Bill Sienkiewicz
Sienkiewicz at the Big Apple Con, May 21, 2011.
Born	(1958-05-03) May 3, 1958 (age 54) Blakely, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer, Penciller, Inker
Notable works	Stray Toasters Elektra: Assassin New Mutants Moon Knight
Awards	full list
Official website

Boleslav Felix Robert "Bill" Sienkiewicz [pronounced sin-KEV-itch]^[1] (born May 3, 1958)^[2][3] is an Eisner Award-winning American artist and writer best known for his comic book work, primarily for Marvel Comics' The New Mutants and Elektra: Assassin. Sienkiewicz often utilizes oil painting, collage, mimeograph and other forms generally uncommon in comic books.

Early life[link]

Sienkiewicz was born May 3, 1958, in Blakely, Pennsylvania.^[2] When he was five years old, he moved with his family to Hainesville, New Jersey, where he attended elementary and secondary school.^[4]

Sienkiewicz began drawing "when [he] was about four or five",^[4] and continued doing and learning about art throughout his childhood. His early comic-book influences include artist Curt Swan Superman comics, and artist Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four.^[4]

Sieniewicz attended the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts in Newark, New Jersey.^[2]

After art school, he showed a portfolio of his work to DC Comics' art director Vince Colletta, which led to his breaking into the field at age 19.^[5] The artist recalled in 1985, "They didn't have any work for me, but that didn't bother me. I just figured that if comics didn't work out I'd have done advertising or illustration. Vinnie called [renowned comics and advertising artist] Neal Adams, who put me in touch with [Marvel Comics editor-in-chief] Jim Shooter. Soon after that I was drawing Moon Knight, in The Hulk [black-and-white comics] magazine".^[4] His art style was heavily influenced by Neal Adams.^[6]

Career[link]

Comics[link]

Sienkiewicz drawing during a 1997 appearance in Gijón, Spain.

Sienkiewicz continued as artist of the Moon Knight color comics series, starting with the first issue (November 1980). Four years later, after a stint as artist on the Fantastic Four, he became the artist on Marvel's X-Men spin-off New Mutants, beginning with issue No. 18 (August 1984), producing cover paintings and character designs. From this period on, Sienkiewicz's art evolved into a much more expressionistic style, and he began experimenting with paint, collage, and mixed media. He illustrated New Mutants from 1984–1985.

Sienkiewicz produced covers for a range of Marvel titles, including Rom, Dazzler, The Mighty Thor, Return of the Jedi and The Transformers, and drew the comic adaptation of Dune.

Sienkiewicz's own first writing credit was for the painted story "Slow Dancer" in Epic Illustrated magazine in 1986. Sienkiewicz both wrote and illustrated the 1988 miniseries Stray Toasters, an idiosyncratic work published by Epic about a criminal psychologist investigating a series of murders.

His first major interior work for DC Comics was contributing to Batman #400 (October 1986).^[7]

He illustrated the 1986–87 eight-issue miniseries Elektra: Assassin written by Frank Miller. After which, he collaborated with writer Andrew Helfer on the first six issues of DC Comics' The Shadow series. In 1988, he contributed to the Brought to Light graphic novel with writer Alan Moore. In 1990, Sienkiewicz and Moore published the first two issues of the uncompleted series Big Numbers. Sienkiewicz painted the Classics Illustrated adaptation of the novel Moby-Dick.

Sienkiewicz was the subject of a 2008 full-length documentary/interview produced by Woodcrest Productions, The Creator Chronicles: Bill Sienkiewicz.^[8]

In 2007, Sienkiewicz penciled 30 Days of Night: Beyond Barrow. In 2008, Sienkiewicz illustrated a story for The Nightmare Factory - Volume 2 graphic novel. That same year, he inked the Reign in Hell limited series for DC.^[9] In 2010-2012, he inked several issues of Neal Adams' Batman: Odyssey project for DC Comics.

