ROZEWICZ, TADEUSZ

born Oct. 9, 1921, Radomsko, Pol. Polish poet and playwright, whose work combines elements of the Polish avant-garde and the Theatre of the Absurd. Having seen service during World War II in the underground Polish Home Army, Rzewicz made use of his experiences in his first two volumes of poems, Niepokj (1947; Faces of Anxiety) and Czerwona rekawiczka (1948; The Red Glove). These works were notable for their lack of traditional poetic devices such as metre, stanza, and rhyme. In the 1960s he began writing plays, producing among others Kartoteka (1960; The Card Index) and Swiadkowie albo nasza mala stabilizacja (1962; The Witnesses, or Our Little Stabilization; The Witnesses and Other Plays). In a later play, Stara kobieta wysiaduje (1968; The Old Woman Broods in The Witnesses and Other Plays), the title character speaks her monologues from her seat on a growing pile of garbage. In addition to his plays and poetry, Rzewicz was the author of novels, short stories, and works of nonfiction.