Name Beata Obertynska | Role Writer | |
Died 1980, London, United Kingdom | ||
Beata Obertyńska, (pen name "Marta Rudzka"), born July 18, 1898, near Skole (in present-day Western Ukraine), died May 21, 1980 in London was a Polish writer and poet.
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Life
Beata was one of the daughters of the 'Young Poland' poet Maryla Wolska and granddaughter of the sculptor Wanda Monne (one-time fiancée of painter, Artur Grottger). Her father was an engineer and industrialist in the oil business, Wacław Wolski. She was the wife of landowner, Józef Obertyński.
She spent her childhood and adolescence with her siblings in the family villa in Lwów where they were home-tutored. She later passed her high school exams. In her youth she was associated with the Skamander movement.
Her first poems were published in 1924 in "Słowo Polskie". She studied in the National Institute of Theatre Arts. Between 1933 and 1937 she appeared on stage in several Lwów theatres.
During the Soviet occupation of Lwów, in July 1940, she was arrested by the NKVD. She was imprisoned in the famous Brygidki prison and was moved to prisons in Kiev, Odessa, Kharkiv, Starobielsk and finally to the Vorkuta concentration camp. In 1942, following the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement, she was released and joined Anders'army. She served through all of its campaigns in Iran, Palestine, Egypt and Italy.
After the war she settled in London and published in Polish language magazines; "Dziennik Polski", "Dziennik Żołnierza", "Orzeł Biały", "Polska Walcząca", "Ochotniczka", "Wiadomoście", "Życie", and "Przegląd Polski". She was a laureate of several literary awards, among others the award of the London-based "Przegląd Powszechny" (1967), of the Lanckoroński Foundation (1972), the award of The Polish Ex-Combatants Association (1972) and the Jurzykowski Prize (1974).
Her younger sister, 'Lela', married the diplomat and writer, Michał Pawlikowski. They too settled in London after the war. Lela was a sought-after portrait painter and produced a portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales, as a child.
Beata collapsed on a bus in Putney High Street and died in 1980 in London.