Other work[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2010)

In addition to his work in comics, Sienkiewicz has also worked in numerous other media, especially in the music and trading card industries. His artwork has been published in magazines including Entertainment Weekly and Spin Magazine. In 1998, he collaborated with writer Martin I. Green to produce the children's book Santa, My Life & Times.

In 1989, Sienkiewicz painted the art for the "Friendly Dictators" card set published by Eclipse Comics which portrayed various foreign leaders such as Mobutu Sese Seko, Ferdinand Marcos, and Anastasio Somoza Debayle.^[10] Sienkiewicz has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.^[11] In 2004, Sienkiewicz contributed to card art for VS System, a collectible card game published by Upper Deck Entertainment.

In 1995, Sienkiewicz illustrated the Martin I. Green biography of Jimi Hendrix, Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix. The following year he provided the artwork for the Bruce Cockburn album The Charity of Night, and went on to provide album covers for RZA's Bobby Digital in Stereo (1998) and EPMD's Business as Usual (1990).

In 2006, Sienkiewicz designed the layout and art for The Venture Bros. season one DVD set. He also designed the cover art for the season three DVD and Blu-ray set. Still in 2006, Sienkiewicz teamed with Neal Adams to create art for former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters. Their artwork was utilized as video projections for live performances of Waters' "Leaving Beirut."

Awards[link]

• 1981 Eagle Award for Best New Artist^[12]
• 1981 Inkpot Award
• 1982 Eagle Award for Best Artist^[12]
• 1983 Eagle Award for Best Artist^[12]
• 1986: Yellow Kid Award, Lucca, Italy, for "bridging the gap between American and European artistic sensibilities"^[12][13]
• 1986: The Gran Guigiri Award, Lucca, Italy^[12][13]
• 1987 Eagle Award for Favourite Artist (penciller)
• 1987 Kirby Award for Best Artist (for Elektra: Assassin)
• 1988: March of Dimes Award, for charity work^[12]
• 1989 Haxtur Award for Best Cover (for Question #10)
• 1991 Alpe de Huiz Award, Grenoble, France^[12]
• 1992 Adamson Award, for Daredevil, and graphic experiments
• 2004 Eisner Award for Best Anthology (for contributions to The Sandman: Endless Nights)

Personal life[link]

During the early 1980s Sienkiewicz was married to a woman named Franki, who worked on-staff at Marvel as editor-in-chief Jim Shooter's administrative assistant, and later went on to a job as Marvel's Administrative Manager of International Licensing.^[14] Their marriage ended in divorce in 1983.^[15]

Bibliography[link]

Interior art[link]

DC Comics[link]

• Aquaman (vol. 3) # 52 (inker)
• Batman # 400, 533–534
• Batman Black and White # 3
• Batman: GCPD # 1–4
• Batman: Odyssey #6
• Batman: Odyssey (vol. 2) #1-3
• Batman Villains Secret Files and Origins
• Dark Knight Dynasty TPB
• DC 1st: Batgirl/The Joker (one-shot)
• DC Universe: Legacies #9
• Detective Comics # 709
• Dreams Nightmares # 1 (pin-up)
• Endless Gallery (Pin-up)
• Green Arrow # 109
• Green Lantern: The Last Will and Testament of Hal Jordan
• Heroes Against Hunger (Pin-up)
• Nightwing/Huntress # 1–4 (miniseries)
• Rogues Gallery (Pin-Up)
• Sandman: Endless Nights
• The Shadow # 1–6
• Superman # 400 (pin-up)
• Superman (vol. 2) No. 173
• Superman: Day of Doom #1–4

Marvel Comics[link]

