Sławomir Mrożek dies
Sławomir Mrożek died in the early hours of Thursday, August 15th 2013. He was one of the most distinguished Polish writers, dramatists, satirists, prose-writers and cartoonists. In 1990 he became the Honorary Citizen of Krakow.
Sławomir Mrożek was born on June 29th 1930 in Borzęcin near Krakow. His artistic career began in 1950 with cartoons in the Polish weekly Przekrój. That same year his first short stories Tales from Bumble Bee Hill and Practical Half Armour were published. Mrożek's first play The Police was published in 1958. Yet, it were his later excellent theater pieces: Tango (1964), A Summer Day (1983) and Love in the Crimea (1993) that brought him international fame.
Sławomir Mrożek received many national awards and medals. In 1997, the then Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski awarded him with Commander's Cross with Star of the Polonia Restituta Order in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Polish national culture. In September 2010, he received the Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture from the Minister of Culture Bogdan Zdrojewski. Krakow also recognized his artistic talent by awarding Mrożek with the title of the Honorary Citizen of the Royal Capital City of Krakow in 1990. In December 2004, his novel Varia. How I became a Reviewer was named the Krakow Book of the Month.
Mrożek struggled for years with illnesses resulting from a stroke he suffered in 2002. In June 2008, the artist emigrated from Poland to settle down in Nice in the south of France.
All those who would like to pay a tribute to the deceased Sławomir Mrożek can sign the book of condolence available in the stone hall of Krakow's City Hall.
