Bio
CZAYKOWSKI Bogdan Edward. On August 16, 2007, after an 8-month struggle with lung cancer, Bogdan Czaykowski passed away peacefully in Vancouver at the age of 75. He is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Jadwiga (nee Januszajtis), by his daughter Ewa (Iain Higgins), and by his son Piotr (Anne Worley). He liked to spoil his grandchildren, Stefan, Nicholas and Helena. Bogdan was born in 1932 in what was then Eastern Poland. He was deported with his family to Siberia in 1940. His father died in a concentration camp, and he lost his brother to starvation. His long journey through central Asia and India ended in England, where he arrived in 1948. He began his literary career in London, and received post-secondary and graduate education at University College, Dublin, and the University of London. In 1962 he accepted a position in the Department of Slavonic Studies at the University of British Columbia. He eventually became head of the department for 14 years. He remained active at UBC almost until his death, still teaching classes after his 70th birthday. His academic career culminated in a UBC Killam Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 1996. He had a profound interest in language, literature, history and culture, delighted in intellectual discourse of any nature, and was a critically acclaimed Polish language poet. It was his accomplishments on the literary front that were the focus of his life, and he was thrilled to have a volume of his selected poems published in Poland just prior to his death. He will also be remembered for his support of several generations of Polish immigrants to British Columbia. The family would particularly like to thank Andrzej, Wila and Eva Busza for their unswerving friendship and unbelievable support, and Krysia, Andrzej and Kathy Endelman for their wonderful loyalty over the years, and especially over the last 8 months. The family is also grateful to Dr. Nevin Murray and the staff of the BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver Centre, Dr. John Mail, and to all the doctors, nurses and others on wards 11A and the Palliative Care Unit at Vancouver General Hospital. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the BC Cancer Foundation.
Published in the Vancouver Sun and/or The Province on 8/20/2007.
Websites
- Poland
- Literature
- Poetry
Publication
Books
B. Czaykowski. Antologia poezji polskiej na obczyźnie: 1939-1999. Warszawa; Toronto: Czytelnik, 2002.
B. Czaykowski. Okanagańskie sady. Wrocław: Wydawn. Dolnośląskie, 1998.
B. Czaykowski; S.V. LaSelva. Holding one's time in thought: the political philosophy of W.J. Stankiewicz. Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 1997.
B. Czaykowski. Wiatr z innej strony: wiersze zebrane z lat 1953-1989. Kraków: Znak, 1990.
B. Czaykowski; M. Tworzecka; E. Fedyczkowska. Polacy w Brytyjskiej Kolumbii: zbiór szkiców i materiałów = Poles in British Columbia : a collection of essays and documentary material. Vancouver, B.C: Towarzystwo "Watra", 1988.
B. Czaykowski; M.S. Batts; C. Multiculturalism. Polish writing in Canada: a preliminary survey. Ottawa: Departent of the Secretary of State of Canada, Multiculturalism/Multiculturalisme, 1988.
B. Czaykowski. Point-no-point: 1953-1970. Paryż: Instytut Literacki, 1971.
B. Czaykowski. Spór z granicami. Paryż: Instytut Literacki, 1964.
B. Czaykowski. Polski Osrodek Naukowy (Polish Research Centre) 1940-1960. Londyn: , 1961.
B. Czaykowski; B. Sulik. Polacy w W. Brytanii. Paryż: Instytut Literacki, 1961.
B. Czaykowski. Reductio ad absurdum i przezwyciȩżenie: dialektyka wiersza. Londyn: Nakład. autora, 1958.
B. Czaykowski; A. Werner. Trzciny czcionek. Londyn: Oficyna Poetów i Malarzy, 1957.
Articles/Book Chapters
B. Czaykowski, “Some comments, alas, mostly critical on The Polish Review in its fiftieth year of publication”, The Sarmatian Review, vol. 27, pp. 1261-1263, 2007.
