A poet, novelist, literary critic, and authority on and translator of Serbo-Croatian literature, Julian Kornhauser was born in Gliwice in 1946.

He is one of the most outstanding and most enduring oroponents of the "New Wave" poetry of the 1970s, when he took part in the opposition to communist authorities. As a poet he has always been an individualist. Aside from the New Wave’s sensitivity to falsehoods inherent in public discourse, he has exhibited an original and often surrealistic imagination and a wide range of poetic means and subjects, from reporting on scenes from everyday life to unusual visions imbued with symbolic language. Kornhauser's work is marked by a consciousness of being a citizen and a part of a generation, of the need to defend basic values. Yet it is also lyrically attuned to its own very personal truths and experiences. His prose relies on subjective experiences, exploiting his own spiritual biography and the collective biography of his generation. Kornhauser's novels reveal the fascinating story of a young boy coming to terms with his Jewish origins, with domestic traditions and the domination of his father. Then the boy matures intellectually through reading and having discussions with his peers, in the face of unusually strong pressure from the political sphere. The author shows us how his own personality was shaped amid such diverse influences.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

poetry:

• Nastanie święto i dla leniuchów, Warszawa: Iskry, 1972.
• W fabrykach udajemy smutnych rewolucjonistów, Kraków: WL, 1973.
• Zabójstwo, Kraków: wyd. własne poza cenzurą, 1973.
• Stan wyjątkowy, Warszawa: PIW, 1978.
• Zjadacze kartofli, Kraków, WL, 1978.
• Zasadnicze trudności, Warszawa: Czytelnik, 1979.
• Każdego następnego dnia, Kraków: ABC, 1981.
• Tyle rzeczy niezwykłych. Wiersze dla Agatki, Kraków: WL, 1981.
• Hurrraaa!, Kraków: WL, 1982.
• Inny porządek: 1981-1984, Kraków: Oficyna Literacka, 1985.
• Za nas, z nami, Warszawa: Czytelnik, 1985.
• Wiersze z lat osiemdziesiątych, Kraków: WL, 1991.
• Kamyk i cień, Poznań: a5, 1996.
• Było, minęło, Warszawa: Nowy świat, 2001.
• Księżyc jak mandarynka, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2003.
• Origami, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2006.
• Tylko błędy są żywe, Poznań: WBPiCAK, 2015

novels:

• Kilka chwil, Kraków: WL, 1975.
• Stręczyciel idei, Kraków, WL, 1980.
• Dom, sen i gry dziecięce. Opowieść sentymentalna, Kraków: Znak, 1995.

essays:

• Międzyepoka. Szkice o poezji i krytyce, Kraków: Baran i Suszczyński, 1995.
• Postscriptum: notatnik krytyczny, Kraków: WL, 1999.
• Uśmiech sfinksa: o poezji Zbigniewa Herberta, Kraków: WL, 2001.
• Poezja i codzienność, Kraków: WL, 2003.

TRANSLATIONS

Bulgarian:

• Osa zad stykłoto [Wybór wierszy], Sofia: AngoBoy, 1997.

Croatian:

• Kuća, sam i djecje igre [Dom, sen i gry dziecięce], Lubjana: Egzil ABC, 1996.

Dutch:

• Poetri, Rotterdam: Rotterdamse Kunststichtung, 1986.

English:

• Been and Gone [polsko-angielski wybór wierszy], trans. Piotr Florczyk, Michigan: Marick Press, 2009

German:

• Zuhause, Traum und Kinderspiele [Dom, sen i gry dziecięce], Potsdamer: Deutsches Kulturforum Östliches Europa, 2003.

Serbian:

• Nacelne teskoće [wybór wierszy], Vrsac: Knjizevna Opstina, 1989.
• Kamicak i senka [Kamień i cień], Beograd: Pismo, 1998.
• Signalizam [Sygnalizm], Prosveta, 1998.