• Alias No. 7 (pages 10 & 18) No. 8 (pages 1, 9, 10)
• The Avengers Annual No. 16
• Bizarre Adventures No. 31
• Black Widow #1–6
• Black Widow Volume 1 (Paperback collection with all six issues)
• Blade: Vampire Hunter No. 3
• Captain America: Red, White & Blue (one story only)
• Daredevil: Love and War
• Deathlok Vol. 2 No. 11
• Dune Movie adaptation, Marvel Comics Super Special # 36
• Elektra: Assassin #1–8
• Epic Illustrated No. 34 (Only "Slow Dancer")
• Excalibur No. 27
• Fantastic Four #219, #221–231
• Galactus The Devourer #1–6
• Gambit #3, No. 4
• Generation X Annual 1995
• Heroes for Hope starring the X-Men
• The Hulk magazine, #13–15 #17–18 No. 20 (Moon Knight interiors)
• Marvel Fanfare #38, No. 42
• Marvel Preview #18, No. 21
• Marvel Saga No. 8
• Moon Knight #1–15, #17–20, #22–26, #28–30, No. 33
• Moon Knight Special Edition #1–3 (Moon Knight interiors)
• New Mutants #18–31, #35–38
• New X-Men #127, #131, One-Shot
• Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #220-#229 (inking only)
• Return of the Jedi #1–4 first page, pinups, and Super Special (TPB)
• Spider-Girl No. 0
• Spider-Man 2099 #42
• Stray Toasters #1–4, (4 issue mini series, covers and full interior art)
• Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #6–8
• Uncanny X-Men #159 (reprinted as X-Men Classic #63), # 287, #288, #314, Annual No. 6
• X-Men: The Wedding Album One-Shot
• What If? No. 34
• Wolverine: Inner Fury (One shot, cover and full interior art)
• Wolverine #10–16 (Inker only)
• X-Man No. 9
• X-Men Unlimited No. 43
• X-Men Vs. Dracula One-Shot

Covers only[link]

DC Comics[link]

• Question #1–19 #21–23, Annual No. 1
• Teen Titans Spotlight No. 10
• Detective Comics #741, #772–773, No. 775
• All-Flash No. 1 (variant cover)
• Batman: Cacophony No. 1 (1:25 variant cover)
• Batman: The Widening Gyre No. 1
• JLA No. 59
• Star Trek The Next Generation # 1 (Six issue mini series)
• Star Trek The Next Generation Graphic Novel collecting six issue mini series with variant cover.

Marvel Comics[link]

• Amazing High Adventure #1
• Beauty and the Beast #1–4
• The Black Panther No. 14
• The Brotherhood #1–3
• Clive Barker's Hellraiser #10
• Comet Man #1-#6
• Daredevil #197, #204, #207, #236, No. 338
• The Dark Phoenix Saga Trade Paperback
• Dazzler #8–9, #15–16, #18, #27–35, #42, Marvel Graphic Novel No. 12 Dazzler: The Movie
• The Defenders No. 123
• Doom 2099 No. 35
• Elektra Vol 2 #23-#27
• Elektra: The Hand #1–5
• Excalibur No. 83
• The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones No. 26
• Fury #1-#6
• Ghost Rider No. 58
• God Loves, Man Kills X-Men. Only the 1994 Trade Paperback edition.
• The Incredible Hulk No. 295 -#297, #301, No. 312
• The Iron Manual Trade Paperback
• King Conan No. 11
• Kull The Conqueror No. 2
• Marc Spector: Moon Knight #26–31, 34
• Marvel Graphic Novel No. 8 (Super Boxers)
• The Marvel Masterpieces Collection 2 No. 3
• Marvel Spotlight Vol 2 No. 6
• The Mighty Thor #332–333
• The New Defenders #125, #131, No. 135
• New Mutants No. 17
• Nick Fury versus S.H.I.E.L.D. No. 2
• The Official Marvel Index To The X-Men Vol 2 No. 3
• The Power of Iron Man TPB
• The Punisher Vol 2 No. 93
• The Punisher Holiday Special No. 2
• Return of the Jedi #1–4, Super Special TPB
• Rom #46–47, #52–54, #68, #71, Annual 2–3
• The Savage Sword of Conan No. 116
• Spider-Girl Annual '99
• Spider-Woman No. 16
• Starriors #1–4
• Star Wars #92, 101
• The Transformers No. 1
• Thor Vol 2 No. 75
• Uncanny X-Men #195, 252
• What If? #43–47
• Wonder Man No. 1
• X-Calibre No. 3
• X-Men Unlimited No. 3

