Jerzy Kosiński

Jerzy Kosiński (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjɛʐɨ kɔˈɕij̃skʲi]; born Józef Lewinkopf; 14 June 1933 – 3 May 1991) was a Jewish-Polish-American writer and two-time president of the American chapter of P.E.N., who wrote primarily in English.

Born in Poland, he survived World War II there, together with his family, with the help of their Polish villager neighbors; and, as a young man, he emigrated to the U.S., where he became a citizen.

He was known for novels including Being There (1971) and the controversial The Painted Bird (1965), which were adapted as films, respectively, in 1979 and 2019.