"Roman Triptych: Meditations" is a forty-page poem by Pope John Paul II, composed of three parts: Stream, Meditation on the Book of Genesis, and A Hill in the Moria Land. Originally written in John Paul II's native Polish after a visit to his homeland of Poland, the poem was translated to Italian by Grażyna Miller, and published in 2003 simultaneously in Poland (as Tryptyk Rzymski: Medytacje) and the Vatican (as Trittico romano, Meditazioni). [1]
The poem has since been translated into languages including English (by Jerzy Pietrkiewicz), [2] French, Spanish, and German. [3] A Polish audio version was recorded by actor Krzysztof Globisz. [1]
Roman Triptych received praise from philosopher and historian Stanisław Grygiel , [4] poet and Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz, [1] poet Marek Skwarnicki , [3] and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, [1] [3] several of whom were close personal friends of John Paul II. It was especially popular in Poland, selling out 80% of the initial print run of 300,000 copies before the official launch date. [1] [3]
Czesław Miłosz was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, the Swedish Academy called Miłosz a writer who "voices man's exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts".
Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005, sovereign of the Vatican City State and a former actor. He was later canonised as Pope Saint John Paul II.
Maria Wisława Anna Szymborska was a Polish poet, essayist, translator, and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Prowent, she resided in Kraków until the end of her life. In Poland, Szymborska's books have reached sales rivaling prominent prose authors', though she wrote in a poem, "Some Like Poetry", that "perhaps" two in a thousand people like poetry.
Adam Bernard Mickiewicz was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Romanticism, he is one of Poland's "Three Bards" and is widely regarded as Poland's greatest poet. He is also considered one of the greatest Slavic and European poets and has been dubbed a "Slavic bard". A leading Romantic dramatist, he has been compared in Poland and Europe to Byron and Goethe.
Jan Kochanowski was a Polish Renaissance poet, writing in Polish and Latin, who established poetic patterns that would become integral to Polish literary language. He is commonly regarded as the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz and the most important Slavic poet before the 19th century.
Cyprian Kamil Norwid, a.k.a. Cyprian Konstanty Norwid, was a nationally esteemed Polish poet, dramatist, painter, and sculptor.
John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin is a university established in 1918. It is the only private college in Poland with the status of a university.
Bolesław Leśmian was a Polish poet, artist and member of the Polish Academy of Literature, one of the first poets to introduce Symbolism and Expressionism to Polish verse. Though largely a marginal figure during his lifetime, Leśmian is now considered one of Poland's greatest poets. He is, however, little known outside of his home country, mostly on account of his neologisms-rich idiosyncratic style, dubbed "almost untranslatable" by Czesław Miłosz and "the ultimate and overwhelming proof for the untranslatability of poetry" by noted Polish Shakespearean translator, Stanisław Barańczak.
Tygodnik Powszechny is a Polish Roman Catholic weekly magazine, published in Kraków, which focuses on social, cultural and political issues. It was established in 1945 under the auspices of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha. Jerzy Turowicz was its editor-in-chief until his death in 1999. He was succeeded by Adam Boniecki, a priest.
Grażyna Miller was a Polish poet and translator who lived in Italy.
Piotr Rubik is a Polish composer of symphonic pop music for orchestra, film and theatre as well as conductor, music producer and vocalist. He gained nationwide popularity in the mid-2000s with the success of his songs Niech mówią, że to nie jest miłość (2005) and Psalm dla Ciebie (2006).
The Generation of Columbuses is a term denoting the generation of Poles who were born soon after Poland regained its independence in 1918, and whose adolescence was marked by World War II.
As one of the best known and well-travelled persons of the 20th century, there are many cultural references to Pope John Paul II, who reigned as the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City from 16 October 1978, until his death in April 2005, making his the second-longest pontificate after Pius IX's 31-year reign. In addition to his own extensive writings, many films, television programs, books, and journal articles have been written about John Paul II.
The Pope John Paul II bibliography contains a list of works by Pope John Paul II, and works about his life and theology. Pope John Paul II reigned as pope of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City for 26 years and six months. Works written and published prior to his election to the papacy are attributed to Karol Wojtyła. Additional resources can be found on the Vatican website.
The Temple of Divine Providence and Pantheon of Great Poles (in Polish, Panteon Wielkich Polaków, in southern Warsaw's Wilanów district, is a principal Roman Catholic church in Poland. The backstory of its construction began in the 18th century. The Temple is conceived as a national and religious symbol for Poland. The complex comprises the Church of Divine Providence, the Museum of John Paul II and Primate Wyszyński, and the Pantheon of Great Poles.
The Nowa Huta. Okruchy życia i meandry historii is a 2003 photo anthology compiled by Jerzy Aleksander Karnasiewicz and illustrated with photographs of Nowa Huta district of Kraków, Poland; which were taken in its early days, and between 1979-2003. The book, published bilingually in Polish and English, contains essays, sociological dissertations, poetry and the homilies of future Pope John Paul II given during his visits to Nowa Huta. The anthology was unveiled by the president of Kraków, prof. Jacek Majchrowski on October 14, 2003, with the honorary patronage of Cardinal Franciszek Macharski.
Jerzy Pietrkiewicz or Peterkiewicz was a Polish poet, novelist, translator, and literary critic who spent much of his life in British exile.
Bolesław Taborski was a Polish poet, literary and drama theoretician, essayist, prolific translator of English and Polish, and a long serving BBC Polish Section editor and presenter. He chronicled and translated into English the work of some of the most notable Poles of the Post-war era of the 20th century, such as Lech Wałęsa, Jan Kott, and Jerzy Grotowski. His undoubted influence on modern theatre has yet to be assessed in detail. He had a personal friendship with Pope John Paul II which grew out of their shared interest in literature and the fact that Taborski was his literary translator into English.
Events during the year 1997 in Poland.