Franciszka Arnsztajnowa

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Franciszka Arnsztajnowa : biography

19 February 1865 – 1942

O toi qui sur mes jours de tristesse et d’épreuve

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O, ty, co dni mych smutkom i zmaganiom blaskiem przyświecasz wytrwałym…Jean Moréas, "Przekłady z poezyj J. Moréasa" (Translations of J. Moréas’s Verses), Kurjer Lubelski (Lublin), vol. 10, No. 4, 4 January 1932, p. 2. Includes two poems from Les Stances by Moréas in Arnsztajnowa’s translation: Book 2, VII; and Book 3, XII. The latter poem reprinted in Jean Moréas, "Ze Stanc * * *" (From Les Stances * * *), tr. Franciszka Arnsztajnowa, Kamena (Chełm Lubelski), vol. 3, No. 4 (24), December 1935, p. 73.

Always respectful of and ready to honour others for their achievement in their field, in 1899 Arnsztajnowa contributed to the liber amicorum for Aleksander Świętochowski on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his editorial work, a sumptuously produced volume that opens with her poem "Grajek" (The Fiddler; from the Poezye of 1895).Franciszka Arnsztajnowa, "Grajek" (The Fiddler); in: "Prawda": książka zbiorowa dla uczczenia dwudziestopięcioletniej działalności Aleksandra Świętochowskiego, 18701895, Lvov, Księgarnia H. Altenberga [etc.], 1899, pp. 18. Some of her tributes in verse, even when marked by a high level of artistic accomplishment, were entirely private, meant solely for the honouree. Her poem composed in tribute to the Polish geographer, Wacław Nałkowski (18511911), the father of the writer Zofja Nałkowska, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his scholarly work in January 1903, did not come to light until 55 years later, for example.Roman Rosiak, "Franciszka Arnsztajnowa w hołdzie Wacławowi Nałkowskiemu" (Arnsztajnowa’s Tribute to Wacław Nałkowski), Kamena (Lublin), vol. 25, No. 19 (161), 15 October 1958, p. 3. Her patriotic feelings found expression in the contribution she made to the collective volume published by the Teachers’ Union to commemorate the school strikes in Partitioned Poland mounted in protest against marginalization of Polish culture by the occupying powers;Walka o szkołę polską: w 25-lecie strajku szkolnego, ed. S. Drzewiecki, et al., Warsaw, [n.p.; but under the imprint of the Związki Nauczycielstwa Polskich Szkół Powszechnych i Średnich], 1930, p. 294. while in 1935 Arnsztajnowa served on the editorial board of a commemorative volume for the Polish Military Organisation, to which she contributed the keynote poem (on the theme of the Unknown Soldier) serving as a motto for the publication.Franciszka Arnsztajnowa, [untitled poem]; in Pod sztandarem P.O.W.: szkice i wspomnienia zebrane dla uczczenia uroczystości poświęcenia sztandaru, odsłonięcia tablicy pamiątkowej ś.p. płk. Mieczysława Więckowskiego i połączenia okręgu siedleckiego Związku Peowiaków z okręgiem lubelskim: Lublin w marcu 1935 roku, ed. F. Arnsztajnowa, et al., Lublin, Zarząd Okręgu i Koło Związku Peowiaków, 1935, p. 5.

Arnsztajnowa’s patriotic fervour carried her so far as to contribute three technically accomplished, genuinely high-calibre poems "Jego Imię" (His Name), "O, Wodzu!" (O Leader!), and "Wodzowi-twórcy" (To the Leader-Creator) to the collection of panegyrics in honour of Józef Piłsudski published in 1924, two years before his coup d’état of May 1926.Franciszka Arnsztejnowa [sic, not "Arnsztajnowa"], "Jego Imię" (His Name); in Józef Piłsudski w poezji: antologja, Lublin, Dom Wydawniczy Franciszek Głowiński i S-ka, 1924, pp. 34. Id., "O, Wodzu!" (O Leader!), in: ibid., p. 5. Id., "Wodzowi-twórcy" (To the Leader-Creator), in: ibid., p. 6. Among the 33 contributors to the collection (some of them not established poets), only the names of Józef Czechowicz, Jan Lechoń and Kazimierz Tetmajer stand in the same rank with Arnsztajnowa’s. After the coup d’état of May 1926, during a visit to Lublin in June 1931 of Piłsudski’s figurehead president, Ignacy Mościcki, she wrote in poetic prose a fulsome welcome for him in a local newspaper ("whole streets are running out to Him with open arms while ancient city walls silvered by age reverberate with the Good News: hail Thou the visible manifestation of the Independence!", etc.).F. Arnsztajnowa, "Dostojnemu Gościowi na powitanie" (Welcoming the Distinguished Guest), Ziemia Lubelska (Lublin), vol. 27, No. 148, 3 June 1931, p. 2.