Other publishers[link]

• 30 Days of Night: Beyond Barrow (3 issue mini series, covers and full interior art)
• The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist #2, published by Dark Horse
• Big Numbers # 1 – 2 (Covers and full interior art and several pages of number 3 which was unpublished and the series discontinued)
• Brought to Light Graphic novel (Cover and interior art)
• Judge Dredd #'s 12 to 22 – Titan books collected edition (Covers only)
• Judge Dredd and the Angel Gang – Collected edition graphic novel (Cover only)
• Judge Dredd: City of the Damned – Collected edition graphic novel (Cover only)
• Judge Dredd: Innocents Abroad – Collected edition graphic novel (Cover only. Note – this is a cropped and inferior version of the cover of the Titan books Judge Dredd # 14)
• Judge Dredd: Oz Books One to Three – Titan books collected edition (Covers only. Note – all three covers interlink to form larger image)
• Judge Dredd: The Complete Oz – Collected edition graphic novel (Cover only. Note – The cover features a mix of covers # 2 + 3 from the single reprint books)
• Lone Wolf and Cub # 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 – US reprint books by First Publishing (Covers only)
• M3 #2 published by Hound Comics (cover only)
• Oni Double Feature #4–5 ("A River in Egypt" part one and two)
• The Nightmare Factory - Volume 2 graphic novel, published by Fox Atomic Comics
• Classics Illustrated #4 – Moby-Dick (Berkley Publishing)
• Total Eclipse #1–5 (cover only)
• The Matrix Graphic novel (Interior art on story section)

Other work[link]

• Santa, My Life & Times. (Illustrated storybook, cover and full interior art)
• Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix (Illustrated storybook with CD, cover and full interior art)
• Bill Sienkiewicz Sketchbook (Fantagraphics)
• Vampire: The Masquerade Revised Guide to Camarilla & Sabbat covers

Media[link]

• The Venture Bros. Seasons 1 and 3, published by Warner Home Video
• Bruce Cockburn's album The Charity of Night
• RZA's album Bobby Digital in Stereo
• EPMD's album Business as Usual
• Entertainment Weekly, various covers
• Spin Magazine, various covers
• Resident Evil, cover artwork for the American and European release of the PlayStation version
• Roger Waters' Leaving Beirut
• Sold Out: A Threevening with Kevin Smith

Trading cards[link]

• VS System, various sets
• Big Budget Circus (Eclipse Enterprises)
• Friendly Dictators (Eclipse Enterprises)
• Coup D’Etat (Eclipse Enterprises)
• Rock Bottom Awards (Eclipse Enterprises)
• Marvel Masterpieces, Series 2 and Series 3, assorted cards
• 1994 Fleer Ultra X-Men, assorted cards

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Official website
• Bill Sienkiewicz at the Comic Book Database
• Lambiek Comiclopedia: Bill Sienkiewicz
• The Man Without Fear (January 2000): Bill Sienkiewicz interview

Henryk Sienkiewicz
Born	Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz (1846-05-05)5 May 1846 Wola Okrzejska, Congress Poland
Died	15 November 1916(1916-11-15) (aged 70) Vevey, Switzerland
Occupation	Novelist
Language	Polish
Nationality	Polish
Period	19th-20th century
Notable work(s)	Ogniem i mieczem Potop Pan Wołodyjowski Rodzina Połanieckich Quo Vadis Krzyżacy W pustyni i w puszczy
Notable award(s)	Nobel Prize in Literature 1905

Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz (Polish pronunciation: [ˈxɛnrɨk ˈadam alɛˈksandɛr ˈpʲus ɕɛŋˈkʲevʲit͡ʂ]; also known as "Litwos" [ˈlitfɔs]; May 5, 1846 – November 15, 1916) was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic (noble) of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his "outstanding merits as an epic writer."

