A poet. In 1844 he published the first of his poems - Pocztylion - under the pen-name Vladislav Syrokomlya, coined after his family's coat of arms.
He became one of the editors (1861–1862) of the "Kurier Wileński", the largest and most prestigious Polish-language daily newspaper published in the Vilnius area.
Education
In 1833 he entered the Dominican school in Nesvizh (Nieśwież). He
had to give up his studies due to financial problems. In 1837 he began work in
a Marhachevshchina folwark (farm). Between 1841 and 1844,
he worked as a clerk in the Radziwill family land manager's
office.
Career
In 1837 he began working at a Marhachevshchina farm. Between 1841 and 1844, he worked as a clerk in the Radziwill family land manager's office. In 1844 he published the first of his poems - Pocztylion - under the pen-name Vladislav Syrokomlya, coined after his familys' coat of arms. He became one of the editors (1861–1862) of the "Kurier Wileński", the largest and most prestigious Polish-language daily newspaper published in the Vilnius area.
Among the most notable of Syrokomlya's works are translations of various Russian, French, Ukrainian, German and Latin poets, including works by Goethe, Heine, Lermontov, Shevchenko, Nekrasov, Béranger and others. His translations are considered a "great service" for Polish language. Syrokomlya also produced a number of works about Lithuania's rustic nature, people and customs. The vast majority of his works were written in the Polish language, however, he also wrote several poems in Belorusian. During his lifetime, his works were translated into several languages, including Lithuanian.
Works: Translations of Polish-Latin poets of Sigismund's age like Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski (Przekłady poetów polsko-łacińskich epoki zygmuntowskiej m.in. Macieja Kazimierza Sarbiewskiego); "Chats and rhymes elusive" (Gawędy i rymy ulotne) (1853); "Born Jan Dęboróg" (Urodzony Jan Dęboróg); "Poetries of the last hour" (Poezje ostatniej godziny); "Liberation of peasants" (Wyzwolenie włościan); "Margier. A poem from Lithuania's history" (Margier. Poemat z dziejów Litwy) (1855); "Good Thursday" (Wielki Czwartek) (1856); "Janko the Cemetery-man" (Janko Cmentarnik) (1857); "Kasper Kaliński" (1858)
- "A house in the forest (Chatka w lesie)" (1855–1856)
Hrabia na Wątorach (1856); "The magnates and the orphan" (Możnowładcy i sierota) (1859); "Politicians from the countryside" (Wiejscy politycy) (1858); "Wojnarowski"; "A journey of a familiar man through his familiar land" (Podróż swojaka po swojszczyźnie); "The history of literature in Poland" (Dzieje literatury w Polsce)
For taking part in an anti-tsarist demonstration in 1861 in Warsaw he was arrested by the "guard department" and then sentenced to home arrest in his manor in Borejkowszczyzna (now Bareikiškės).