Tadeusz Konwicki belongs to that group of prominent contemporary Polish writers who since the early 1970s have gained unprecedented popularity abroad. With his works widely read in both Europe and America, Konwicki's success is mainly owing to his prose published in the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, though the beginnings of his literary career go back to the late 1940s. Throughout this long period of time marked by exceptionally prolific literary output, Konwicki also showed a keen interest in motion pictures. He directed several movies that placed him in the forefront of what has been called the "Polish film school" and brought him international recognition. He became well known for screenplays that he wrote either by himself or in cooperation with other moviemakers and writers.

The only child of Michal Konwicki, a technical school instructor, and Jadwiga Konwicki (née Kiezun), a homemaker, Tadeusz Konwicki was born...