Wincenty Korotyński

Peasants, father – Aleksander Karataj, mother – Jozefata née Dolidowicz.

Self-educated. A polyglot.

The secretary to W. Syrokomla; encouraged by the poet, Korotyński wrote poetry and studied philology. He made his debut in 1856, and a year later published a poetry book. He contributed to magazines published in Vilnius and Warsaw, writing articles, poems and recollections. A member of the editorial team responsible for Słownik języka polskiego (Polish Dictionary), published in Vilnius, worked with the Archaeological Museum. During the January Uprising, he published anonymously a series of anti-tsarist poems written in Belorussian titled Гутарка старога дзеда (= An Old Man’s Tale). In 1866, he moved from Vilnius to Warsaw. He contributed to Encyklopedia powszechna (The Universal Encyclopaedia) by S. Orgelbrand (from vol. 24 up), did editorial work, for instance, he prepared for publication the 10-volume edition of Syrokomla’s poetry. A translator of the French, Russian, German and Czech languages.

• Małgorzata Majewska, Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861.
• Korotyński Wincenty, [w:] S. Orgelbranda Encyklopedia powszechna, Warszawa 1900, s. 490–491.
• Roman Taborski, Korotyński Wincenty, [w:] Internetowy Polski Słownik Biograficzny.