1933- . Polish-born US novelist, author of
The Painted Bird 1965, about a strange boy
brutally treated during World War II; Being
There 1971, about a retarded gardener who is
thought to be a wise man because his
gardening tips are taken as metaphors for
life; and Passion Play 1979.
He was born in Lodz, and escaped from Poland
through the USSR during World War II. He was
then educated as a sociologist at the
university in Lodz but eventually went to the
USA in 1957. He taught himself English, the
language in which he writes.