Born into an impoverished noble family in Russian-ruled Poland, Sienkiewicz wrote historical novels set during the Rzeczpospolita (Polish Republic, or Commonwealth). Many of his novels were first serialized in newspapers, and even today are still in print. In Poland, he is best known for his historical novels "With Fire and Sword", "The Deluge", and "Fire in the Steppe" (The Trilogy) set during the 17th-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, while internationally he is best known for Quo Vadis, set in Nero's Rome. Quo Vadis has been filmed several times, most notably the 1951 version.

Life[link]

Sienkiewicz monument atop Sienkiewicz Mound at Okrzeja. At left is the writer's family's village, Wola Okrzejska.

Sienkiewicz monument at Słupsk

Sienkiewicz was born in Wola Okrzejska, a village in eastern Poland, that was part of the Russian Empire at the time. His was an impoverished noble family, on his father's side deriving from Tatars who had settled in Lithuania.^[1][2][3] His family used the coat of arms Oszyk. His parents were Józef Sienkiewicz (1813–1896) and Stefania (née Cieciszowska), (1820–1873). Wola Okrzejska belonged to the writer's maternal grandmother, Felicjana Cieciszowska. He was baptized in the neighbouring village of Okrzeja in a church founded by his great-grandmother. His family moved several times and in the end settled in Warsaw in 1861.

In 1858, Henryk began secondary school in Warsaw. He did not receive very good grades but he was good at liberal arts. Because of the hard financial times, the nineteen-year-old Sienkiewicz took up a job as a tutor in the Weyher family in Płońsk. During this period he probably wrote his first novel, Ofiara (Sacrifice). He also worked on his publicized novel Na marne (In Vain). In addition, he finished his extramural classes in secondary school and in 1866 received the secondary school diploma. According to his parents' wishes, he passed the examination to the medical department at Warsaw University. After some time, he resigned and took up law studies. He ended up transferring to the Institute of Philology and History where he acquired a thorough knowledge of literature and Old Polish. In 1867 he made his first attempts in literature and wrote a rhyming piece Sielanka Młodości, which he submitted for publication in Tygodnik Ilustrowany (Illustrated Weekly) but it was rejected. In 1869 Sienkiewicz debuted as a journalist. Przegląd Tygodniowy (The Weekly Review) printed his review of a play, and Tygodnik Ilustrowany printed his essay about Mikołaj Sęp-Sarzyński. Sienkiewicz also wrote for Gazeta Polska (The Polish Gazette) and Niwa under the pen name "Litwos". In 1873 he started to write a column "Bez tytułu" ("Without a Title") in Gazeta Polska and in 1875 the series called "Chwila obecna" ("The Present Moment"). From 1874 he took care of the literary section of Niwa.

He wrote the novel Na marne (In Vain, 1871) and then Humoreski z teki Woroszyłły, Stary Sługa (The Old Servant, 1875), Hania (1876) and Selim Mirza (1877). The last three works are referred to as the Little Trilogy. Sienkiewicz also visited his relative Jadwiga Łuszczewska (known as "Deotyma") and the actress Helena Modrzejewska, as their dinner parties were very popular.

In 1876 he went to the United States with Helena Modrzejewska. He stayed for some time in California. During this period he wrote Listy z podróży (Letters From a Journey), which were published in Gazeta Polska and received wide recognition. He also wrote Szkice węglem (Sketches in Charcoal) in 1877. The trip to the USA inspired him to write the following works: Komedia z pomyłek (A Comedy of Errors, 1878), Przez stepy (1879), W krainie złota (1880), Za chlebem (For Bread, 1880), Latarnik (Lighthouse Keeper, 1881) Wspomnienia z Maripozy (1882), and Sachem (1883).

In 1878 Henryk Sienkiewicz returned to Europe. First, he stayed in London and then went to Paris for a year. In France he had got a chance to familiarize himself with naturalism, a new trend in literature. In the article "Z Paryża" ("From Paris"), written in 1879, he expressed a positive opinion on this trend. He stated that, "For a novel naturalism was in fact a brilliant, indispensable and perhaps the only step forward." Two years later he changed his mind and became more critical about this movement. He expressed his opinions on naturalism and writing in general in the following published works: O naturaliźmie w powieści (Naturalism in the Novel, 1881), O powieści historycznej (Historical novel, 1889), and Listy o Zoli (Letters about Zola, 1893).

