Talk:Antoni Gronowicz

COI request for edits to Antoni Gronowicz

Change 2nd sentence from:

He wrote eighteen books of which many were biographies, notably Garbo: A Life and God’s Broker: The Life of John Paul II as Told in his Own Words (both of which were hoaxes)[2]

to:

He wrote eighteen books of which many were biographies, notably Garbo: Her Story and God’s Broker: The Life of John Paul II as Told in his Own Words (both of which faced some controversies) [1][3][4]

Also remove Citation [2], because it does not state anywhere that the books were hoaxes.

Explanation:

It is my intention to add this explanation in the body:

- Regarding Garbo book:

Garbo publicly denied that she ever knew or met Gronowicz and was not happy about a biography being written about her. Her friends and attorneys have called the book a hoax. Gronowicz stated to the press: “She thinks the book will damage her reputation. I had many interviews with her. She is trying to destroy me.”

In 1990, after the book was released, the estate of Garbo sued the book publisher.The matter was eventually settled out of court. The book was never edited or pulled from the shelves. So ultimately it was never proven for the book to be a hoax.

- Regarding the Pope Book:

This book became controversial due to the political climate in the United States and Gronowicz’s writing concerning  the assassination attempt on the Pope. I cannot find any publications calling it a hoax.

Gronowicz went on trial for refusing to disclose his source(s) for the facts in the books. It was a very big case, that for the first time put on trial the first amendment rights of a writer. I am going to also request a section to be added about this later.

Note also change of the book name from "Garbo: A Life" to "Garbo: Her Story." I can only find one reference to a book with "Garbo: A Life" in the title, which does not seem like a reliable source. However, all other references have the title as "Garbo: Her Story."

Citations:

1- https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/21/archives/garbo-book-is-called-a-hoax-statement-issued-beautifully-written.html

2- https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/polishreview.58.4.0081 (remove this)

3- https://apnews.com/article/07bca3bc5a58371953fc23e32d4cbe35

4- https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/20/arts/new-book-on-pope-cause-of-disagreement-between-vatican-and-author.html Aporesing60 (talk) 08:39, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

Thanks. Aporesing60 (talk) 09:41, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

 Done I have posted this for you.Edhaves (talk) 08:53, 17 October 2022 (UTC)

COI request for edits to Antoni Gronowicz - Part 2

Add this new section, before Selected Bibliography:

Controversy around “Garbo: Her Story”

Gronowicz met Greta Garbo, who reminded him of the well-known Polish actress Helena Modjeska , who specialized in Shakespearean and tragic roles.[1] These acquaintances led him to write a biography of Modjeska titled Modjeska: Her Life and Loves, and a novel with a foreword by Greta Garbo titled An Orange Full of Dreams,[1] which tells the story of a fictional world-famous, reclusive actress from Poland who lived in California. Later in 1990, after Gronowicz’s and Garbo’s death, a biography of Garbo titled Garbo: Her Story, written by Antoni Gronowicz, was published.[3]

Garbo publicly denied that she ever knew or met Gronowicz and was not happy about a biography being written about her. Her friends and attorneys have called the book a hoax. Gronowicz stated to the press: “She thinks the book will damage her reputation. I had many interviews with her. She is trying to destroy me.” [2]

In 1990, after the book was released, the estate of Garbo sued the book publisher.The matter was eventually settled out of court. The book was never edited or pulled from the shelves.[3]

Citations:

1- https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/06/archives/westchester-opinion-biography-of-garbo-planned.html

2- https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/21/archives/garbo-book-is-called-a-hoax-statement-issued-beautifully-written.html

3 -https://apnews.com/article/07bca3bc5a58371953fc23e32d4cbe35

Thanks. Aporesing60 (talk) 09:41, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

 Done I have also posted this one. Edhaves (talk) 09:07, 17 October 2022 (UTC)

Cleaned up a few loose ends.....Duke Gilmore (talk) 03:40, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

COI request for edits to Antoni Gronowicz - Part 3

After above section, before Selected Bibiography, add new header

Publications from 1973-1976

Move these 2 sentences down under it from "Post World War II Career" section:

In 1973, Gronowicz published the novel The Hookmen, which was about the very wealthy in the United States and the railroad industry.

His next book, titled Polish Profiles: The Land, the People, and Their History, was based on his travels to and from Poland. It was published in 1976.

