Ernest Bryll



Ernest Włodzimierz Bryll (1 March 1935, Warsaw – 17 March 2024, Warsaw ) – Polish poet, writer, songwriter, journalist, translator and film critic, also a diplomat.

Life
He came from a peasant family from Kuyavia lake Gopło. He grew up in Komorowo Stare and Gdynia. He graduated from 2nd Liceum Ogólnokształcące in Gdynia, and Polish Philology faculty of Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego (1956) and film knowledge study at Łódź Film School. Due to his fathers' background in Home Army he was blacklisted from his dream journalism work, and so he started to work in a power plant no 11 in Port of Gdynia and Stocznia Gdynia.

His first poetry book, Wigilie wariata, was published in 1958. He was a member of writers rooms of social-cultural themed newspapers (e.g. 1959–1960 at Współczesność). He was a member of Polish Writers Association. He became a member of Polish United Workers' Party in the mid 60s. When the martial law in Poland was introduced, he quit the party.

From 1963 to 1967 he was the literary director in Teatr Telewizji. The following year he managed the film team Kamera, and from 1970 to 1974 he was a director in Polish Theatre, Warsaw. From 1974 to 1978 Bryll was a director of Polish Cultural Institute in London, and from 1991 to 1995 he was the ambassador at Embassy of Poland, Dublin.

He wrote song lyrics since 1965. His songs were sung by bands: 2 plus 1, Enigmatic, Pakt, Partita, Myslovitz, Skaldowie, Waganci and solo artists such as: Michał Bajor, Stan Borys, Zofia i Zbigniew Framerowie, Halina Frąckowiak, Marek Grechuta, Jerzy Grunwald, Teresa Haremza, Edward Hulewicz, Leonard Jakubowski, Halina Kunicka, Bernard Ładysz, Urszula Narbut, Czesław Niemen, Daniel Olbrychski, Jerzy Połomski, Rudolf Poledniok, Krystyna Prońko, Łucja Prus, Danuta Rinn, Maryla Rodowicz, Andrzej Rybiński, Warren Schatz, Urszula Sipińska, Józef Sojka, Teresa Tutinas, Juliusz Wickiewicz, Adam Wojdak.

Many of his lyrics were accompanied by the music by Katarzyna Gärtner. In 1968, together with Marek Sart he established a band Drumlersi. Sart wrote music, and Bryll wrote the lyrics.

He collaborated with composers such as: Jerzy Derfel, Antoni Kopff, Włodzimierz Korcz, Janusz Kruk, Czesław Niemen, Andrzej Zieliński.

Since 2012 he worked at Polish Film Institute (from 2012 to 2018, as a director of the literary department).

He died 16 March 2024 in Warsaw, aged 89.

Private life
He married Małgorzata Goraj, they had one son and two daughters. He lived in Warszawa, but he had also lived for many years in Otwock, mentioned frequently in his writings.