B. Czaykowski, “Dyskurs, przekład, interpretacja - Literatura staropolska i jej trwanie we współczesnej kulturze”, The Sarmatian Review, pp. 873-875, 2002.
B. Czaykowski, “Witold Gombrowicz and Czeslaw Miłosz: The Two Polarities of Twentieth-Century Polish Literature?”, Toronto Slavic Quarterly, vol. 2, p. no pagination-no pagination, 2002.
B. Czaykowski, “Witold Gombrowicz and Czeslaw Milosz: The Two Polarities of Twentieth-Century Polish Literature?”, Toronto Slavic Quarterly, vol. 2, 2002.
B. Czaykowski, “We Collected Stones”, Chicago Review, vol. 46, p. 62, 2000.
B. Czaykowski, “Mallarmé, He Was Interesting”, Chicago Review, vol. 46, pp. 63-63, 2000.
B. Czaykowski, “Mollusc”, Chicago Review, p. 63, 2000.
B. Czaykowski, “La condition”, Books In Canada, vol. 29, p. 6, 2000.
B. Czaykowski and Higgins, I., “Let the Earth's Body Be”, Chicago Review, vol. 46, pp. 63-63, 2000.
J. Czaykowski and Czaykowski, B., “Strangeness of faraway lands”, Books In Canada, vol. 28, p. 5, 1999.
B. Czaykowski, Merrill, C., and Venclova, T., “Dry land of days where we remain: .. reflect on Brodsky”, Books In Canada, vol. 28, p. 21, 1999.
B. Czaykowski, “Traditions of Love”, Canadian Literature, p. 64, 1996.
S. A. Blejwas, Gromada, T. V., Czaykowski, B., Grynberg, H., and Levine, M. G., “LETTERS TO THE EDITOR”, The Polish Review, vol. 34, pp. 387-393, 1989.
B. Czaykowski, “Stanislaw Baranczak. A Fugitive from Utopia: The poetry of Zbigniew Herbert. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1987. 164 pp. $22.50”, Canadian-American Slavic Studies, vol. 22, pp. 446-448, 1988.
B. Czaykowski, “Harmony Restored: Mickiewicz's Pan Tadeusz Reconsidered on the 150th Anniversary of Its Publication”, Cross Currents: A Yearbook of Central European Culture, vol. 3, p. 181, 1984.
B. Czaykowski, “Victor Erlich et al, editors. For Wiktor Weintraub: Essays in Polish Literature, Language, and History Presented on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday (Slavistic Printings and Reprintings, 312). The Hague: Mouton, 1975. 621 pp. 180 Dfl”, Canadian-American Slavic Studies, vol. 11, pp. 446-449, 1977.
B. Czaykowski, “The History of Polish Literature Czeslawa Milosza”, Kultura: Szkice, Opowiadania, Sprawozdania, vol. 267, pp. 11-27 (to be cont.), 1969.
B. Czaykowski, “POETIC THEORIES IN POLAND: PRZESMYCKI AND PRZYBYSZEWSKI”, The Polish Review, vol. 11, pp. 45-55, 1966.
B. Czaykowski, “IN MEMORIAM: TADEUSZ HALPERT-SCANDERBEG”, The Polish Review, vol. 9, pp. 112-112, 1964.
Additional
B. Czaykowski, “Ryszard Kapuscinksi”, Dictionary of Literary Biography. 2010.
B. Czaykowski, “Wladyslaw Reymont”, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 332. 2007.
A. Busza and Czaykowski, B., “Miron Bialoszewski”, Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 232: Twentieth-Century Eastern European Writers, Third Series. 2001.
B. .E.C, “Letters from Freedom: Post-Cold War Realities and Perspectives”, Ethics, vol. 110. p. 886, 2000.
B. Czaykowski, “Czeslaw Milosz”, Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 215: Twentieth-Century Eastern European Writers, First Series. 1999.
A. Busza and Czaykowski, B., “Boleslaw Lesmian”, Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 215: Twentieth-Century Eastern European Writers, First Series. 1999.