Biography

• 1923
  Wislawa Szymborska was born on the 2nd July in Bnin ( near Poznan ). She lives in Kornik (by Bnin ). Her parents are: Anna Rottermund and Wincenty Szymborski. She has one sister Maria Nowojka ( born in 1917 ).
  
• 1926
  Szymborska's family moves to Torun. There she starts to attend an elementary school.
  
• 1931
  Szymborska with her family moves to Cracow. There she finishes her elementary education she attends to a convent school. There she makes " little matriculation ".
  She started to write in childhood.
  
• 1936
  Szymborska's father dies.
  
• 1939-1945
  The second world war. She makes normal matriculation in a secret study group. She writes novels ( not published ) and songs.
  
• 1943
  Szymborska works for a railroad company as an official ( to avoid transportation to a labour camp in Germany ).
  
• 14 March 1945
  Poetic debut made by Szymborska in "Walka" ("Fight")- a supplement to the Cracow newspaper "Dziennik Polski" ("Polish Daily") - with her poem "I seek the word".
  
• 1945
  She starts studying sociology after giving up her studies in Polish on Jagiellonian University. After the war many Cracow's writers lived in one tenement-house at 22 Krupnicza Street. From1945 Szymborska lives there with her husband Adam Wlodek. She parts with him (husband) in 1954, but until Adam's death they remain in close friendship. She published her poems in "Dziennik Literacki", "Pokolenie", "Odrodzenie".
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• 1949
  Szymborska wants to publish a volume with her poems, but her works are not allowed to be printed (there are no socialistic tendencies ).
  
• 1952
  She is the member of Polish Writers' Union. In this time she also joins the party - PZPR. She resigns in 1966. Published "That's what we live for".
  
• 1953
  Member of an editorial staff of "Zycie literackie" ("Literary life"). She carries on the poetry section until 1966.
  
• 1954
  She published "Questions put to myself"
  
• 1955
  She was promoted to a national prize.
  
• 1956
  Szymborska starts to travel abroad. She visits France, Denmark, Slovakia and USSR ((despite the fact thet she is a stay-at-home person and doesn't like to travel ).
  
• 1957
  She travels to Paris ( as a holder of a scholarship she receives from the Ministry of Culture and Art ) with her three colleagues from the Polish Writers' Union. After that she visits Paris several times. She also takes a few trips to Stockholm.
  Published "Calling out to Yeti".
  
• 1960
  Trip to USSR with three other writers.
  

• The 60's
  Szymborska receives Minister's of Culture and Art prize and the prize of city of Cracow.
  
• 1962
  Published "Salt".
  
• 1964
  Published "Selected poems" - a volume of the poems she wrote during the occupation and right after the war. Szymborska receives the Jurczykowski's Foundation Prize ( in USA ).
  She conducted the section "Literary post" ("Poczta literacka")of the newspaper "Zycie Warszawy" ("Warsaw Life"). After she resigned it she begun to write "Lektury Nadobowiazkowe" ("Optional Readings")( since 11.06.1967 - her first essay - until 1981 ).
  
• 1967
  Published "No end of fun".
  
• 1972
  Published "Could have".
  
• 1973
  Published "Lektury Nadobowiazkowe" ("Optional Readings") Part I ( as a book ).
  
• 1975
  Szymborska signs a memorial addresed to the Polish Parliament, so-called "letter 59".
  
• 1976
  Published "A large number".
  
• 1978
  She signs the founder's declaration of the Science Courses Association.
  
• 1980
  Szymborska receives the Pen Club Prize.
  
• 1981
  She ends her work in "Literary life".
  She becomes the member of the editorial staff in the monthly magazine "Pismo".
  Published the second part of the book "Lektury Nadobowiazkowe".
  Szymborska belongs to Cracow's literary underground.
  
• 1982
  She translates the poems of the French baroque writer Theodor Agrippy d'Aubergine.
  
• 1983
  Published "The anthology of Jewish poetry" - Szymborska translated the poems of Icyk Manger.
  She is a member of an organization that was founded after the dissolution of Polish Writers' Union.
  
• 1985
  Szymborska publishes several poems in the underground press.
  
• 1986
  Published "People on the Bridge".
  She receives the cultural prize of the Polish political party "Solidarnosc" after publishing the work mentioned above.
  
• 1988
  She enters the Pen Club.
  She is the member and initiator of Polish Writers' Association ( legalized in 1989 ).
  
• 1989
  Szymborska receives the ptize founded by Cracow's mayor.
  
• 1990
  Kallenbach's Foundation prize ( Switzerland ).
  
• 1992
  Goethe's prize ( Frankfurt, Germany ).
  Published the both parts of "Lektury Nadobowiazkowe" ("Optional Readings") and a few essays.
  
• 1993
  Published "The End and the Beginning".
  
• 1995
  Szymborska receives the title of doctor honoris cousa of the Mickiewicz's University in Poznan.
  Herder's prize ( Austria ).
  
• 1996
  Polish Pen Club's prize.
  
• 19 March 1996
  Nobel prize winner.
  

But this biography - this is nothing important. Szymborska thinks, that it is not necessary to know the writer's biography to understand a poem. You should analyse poems concerning the philosophy and the language. She doesn't like to write autobiographies she also doesn't like to be interviewed and she doesn't like talking about her private life. Therefore many facts about her are unknown.