Thanks. Aporesing60 (talk) 09:41, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

@Aporesing60  Done Cheers. Duke Gilmore (talk) 03:45, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

COI request for edits to Antoni Gronowicz - Part 4

Add a new section prior to " Post-World War II Career": Marriage and Early Career

During his lecture tour in New York City, Gronowicz met Sophie Shymanski, whom he married in 1940. They stayed in New York City for their entire lives and raised two children. Anthony was born in 1945 and Gloria in 1952. During this time Gronowicz wrote about Poland and the United States in works such as such as Bolek, a book about pre-war Poland and the escape of a Polish boy to the United States, and Four From the Old Town, a book about Lwow under Nazi occupation.

Citations:

1- https://www.murphyfuneralhomect.com/obituaries/sophie-shymanski-gronowicz/ or https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/hartfordcourant/name/sophie-gronowicz-obituary?id=18271237 (both say the same thing)

2- https://www.nytimes.com/1942/11/15/archives/a-tale-of-poland-bolek-by-antoni-gronowicz-rendered-in-english-by.html

3- https://www.nytimes.com/1944/11/12/archives/review-19-no-title-four-from-the-old-town-by-antoni-gronowicz.html

Thanks. Aporesing60 (talk) 09:42, 3 August 2022 (UTC)]

@Aporesing60  Done Cheers Duke Gilmore (talk) 03:59, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

COI request for edits to Antoni Gronowicz - Part 5

New Section before "Selected Bibligraphy," after "Publications from 1973-1976"

God’s Broker, Supreme Court and Death

During his travels in Poland, Gronowicz met Polish Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski and traveled with him to Rome in 1979 to meet The Pope, John Paul II .[1] Gronowicz wrote the biography God’s Broker: The Life of John Paul II as Told in His Own Words, published in 1984, based on interviews with the Pope arranged by the late Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski of Poland.[1] This book became controversial due to the political climate in the United States and Gronowicz’s writing concerning the assassination attempt on the Pope.[1]

Twenty-one years after the attempt on his life, the Pope, in a gesture at clearing his conscience at remaining silent so many years about the egregious national slur to Bulgaria over stories that the Bulgarian government had supervised the attempted assassination,journeyed to Bulgaria to state unequivocally, stated: “I never believed in the so-called Bulgarian connection.”[2]

Sources:

1- https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/20/arts/new-book-on-pope-cause-of-disagreement-between-vatican-and-author.html

2-https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/05/25/pope-rejects-bulgarian-connection-to-1981-attack-against-him/f860bd11-194b-4c7d-9fe6-c62bfdcdde67/ (existing source)

Thanks. Aporesing60 (talk) 09:42, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

@Aporesing60  Done Cheers. Duke Gilmore (talk) 14:20, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

COI request for edits to Antoni Gronowicz - Part 6

This is continuation after Part 5 above. I am just breaking up the parts for easier review.

The firm of Richardson & Snyder subsequently published Gronowicz’s book in 1984.[1][2] Soon after publication, Gronowicz brought a civil case against Philadelphia’s ex-comptroller Tom Leonard who had signed a movie contract in New York City to produce the book. He had reneged, and Gronowicz sued him in civil court for breach of contract.[3][4] The United States government convened a grand jury that demanded that Gronowicz show his sources for the book . When Gronowicz refused to comply, United States District Court Judge Louis C. Bechtle imposed a $500-a-day fine and threatened him with jail time.[5]

Since Leonard resided in another state than Gronowicz, Washington had the legal hook to intervene on grounds of the mail fraud statute across state borders.[6]

Sources:

1- https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/20/arts/new-book-on-pope-cause-of-disagreement-between-vatican-and-author.html

2- https://www.google.com/books/edition/Speech_Crime_and_the_Uses_of_Language/XhgtcJVTRycC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22richa

3- https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/30/books/god-s-broker-author-refuses-to-produce-notes.html

4- https://cite.case.law/frd/109/624/

5- https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1984/12/16/investigating-a-book/0ea72708-0c64-4a1b-b61d-74153494c916/

6- https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2559&context=vlr

Thanks. Aporesing60 (talk) 09:42, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

@Aporesing60 This section was fairly muddled. Reworded the text to clarify and conform with the citations. Duke Gilmore (talk) 15:29, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

COI request for edits to Antoni Gronowicz - Part 7

This is continuation after Part 5 above. I am just breaking up the parts for easier review.

