vēˈtōld gŏmbrōˈvĭch, 1904–69, Polish writer. After studying law at the Univ. of Warsaw, Gombrowicz published his first collection of short stories (1933). This was followed in 1937 by his brilliantly original satirical novel Ferdydurke (tr. 1961, new tr. 2000), which created a literary scandal. From 1938 to 1962 he lived in Buenos Aires, where he wrote a number of well-known diaries. His subsequent work was not published in Poland until the 1950s. Gombrowicz's reputation was established with the translation of his works into French, German, and English. From 1964 until his death Gombrowicz lived in France. His later major novels include Trans-Atlantyk (1953, tr. 1995), Pornografia (1960, tr. 1966) and Kosmos (1965; tr. Cosmos, 1967). Gombrowicz is recognized as an original satirist, an existential innovator who mingled the real with the unreal to convey a highly personal vision of the world. His plays include Princess Ivona (1938, tr. 1969) and The Marriage (1947, tr. 1969).

See his A Kind of Testament (tr. 1972); study by E. M. Thompson (1979).

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