His stay in America and his letter-writing published in Polish newspapers resulted in national recognition and interest. Bolesław Prus in his article entitled "Co p. Sienkiewicz wyrabia z piękniejszą połową Warszawy", published in Kurier Warszawski in 1880, nicely showed the popularity of the writer. "As he was back from America, almost every lady took tall and handsome men for Sienkiewicz... Finally, when I noticed that every man has got hair like Sienkiewicz and all of the young men, one by one, grow a royal beard and try to have a statuesque and swarthy face, I realised that I wanted to meet him personally... From the corner where I sit, I can see that the room is almost exclusively crowded with the fair sex. Some men, who were there to amuse ladies or to write reports, spent so much time in the company of women that they started to talk in the feminine."

Sienkiewicz's family coat-of-arms, Oszyk, was a variant of this Łabędź (Swan) coat-of-arms.

In 1879, in Lviv, Sienkiewicz gave a lecture, "Z Nowego Jorku do Kalifornii" ("From New York to California"). In 1880, at the Bazar Hotel in Poznań, he read his novel, Za chlebem (For Bread), and later in Warsaw two papers on naturalism in literature. In Szczawnica, on his way back to Lviv in 1879, he read a paper about his stay in America. This was also where he first saw his future wife, Maria Szetkiewicz (1854–1885). When he discovered that the whole Szetkiewicz family was going to Venice, Sienkiewicz went there too and met Maria. They married on 18 August 1881, at Theatre Square in a church of the Community of Canonesses (the church no longer exists). They had two children, Henryk Józef (1882–1959) and Jadwiga Maria (1883–1969). The marriage did not last long, however, because Maria died on 18 August 1885. In 1882 he worked with Słowo (The Word, a daily newspaper with a conservative and szlachta tendency). Initially he was the editor-in-chief. He also wrote a play, Na jedną kartę (A Single Page), which was later staged at Lviv and Warsaw (1879–81).

In 1880 Sienkiewicz wrote a historical novella, Niewola tatarska (Tartar Captivity), and began work on another historical novel, Ogniem i Mieczem (With Fire and Sword). In a letter of February 1, 1884, to Stanisław Smolka, editor of the Kraków newspaper Czas, Sienkiewicz wrote: "With regard to the great novel, it will probably be titled Wilcze gniazdo (The Wolf's Nest). It takes place during the reign of King Jan Kazimierz, during the Cossack revolt." The novel Wilcze gniazdo appeared in installments in Słowo from May 2, 1883, to March 1, 1884, under the title Ogniem i mieczem (With Fire and Sword). It also ran simultaneously in the Kraków newspaper, Czas. In With Fire and Sword, he portrayed German mercenaries in a positive manner, in contrast to the Teutonic Knights.

With Fire and Sword was enthusiastically received by readers (as were the next two volumes of the Trilogy) and won national recognition for the author. Many readers wrote to Sienkiewicz, asking about the next adventures of their favorite characters. In 1879 a street in Zbarazh (one of the settings in With Fire and Sword) was named after Sienkiewicz; in 1900 its citizens would not permit building works on the church grounds, believing that it was the place where Pan Podbipięta (a fictional character in With Fire and Sword) was buried.

The novel was also adapted for the stage. In 1884 Jacek Malczewski exhibited tableaux vivants inspired by With Fire and Sword. The novel also garnered some criticism. It was pointed out, not without reason, that some of the historical facts and events were misrepresented and distorted.

He began writing the second volume of his Trilogy – Potop ("The Deluge"); according to Sienkiewicz the title was supposed to indicate the deluge of masses of people trying to stop the Swedish invasion.^{[citation needed]} Potop was printed in Słowo (from 23 December 1884 to 2 September 1886). The novel quickly became a best-seller and it established Sienkiewicz's position in society. While Sienkiewicz was writing Potop, his wife, Maria Szetkiewicz, died of tuberculosis so it was a difficult time for the writer. After Maria's death, Sienkiewicz went to Constantinople (through Bucharest and Varna) from where he was writing reports. After his return to Warsaw the third volume of the Trilogy, Pan Wołodyjowski (Fire in the Steppe) appeared. The novel was published in Słowo from May 1887 to May 1888.

