Adam Mickiewicz

AdamMickiewicz (1798-1855) is arguably Poland'sgreatest poet. Born in Nowogródek in what is now Belarus, he is often comparedto Goethe and Byron, and was the dominant figure in Poland's Romantic Movement.Banished as a political subversive to central Russia in 1824, he was welcomedinto the leading literary circles of Saint Petersburg and Moscow where hebecame a favorite for his agreeable manners and extraordinary talent for poeticimprovisation. In 1829, he left the Russian Empire for a life of perpetualexile in Italy, France and Switzerland. For three years he lectured on Slavicliterature at the Collège de France in Paris. He died in Constantinople whilehelping organize Polish and Jewish forces against Tsarism in the Crimean War of1855. Among his great works besides Pan Tadeusz are his poeticdrama Dziady (Forefathers' Eve), his historicalnarrative poems Grażyna and Konrad Wallenrod, andhis sublime Crimean Sonnets. His body rests in the crypt of theWawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland.