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World-recognised Polish writer born 100 years ago

Stanisław Lem, the most frequently translated Polish writer, futurologist, philosopher and one of the most outstanding Polish prose writers of the 20th century, who gained worldwide recognition was born 100 years ago, on September 12 or 13, 1921.

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Despite Jewish roots, the young Lem fortunately avoided the ghetto and survived the Nazi occupation. With the re-entry of the Soviet army and the change of borders in 1945, Stanisław Lem moved to Poland and never returned to his hometown. He died in 2006 in Krakow.

Mr Lem was the most popular Polish writer abroad – the total circulation of his books, translated into 41 languages, exceeded 30 million copies.

Stanisław Lem’s output, covering about 40 works, is mostly devoted to the analysis of the ethical consequences of the scientific and technological revolution. In his books, he would often touch upon the issues of the nature of man and his place in the universe.

Among the most renowned works of Stanisław Lem are “Highcastle: A Remembrance” and “Hospital of Transfiguration”, both considered realistic novels, while “Solaris” and “The Adventures of Pirx” belong to the genre of classic science fiction.

His legacy will not only be engraved in novels and essays. One of the 700,000 planetoids in the belt between Mars and Jupiter, the planetoid 3836, was named after Stanisław Lem, as was the first Polish artificial satellite. The Polish Lower House established 2021 as the Year of Stanisław Lem.

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