23 September 2003(2003-09-23) (aged 91) Warsaw, Poland
Resting place
Warsaw, Poland
Pen name
Sophie Bohdan
Occupation
Novelist
Language
Polish, French, Spanish
Nationality
Polish
Citizenship
Polish, Argentine, British
Education
Master of Economics
Alma mater
Akademia Nauk Politycznych in Warsaw
Spouse
1.Bohdan Chądzynski, 2. Stanisław Gajewski
Zofia Chądzyńska or Sophie Bohdan (24 February 1912 – 23 September 2003), was a Polish writer and translator of the Iberoamerican literature. Her first book was published in French under a pseudonym of Sophie Bohdan, entitled "Comme l'ombre qui passe", Publisher: Paris : Calmann-Lévy (impr. Chantenay), 1960. Later she was publishing in Polish under her original name Zofia Chądzyńska.[1]
She was one of the most famous Polish writers in the 1970s and she changed the literary landscape in Poland by introducing the Iberoamerican literature.[2]
Biography
Polish and French years
She graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Academy of Political Science in Warsaw. From 1930 to 1939 she was a clerk in the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education. During World War II she was a prisoner of the Gestapo at Pawiak (1940). After the war she lived in France where her husband, Bohdan Chądzyński, was a Polish consul in Lyon until 1949, then was exiled via Morocco to Argentina.[3]
Exile in Argentina
From 1949 until 1959 she lived in Buenos Aires, where she ran a white linen laundry and befriended Witold Gombrowicz, who later became one of the most famous Polish writers. She helped him in daily life and also with translating his works into Spanish. She also introduced him to her friends, the Buenos Aires political and cultural elite. Under the influence of Jean Reverzy, whom she knew from Lyon, she started writing her own book. Many years later she translated his two books into Polish. Her beloved husband Bohdan died early in 1951 and her father (who was a friend of Arthur Rubinstein) died two weeks after him, but in Poland).[4]
Years in Poland
When her first books were published almost simultaneously, one in French in Paris and the other one in Polish in Warsaw, she moved back to Poland in 1960, and she lived in Warsaw. During her travel from Argentina to Poland she read a book Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar, which she got from her friends. This inspired her to translate it into Polish. This was a great success, and Cortázar (later her good friend) was more popular in Poland than in any other country.[3] Later she was publishing her own books and translated almost a hundred Iberoamerican books into Polish.[5]
Novels
as Sophie Bohdan published in French
Comme l'ombre qui passe : roman Publisher: Paris : Calmann-Lévy (impr. Chantenay), 1960
as Zofia Chądzyńska published in Polish
Ślepi bez lasek (Czytelnik 1959, 1970); New edition as: Śpiew muszli (Akapit Press, 1995, 2003)
Chemia (Czytelnik 1962)
Ryby na piasku (Czytelnik 1965)
Skrzydło sowy (PIW 1967)
Przez Ciebie, Drabie (Nasza Księgarnia 1969, 1972, 1974, 1979, 1984)
Życie za życie (Nasza Księgarnia 1971, 1973; Wydawnictwo Lubelskie 1979 in series of Biblioteka młodych); New edition as: Rekma, czyli Życie za życie (Akapit Press, 1995)
Statki, które mijają się nocą (Nasza Księgarnia 1975, 1989, Hamal Books 1994, Akapit Press 2002)
Wakacje z Zygą (Młodzieżowa Agencja Wydawnicza 1977)
Wstęga pawilonu (Nasza Księgarnia 1978, 1982, Akapit Press 1996, Siedmioróg 2000; on an honorary list of Lista Honorowa IBBY)
Co mi zostało z tych lat (Akapit Press 1996); New edition as: Nie wszystko o moim życiu (Akapit Press 2003) - autobiography
Translations (selection)
Jorge Luis Borges, Alef - original title: El Aleph, 1949, essays and short stories. A slightly expanded edition was published in 1957. English title: The Aleph and Other Stories 1933-1969 (ISBN0-525-05154-6).
Jorge Luis Borges, Księga piasku - original title:El libro de arena, 1975, short stories, English title: The Book of Sand, 1977.
Jorge Luis Borges, Raport Brodiego - original title: El informe de Brodie, short stories, 1970. English title: Dr. Brodie's Report, 1971.
Jorge Luis Borges, Twórca (with Krystyna Rodowska)
Jorge Luis Borges with Margarity Guerrero, Zoologia fantastyczna (Warszawa 1983)- original title: Manual de zoología fantástica, 1957, short pieces about imaginary beings, written with Margarita Guerrero.
Julio Cortázar, Egzamin (1991) - original title: El examen (1950, first published in 1985)