The Trilogy made Henryk Sienkiewicz the most widely read and known Polish novelist. Stefan Żeromski wrote in his Diaries: "In the Sandomierz area I witnessed myself that everybody, even those who usually do not read, were asking about The Deluge." Sienkiewicz was given 15 thousand rubles in recognition of his achievements from an unknown admirer who signed himself as Michał Wołodyjowski (the name of the character in the Trilogy). Sienkiewicz used this money to open the scholarship fund (named after his wife) designed for artists endangered by tuberculosis.

Sienkiewicz

In 1888 Sienkiewicz went to Spain. In 1890 he involved himself in organizing the Mickiewicz Year. At the end of 1890 he went to Africa which resulted in the writing of Listy z Afryki (Letters from Africa). In 1891 a book edition of the novel Bez dogmatu (Without Dogma) was published. Earlier, from 1889 to 1890, the novel was printed in installments in Słowo. In 1892 Sienkiewicz signed an agreement for another novel - Rodzina Połanieckich (Children of the Soil), and the book came out in print in 1895.

The period at the turn of the 1880s and 1890s was associated with intensive work on several novels. Maria Romanowska, the stepdaughter of a wealthy Odessan named Wołodkowicz, entered the writer's life and Sienkiewicz and Romanowska became engaged in that city. Their wedding took place on November 11, 1893, but the bride soon left the author and Sienkiewicz obtained papal consent to dissolution of the marriage.

In the summer of 1894 in Zakopane, Sienkiewicz introduced some fragments of his new novel Krzyżacy (The Teutonic Knights, or "The Knights of the Cross"). The negative portrayal of the Teutonic Order in The Teutonic Knights was remarkable as a significant portion of his readership lived under German rule.

Sienkiewicz was meticulous in attempting to recreate the authenticity of historical language. In his Trilogy, for instance, he had his characters use the Polish language as he imagined it was spoken in the seventeenth century (in reality it was far more similar to 19th-century Polish than he imagined). In The Teutonic Knights, which relates to the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, he even had his characters speak a variety of medieval Polish which he recreated in part from archaic expressions then still common among the highlanders of Podhale.

In February 1895 Sienkiewicz wrote the first chapters of Quo Vadis, for which he had been gathering materials since 1893. The novel started appearing in print in March 1895 in several Polish newspapers: in Gazeta Polska in Warsaw, Czas in Cracow and in Dziennik Poznański in Poznań (Greater Poland region). It stopped appearing at the end of February 1896. The book edition then appeared very quickly. The novel gained recognition and became extremely popular all over Europe. It was translated into many languages, including Arabic and Japanese. The popularity of Quo Vadis at that time was supported by the fact that the horses competing in Grand Prix de Paris were given names of the characters from the book. The novel was repeatedly adapted and put on the stage. There was also an opera made on the basis of the book. In 1913 Quo Vadis was screened and the novel was filmed several more times.

Sienkiewicz's residence at Oblęgorek^[4]

In 1900 Sienkiewicz celebrated an anniversary of his artistic work. On the occasion the Polish people presented him with an estate at Oblęgorek and he went on to open a school for children there. In the same year the Jagiellonian University awarded Sienkiewicz an honorary doctorate.

Sienkiewicz involved himself in social matters. In 1901 he made an appeal in a cause of children in Września. In 1906 he called on his fellow countrymen in the USA to help starving people in the Kingdom of Poland. In 1904 he married his niece, Maria Babska.

In 1905 he won a Nobel Prize for lifetime achievement as an epic writer. It is often erroneously said that Sienkiewicz received his Nobel Prize for Quo vadis. He actually received it "for his outstanding merits as an epic writer" although Quo Vadis perhaps brought him the widest international recognition.^[5][6] In the acceptance speech Sienkiewicz said that this honour was particularly valuable for a son of Poland, saying "She was pronounced dead - yet here is a proof that She lives on". He also added, "She was pronounced defeated - and here is proof that She is victorious".

