Przybyszewski, Stanislaw (1868-1927)

Polish writer. A member of the cosmopolitan group of writers, painters, and intellectuals who inhabited Berlin in the 1890s, he wrote in German and Polish. His works include plays, such as Snieg/Snow 1903 and Mściciel/The Avenger 1927; novels, such as Homo sapiens 1895-96; prose poems; and essays. He is regarded as one of the first Polish modernists.

Przybyszewski was a precursor of psychoanalytical trends in literature; his works customarily concern extreme emotional states. His circle of acquaintances included the Swedish writer August Strindberg and the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, on whose work he wrote an essay in 1894.