Born in Sycow in 1530 in a poor gentry family. At 14 he started studying at Krakow Academy, and then moved to Krolewiec to duke Albrecht's court where he studied at local university. In 1552, Kochanowski went to Italy to continue his studies at Padwa University for 5 years. He graduated in Philosophy and Ethic education, based on latin and greek literature. He used to read Petrarka and Dante, which confirmed him that the poetry should be created in one's mother language. After returning to Poland, he inherited a court in Czarnolas. He stayed there and found calm and internal mind's harmony which was brutally perturbed by his daughter's Uszula death ('Laments'). Kochanowski passed away in 1584.
Author of: 'Greek ambassadors dispatch' (1578), 'Epigrams' (1584), 'Songs' (1586) and 'Laments' (1580).

Born in 1735 in Dubieck in a gentry family, called a 'prince of poets'. Well educated, after finishing studies in Rome returned to Poland and became a primate's secretary. He participated in 'Thursday's dinners' on the August Poniatowski's court - meetings of Polish cultural elite. Krasicki traveled a lot around Europe - to Berlin, Bar and Sans-Souci. Honored with the White Eagle Order with the sign of 'Dignum laude virum musa vetat mori', died in 1801 and was buried at Powazki cemetery in Warsaw. His greatest writings were translated to several European languages: Latin, French, German, Italian, Russian, Czech, Croatian and Hungarian.
Author of intelligent and significant tales like 'Painters', 'The crow and the fox', 'Birds in a cage' and satires - 'Modern wife', 'To the king', 'Drunkenness' and 'Spoilt world'.

Born on 24.12.1798 in Zaosie (a village near Nowogrodek) in a gentry-home. After graduating in Literature at the University of Wilno hecontinued his education in a district school in Kowno. Accused of participation in a secret youth association, he was arrested in 1823, imprisoned in Wilno, an convicted to work in central governor's. He visited Petersburg, Odessa, Moscow, Berlin, Dresden, Italy and Switzerland. In Paris he became the director of Slavic departament at the College de France. He also actively participated of People's Spring Uprising, by created Polish Unit by the side of fighting Lombardia and afterwards became the redactor of 'People's Tribune'. He died from cholera in Stambul, where he tried to strengthen the Polish units fighting against Russia.
Author of 'Ballads and romances' (1822), 'Grazyna' (1823), 'Dziady' (1823 and 1832), 'Crimean sonnets' (1826), 'Konrad Wallenrod' (1826), 'Mr Tadeusz' (1834).

Properly Aleksander Glowacki - born in 1847, early orphaned, was brought up in Lublin at his relatives' home. After finishing studies in Lublin, he participated in January Uprising as a canvasser of the 'reds' - wounded, he's been arrested and imprisoned in Lublin. He came out as a chronicler in 'Daily Sunday' and few years later published his first novel in the 'Wanderer' magazine. 1885-1897 were the most abundant years in hir writer's career. That was the time when his greatest novels like 'Doll' (1890) and 'Pharaone' (1897) came into existance.
He was also a social worker - he created a Writers and Jurnalists' Providence and Help Safe and became a patron of many other social institutions. He passed away in 1912. not ending his next novel 'Changes'.

Born on 5.05.1846 in Wola Okrzejska in a poor gentry family of Josef Sienkiewicz. In 1858 he began his education in Warsaw and after passing A-levels, went to the Doctor's Faculty at Warsaw University but a year after he changed it to Philosophy and History Faculty. Between 1869 and 1872 he worked as a publicist in 'Week Review', from 1872, a co-editor of 'Niwa' and then between 1882 and 1887 as an editor of 'Speech'. He initiated and published an international magazine 'Prusse et Pologne' against the anti-polish policy of German cabinet. After the World War I began, he became the president of Swiss General Comitee of War Victims Help in Poland. He traveled to the USA 1876-1878 ('Lists from the journey to America' 1878) and to Zanzibar in 1890-91 ('Lists from Africa' 1892). In 1900 , on the 30th anniversary of his writing he got a court in Oblegorek near Kielce. In 1905 he was honored with Nobel Prize for the novel 'Quo vadis'.
Author of novelettes: 'Coal drafts' (1880), 'John the Musician' (1880), 'Sachem' (1889), 'Lamplighter' (1882), historic novels: Trylogy: 'With Fire and word' (1884), 'Deluge' (1886), 'Mr Wolodyjowski' (1887-88), 'Teutonic Knights' (1900), 'Quo vadis' (1896) and other novels: 'At the desert and in the wilderness' (1911), 'Polaniecki family' (1895).

