Stefan Żeromski 1864–1925
He was born on 14 October 1864 in Strawczyn near Kielce into an impoverished noble family. He was the son of Wincenty Żeromski and Franciszka Józefa née Katerla.
In 1873, he began his education at an elementary school in Psary. The knowledge he acquired there helped him pass the entrance examinations to the Government Secondary School for Boys in Kielce the following year. During his school years, he lost both parents: his mother in 1879 and his father four years later. After their deaths, Żeromski supported himself mainly by giving private lessons. His first literary attempts date from his secondary-school years and included poems, plays and translations from Russian literature. His favourite teacher, the Polish-language teacher Antoni Gustaw Bem, played an important role in nurturing his literary development. The young writer made his debut in 1882, publishing a translation of Mikhail Lermontov’s poem The Desire in Tygodnik Mód i Powieści, and the work The Farmer’s Song in Przyjaciel Dzieci.
Financial difficulties and health problems prevented Żeromski from completing his secondary-school final examinations. In the autumn of 1886, he moved to Warsaw, where he enrolled in the Veterinary School. While involved in a clandestine educational movement and a student association of people from Kielce, he came into contact with the socialist movement. In 1888, he abandoned his studies and from then on supported himself mainly by tutoring children from wealthy noble families. From 1889, Żeromski’s works began appearing in Tygodnik Powszechny and Głos. In the latter, he published a correspondence entitled From Stopnica, signed with the pseudonym Iksmoreż. He also published his works under the names Józef Katerla, Maurycy Zych and Stefan Omżerski. In 1890, Żeromski moved to Nałęczów, where he continued giving private lessons. There he met Oktawia née Radziwiłłowicz Rodkiewiczowa, who became his wife in 1892. The same year brought him the opportunity to settle in Switzerland, in Rapperswil, where the Polish National Museum was located. The writer took up a position there as a librarian and worked, among other things, on cataloguing works concerning Adam Mickiewicz and Tadeusz Kościuszko.
In the summer of 1896, he returned to Nałęczów. His stay in Rapperswil enabled him to establish many new contacts. There he met writers as well as political and social activists, including Gabriel Narutowicz, Julian Marchlewski and Edward Abramowicz. In 1897, he obtained a position at the Zamoyski Estate Library and moved with his family to Warsaw. In September 1899, the writer’s son, Adam, was born. From 1905, Żeromski lived in Nałęczów, where, alongside his literary work, he devoted himself to social activities. He initiated the establishment of a People’s University, advocated for further-education courses and supported the creation of a people’s theatre. On his initiative, the “Światło” Society for the Advancement of Education was established in 1906. The turbulent period of the Revolution stimulated the writer’s activity. He wrote numerous articles and short stories and frequently changed his place of residence. He stayed, among other places, in Zakopane and Nałęczów, as well as in Italy, where he underwent treatment together with his son, who had inherited his father’s lung disease. From 1909 to 1912, he lived with his family in France. In 1913, Monika Żeromska, his only daughter, was born. Her mother, the painter Anna Zawadzka, was the writer’s second life partner and remained with him until his death.
The period of the First World War was a time when the writer became deeply involved in the affairs of his country. Among other positions, he served as an officer in the military department of the Supreme National Committee in Kraków and as deputy secretary of the Supreme Zakopane Committee. In 1918, Adam, the writer’s son, died. That same year, Żeromski was elected chairman of the National Council of the Republic of Zakopane. The first years of independence brought a renewed surge of creative energy. He returned to Warsaw and bought a house in Konstancin. In 1920, he became president of the Union of Professional Polish Writers. Together with Jan Kasprowicz and Władysław Kozicki, he participated in the plebiscite campaign in Warmia and Masuria. Closely associated with Poland’s Baltic coast, he chaired the Society of Friends of Pomerania. He spent the final months of his life in an apartment in the Royal Castle in Warsaw, which had been provided to him by the President. In 1925, on Stefan Żeromski’s initiative, the Polish branch of PEN Club was established, and the writer became its president.
The writer died on 20 November 1925 in Warsaw. He was buried in the Evangelical Reformed Cemetery. Among those who dedicated farewell works to him were Władysław Broniewski, Mieczysław Jastrun, Jan Lechoń, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska, Antoni Słonimski, Julian Tuwim and Leopold Staff.