About
Czesław Miłosz (1911-2004) was a Polish-American writer born in Lithuania. He co-founded the avant-garde literary group Żagary and published his first poetry collection in 1933. During World War II, he was active in the literary underground in Warsaw. After the war, he served as a diplomat for communist Poland, then defected to France in 1951. His essay 'The Captive Mind' (1953) analyzed the influence of totalitarianism on intellectuals. He moved to the United States in 1960 and taught at the University of California, Berkeley. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1980, he is known for his poetry and essays exploring history, memory, and the human condition.
* 1911-06-28 — † 2004-08-14
Major works
- The Captive Mind (1953)essay
- The Issa Valley (1955)novel
- Native Realm (1959)autobiography
- A Treatise on Poetry (1957)poetry
- The History of Polish Literature (1969)literary history
Key milestones
- 1951Defected from communist Poland and sought political asylum in France.
- 1980Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
- 1989Received the U.S. National Medal of Arts.
Themes
totalitarianismmemoryexilehistoryhuman condition
Sources: nobelprize.org · britannica.com · senate.universityofcalifornia.edu