Born in 1911 in Szetejnie, Lithuania. As a child, Miłosz had been traveling a lot around Asia and Russia, as his father was enlisted to the Russian army. In 1917 he was an eye-witness of October Revolution and this picture remained in his memory for a long time and is noticeable in 'Issa valley'. In 1929 he began studying at Humanistic Faculty of Stefan Bathory University and afterwards at Law and Social Science Faculty. Soon, in 1930, he came out with his two poems 'Composition' and 'Journey' in school newspaper 'Alma Mater Vilnensis' and next year had his own author's evenings. In 1933 he went to Paris and came back in 1935 and started working in Polish Radio in Wilno. In 1937, after returning from Italy, he decided to stay in Warsaw and returned to the radio job. In 1939 he went to Wilno again, but when he news about Russian Army entering Warsaw reached him, he came back to Poland through Romania. He started publishing his poems as Jan Syruc and participating actively in underground Warsaw's life. The time of war was abundant in marvelous poems of Milosz, which could be published after the war finished (e.g. 'Salvation'). Between 1945 and 1951 Milosz worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a clerk, then he became a cultural attache in first New York and then in Paris. In 1960 he received an invitation from universities in California and Indiana and started working in Berkeley as a professor of Slavic languages and literature. In 1973 he published his first poems in English ('Selected poems') and a few years later 'Poems' and 'Bells in winter'. In 1980 he was granted a Nobel Prize for his creation as a whole. This prize opened to Milosz a way to Poland and Polish readers and worldwide admiration of his poetry finally shut the censorship's mouth. But Milosz returned to the USA, to his home at Berkeley's hills. In 1989, after his wife's death, he visited Poland again and received a doctor honoris causa title of Jagiellonian University in Krakow. In 1992 Milosz published his special book 'Looking for a fatherland', which is the great return to his youth time of wandering around the world and a place of reflection on communism in Eastern Europe countries like Poland, Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine. Later years were abundant in poems - almost every year he published one: 'It' , 'Second space' and 'Road-side dog' - every single volume is regarded as a masterpiece. Czeslaw Milosz passed away on 14.08.2004.

Ryszard Kapuscinski was called a living legend of Polish and worldwide reportage, a man with an absolutely great sense of information, as he definitely had an incredible ability of seeing things that were invisible for others. He was a genius observer and due to his impartiality, he was able to analyze and measure what he saw and experienced.
He was born in 1932 in Pinsk (Belarus), studied at Historical Faculty of Warsaw University and after graduating, worked in 'Sztandar Mlodych' as a journalist. Noticed by the critics, Kapuscinski received a Gold Cross of Merit for his reports from Nowa Huta. Right after that, he went on his first journey to Pekin, which didn't last long due to the riot in 1956. After dismissing him from 'Sztandar', Kapuscinski started working in 'Polityka' in a national column. As a journalist of 'Polityka' he traveled a lot to Africa, Southern America and Asia. Every single hour on his voyages was fulfilled with writing, what made him popular Polish reporter.
His first book was entitled 'The bush, Polish style' (published in 1962). In 1970's Kapuscinski - fantastic, experienced reporter started to amaze the public with more sophisticated books which has been astonishing people with their perfect narration, psychological portraits of characters and artistic visualizations. His 'Emperor' and 'Shah of Shahs' gained a great worldwide popularity.
The 1980's were the time of rest for Kapuscinski - he transformed into a publicist, writer, poet and philosopher. He wrote many poems, published in 'Note-book' in 1986 and then the 'Lapidarium' - a book of aphorisms, thoughts and reflections of life. Nevertheless, the time of relaxation didn't last long - in 1993 Kapuscinski published 'Imperium' - a story of his journeys to Soviet Union which showed us Georgia, Afghanistan and other countries of Soviet Union, their great culture and tradition. After few years Kapuscinski wrote next parts of 'Lapidaria' - 'Lapidarium IV' and 'Lapidarium V'. In the autumn of 2000 a great photo-album was published - another Kapuscinski's book about Africa, fulfilled with his photos taken in numerous marvelous, picturesque places. Ryszard Kapuscinski passed away on 21 January 2007.

Stanislaw Lem is unquestionably the best representative of Polish fantasy literature, and regarding a worldwide authors - he's definitely in world's lead. These are the facts - not only a matter of taste. Two trends are especially visible in Lem's various creativeness: the prose, which contains all the popular masterpieces like 'Return from the stars', 'Solaris' or 'His Master's voice' and essays, with well-known pieces of writing like 'Philosophy of the case' or 'Fantasy and Futurology'. Stories from 'Star daily' and 'Eden' novels come from the writer's earlier creation and contain the basic thoughts of future, science and technique development, great discoveries and space journeys, experience and hypothesis of profit for human beings. Under a mask of science-fiction tales, Lem used to show the real civilization, societies and today's world to his readers. Lem was a member of American associations: Science Fiction Association and Science Fiction Writers of America. His masterpieces were translated to over 25 languages, mostly in the USA and Russia. The director Andriej Tarkowski made a film based on the novel 'Solaris'.
Author of stories 'Cyberiada' and 'Robot's tales', great SF masterpieces 'Eden', 'Magellan's cloud', 'Solaris', 'Peace on Earth', 'Return from the stars', 'Invincible', philosophical tractates 'Summae Technologiae', 'Dialogues' and one unclassified book, which may be described as SF-paranoia 'A diary found in a bath-tub'. Stalislaw Lem passed away on 27 march 2006.