died in August of 1897 in Kraków.

Works included in our catalog: Oto płakałem we śnie (translation of Heine’s poem)