IRZYKOWSKI, KAROL

born Jan. 25, 1873, Blazkowa, near Tarnw, Austria-Hungary [now in Poland] died Nov. 2, 1944, Zyrardw, Pol. Polish novelist and literary critic. Educated at the University of Lww, Irzykowski moved in 1908 to Krakw, where he joined the editorial board of Nowa Reforma, a liberal newspaper. After World War I he moved to Warsaw, where he contributed articles and theatrical reviews to Robotnik, a socialist daily. During the German occupation of Poland he was active in the Polish underground and died as a result of serious wounds received during the Warsaw uprising. Described as one of the most eccentric figures of the Polish Neoromantic literary world, Irzykowski is remembered as the author of Paluba (The Hag), a huge novel begun in 1891 and published in 1903. The book combines a penetrating psychological analysis of its characters with a series of digressions on novel writing. Derided upon its publication, Paluba in 1948 was reprinted following attempts by several critics to rehabilitate Irzykowski's reputation. His diaries appeared in 1964.