Famous NCU Alumni
Zbigniew Herbert
Graduate in law 1949, also studied philosophy
One of the greatest Polish poets, essayists and playwrights
He published ten volumes of poetry, six collections of essays and short stories (four of which were published posthumously), and five dramas. His books have been translated into 38 languages. Various publishers have published collections of his correspondence with his friends and his master from Nicolaus Copernicus University, Professor of Philosophy Henryk Elzenberg.
He was awarded over twenty literary prizes.
He was a poet of contemplation, highly regarded in Poland and abroad. Since the end of the 1960s, he was placed among the most serious contenders for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
He enrolled Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń in 1947, studying first law and then philosophy. After the liquidation of the Department of Philosophy at Nicolaus Copernicus University by the authorities for political reasons in 1951 and the forced sending of Professor Elzenberg on leave, Herbert left Toruń and moved to the University of Warsaw, where he continued his philosophical studies.
The Zbigniew Herbert Foundation, established by his wife Katarzyna, awards an International Literary Award named after the poet.