Jane Zielonko

Jane Irene Zielonko (1922–1982) was the Polish-American translator of The Captive Mind by Czesław Miłosz, winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. First published in Polish as Zniewolony umysł, the book examines the collaboration of intellectuals in the Eastern Bloc under Stalinism.

Early life and education Born to Polish immigrants, and resident in Philadelphia, Zielonko graduated in 1944 with an A.B. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an A.M. in 1945 from Columbia University. Her master's thesis was titled "Some American Variants of Child Ballads".

Work with Miłosz After Columbia, Zielonko taught English language and literature at Smith College. She met Czesław Miłosz while he was working as a cultural attaché

In December 1950, during a visit to Poland, Miłosz's passport was confiscated by the Polish government because of suspicions about his lack of ideological purity. In early 1951 the government nevertheless allowed him to visit Paris (apparently the foreign minister's wife was one of his supporters), where he defected. His family remained in the United States, but the American government denied him a visa because of fears about communist influence. At the same time, intellectuals in Paris were supportive of communism, which increased his sense of isolation. She died two years later.

Translations (1953). Miłosz, Czesław. The Captive Mind. Trans. Jane Zielonko. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. (1968). Kołakowski, Leszek (1968). Political Thinking Beyond Politics: Toward a Marxist Humanism. Essays on the Left Today. Trans. Jane Zielonko Peel. New York: Grove Press. (1969). Kołakowski, Leszek (1969). Marxism and Beyond: On Historical Understanding and Individual Responsibility. Trans. Jane Zielonko Peel. London: Pall Mall Press.