Sienkiewicz's tomb, St. John's Cathedral, Warsaw

He wrote a novel, Na polu chwały (On the Field of Glory), that was intended as the beginning of a trilogy. In 1910 his novel for young people, W pustyni i w puszczy (In Desert and Wilderness) appeared in installments in the newspaper, Kurier Warszawski.

After the outbreak of World War I, Sienkiewicz left for Switzerland. Together with Ignacy Paderewski he established the Vevey Swiss General Committee to Aid Victims of the War. He died on November 15, 1916, in Vevey, where he was buried. In 1924, after Poland had regained its independence, the writer's ashes were repatriated to Warsaw, Poland, and placed in the crypt of St. John's Cathedral.

Sienkiewicz was a knight of the French Légion d'honneur.

Novels[link]

• The Trilogy (Trylogia), comprising:
  • With Fire and Sword (Ogniem i mieczem, 1884), which took place during the 17th century Cossack revolt known as the Khmelnytsky Uprising; made into a movie with the same title. A video game based on the novel, Mount&Blade: With Fire & Sword, has been released by Turkish studio TaleWorlds.;^[7]
  • The Deluge, (Potop, 1886), describing the Swedish invasion of Poland known as The Deluge; made into a movie with the same title;
  • Fire in the Steppe also called Pan Michael (Pan Wołodyjowski, 1888), which took place during wars with the Ottoman Empire in the late 17th century; made into a film titled Colonel Wolodyjowski.
• The Teutonic Knights, also translated as The Knights of the Cross, ISBN 0-7818-0433-7 (Krzyżacy, 1900, relating to the Battle of Grunwald); made into a movie with the same title in 1960 by Aleksander Ford.
• Quo Vadis (1895) The story of St. Peter in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero.
• On the Field of Glory (1906) The story of King John III Sobieski and the Battle of Vienna.
• In Desert and Wilderness (W pustyni i w puszczy, 1912).
• The Polaniecki Family (Rodzina Połanieckich, 1894).
• Without Dogma (Bez dogmatu, 1891).
• Vortices (Wiry, 1910).

Other works[link]

In Vain, Hania, Pan Michael, The New Soldier, In Monte Carlo, Pisma Vol 24, Her Tragic Fate, So Runs the World, Let Us Follow Him, Sielanka, On the Bright Shore, On the Sunny Shore, and Children of the Soil.

Recognition[link]

• Named after Sienkiewicz, in Poland, are streets in Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Sienkiewicza Street in Kielce, and Białystok's Osiedle Sienkiewicza; city parks in Wrocław and Łódź; and many schools in Poland. There are standing statues of Sienkiewicz in Częstochowa and Słupsk, and a large seated statue in Warsaw's Łazienki Park.
• Many of Sienkiewicz's works have been translated into Hebrew and were popular in the 1940s among Mandatory Palestine's Jewish community, many of whom were immigrants and refugees from Poland, and also during Israel's early decades. Often, parents who had in their youth liked the books in the original Polish, introduced the translations to their children who did not know Polish. However, in later generations the books' popularity in Israel has waned

See also[link]

• Gawęda
• Macaronic language
• List of coupled cousins
• List of Poles

Henryk Sienkiewicz Museum[link]

The Museum of Henryk Sienkiewicz is located in Wola Okrzejska at 21-480 Okrzeja; Phone: 025 755 9000; Tel. / fax: 025 797 6000.^[8]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Henryk Sienkiewicz

• Works by Henryk Sienkiewicz at Project Gutenberg
• Works by Henryk Sienkiewicz on Open Library at the Internet Archive
• Works of Henryk Sienkiewicz at the Internet Archive
• (Polish) Works of Henryk Sienkiewicz at Polish Wikisource
• Biography at the Polish American Center
• Homepage of the Henryk Sienkiewicz Museum in Oblegorek