The voluminous work of Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz should unequivocally be recognized as important, both within its native Polish tradition and within an international context. A canonic figure of twentieth-century Polish literature, Iwaszkiewicz was a versatile and polyvalent writer who expressed his artistic ability in various genres and forms. He achieved his most significant work, however, in prose and particularly in the short-story form, of which he was a great master.

Born on 20 February 1894 in Kalnik near Kiev, Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz stemmed from a family of Polish gentry and intelligentsia and grew up in the cultural climate of three national traditions--Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. An important event of his youth was his close friendship with the renowned Polish composer Karol Szymanowski, who undoubtedly influenced Iwaszkiewicz's artistic passion and creative interests. Iwaszkiewicz subsequently wrote a libretto for Szymanowski's opera Król Roger (King Roger, 1973). The importance of Iwaszkiewicz's friendship with Szymanowski...