Michał Bałucki, pseudonym Elpidon (September 29, 1837 in Kraków – October 17, 1901 in Kraków), was a Polish playwright and poet. Biography He studied at Saint's Ann gymnasium in Cracow, and then at the Jagiellonian University. He was an active member of a youth organization that wanted to help Poles fighting the tsarist regime in Russian occupied Poland, but he did not fight in the January Uprising. He was sentenced to prison for conspiracy after being arrested at the end of 1863. He debuted in 1861 with poems based on folklore motifs. In his poems, he attacked Galician aristocrats and the middle class that looked up to them. At the end of his life he suffered from neurosis and depression and, after a virulently critical article written by Lucjan Rydel, he committed suicide in Błonia Park. Works Novels: 1864 Awakening 1866 Elders and young 1870 Glittering poverty 1871 Jewess 1872 It is about a piece of land 1874 From a camp to a camp 1875 White Negro (Biały murzyn) 1881 Lordly beggars 1881 Cracow's images 1885 In Jewish hands 1887 The Mayor from Pipidówka Comedies: 1867 Councillor's councillors 1871 Hunting a husband 1871 Hard-working lazybones 1873 Emancipation 1879 Cousins 1880 Neighbours 1881 Big shot 1883 Neighbours: Open house 1889 Neighbours: Hard times 1890 Neighbours: Bachelors' club References E. Rosner, Cieszyńskie okruchy literackie, Cieszyn 1983, s. 14-15. Bibliography Rosner E., Cieszyńskie okruchy literackie, Cieszyn 1983, s. 14-16. Anna Sobiecka, "Michał Bałucki i teatr: wybrane problemy i aspekty", Słupsk 2006, External links Polish Literature in English Translation: Michał Bałucki Michał Bałucki at poezja.org Jagiellonian University alumni Polish male dramatists and playwrights Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery 1837 births 1901 deaths 19th-century Polish poets 19th-century Polish dramatists and playwrights Polish male poets 19th-century Polish male writers 1901 suicides Polish positivists