His federal case represented the first time in United States history that an author other than a journalist was compelled to ascertain his sources.[21] The Author’s Guild, The Author’s League,the Dramatist’s Guild , the American Civil Liberties’ Union,[22][23] as well as Burton Caine[24] and Thomas Emerson,[25] two of the top U.S. civil liberties’ scholars, protested this action on the grounds of free speech. Gronowicz won his appeal in February 1985[26] but the decision was reversed by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.[27]

The Author’s League, a 14 thousand member national society of professional authors and dramatists, deplored a Court of Appeals ruling against Gronowicz because it “enormously expands the government’s power to subject the author of a dissenting or controversial work to a grand jury inquisition about the truth of his book, and to mail fraud prosecution under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1341, by claiming it contains false factual statements and alleging these induced a publisher to issue the book.” The Authors League maintained that God’s Broker was not defamatory and that the government’s actions of investigation and prosecution would have a chilling effect on authors’ freedom of expression.[23][18]

Sources:

• 18- https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/30/books/god-s-broker-author-refuses-to-produce-notes.html
• 21- https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2274&context=ndlr
• 22- https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/28/books/author-of-book-on-pope-ordered-to-produce-notes.html
• 23- https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/30/books/publishing-the-impact-of-gronowicz.html
• 24- https://openjurist.org/764/f2d/983/in-re-grand-jury-matter-antoni-gronowicz
• 25- https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5225&context=gradschool_theses
• 26- https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/27/books/author-wins-appeal-on-documents.html
• 27- https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/764/983/150097/

Thanks. Aporesing60 (talk) 09:42, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

@Aporesing60 Phew... Done Duke Gilmore (talk) 16:05, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

COI request for edits to Antoni Gronowicz - Part 8

This is continuation after Part 5 above. I am just breaking up the parts for easier review.

His federal case represented the first time in United States history that an author other than a journalist was compelled to ascertain his sources.[21] The Author’s Guild, The Author’s League,the Dramatist’s Guild , the American Civil Liberties’ Union,[22][23] as well as Burton Caine[24] and Thomas Emerson,[25] two of the top U.S. civil liberties’ scholars, protested this action on the grounds of free speech. Gronowicz won his appeal in February 1985[26] but the decision was reversed by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.[27]

The Author’s League, a 14 thousand member national society of professional authors and dramatists, deplored a Court of Appeals ruling against Gronowicz because it “enormously expands the government’s power to subject the author of a dissenting or controversial work to a grand jury inquisition about the truth of his book, and to mail fraud prosecution under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1341, by claiming it contains false factual statements and alleging these induced a publisher to issue the book.” The Authors League maintained that God’s Broker was not defamatory and that the government’s actions of investigation and prosecution would have a chilling effect on authors’ freedom of expression.[23][18]

Sources:

• 18- https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/30/books/god-s-broker-author-refuses-to-produce-notes.html
• 21- https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2274&context=ndlr
• 22- https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/28/books/author-of-book-on-pope-ordered-to-produce-notes.html
• 23- https://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/30/books/publishing-the-impact-of-gronowicz.html
• 24- https://openjurist.org/764/f2d/983/in-re-grand-jury-matter-antoni-gronowicz
• 25- https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5225&context=gradschool_theses
• 26- https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/27/books/author-wins-appeal-on-documents.html
• 27- https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/764/983/150097/

Thanks. Aporesing60 (talk) 09:42, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

@Aporesing60 Already  Done This is a duplicate of the previous request. Duke Gilmore (talk) 16:07, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

COI request for edits to Antoni Gronowicz - Part 9

This is continuation after Part 5 above. I am just breaking up the parts for easier review.

The Philadelphia branch of the American Civil Liberties Union sided with Gronowicz, arguing the investigation was a threat to First Amendment rights.[18]

In the meantime, Richardson & Snyder firm’s principal partner, Julian Snyder, recalled God’s Broker from all booksellers in the United States. He dissolved his joint publishing venture with fellow principal partner Stewart Richardson. Richardson disagreed with Snyder’s decision and expressed a desire to sue Snyder for breach of contract.[18][20]

Former United States Attorney General Ramsey Clark became Gronowicz’s principal First Amendment lawyer in the federal case before the Supreme Court.[29]

As the case wended its way to the Supreme Court, Gronowicz died of a heart attack.[17]

During the case, one circuit judge filed a dissent, “Searching somewhat deeper into history, one could add Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species and the works of Galileo, all were seen in their time as threatening the views of the orthodoxy.”[22][24] The Washington Post editorialized that Gronowicz’s case “is exactly the misuse of the government’s criminal investigative powers that the First Amendment was written to prevent.”[6]

Sources:

• 6- https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1984/12/16/investigating-a-book/0ea72708-0c64-4a1b-b61d-74153494c916/
• 17- https://www.google.com/books/edition/Speech_Crime_and_the_Uses_of_Language/XhgtcJVTRycC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22richardson+%26+snyder%22+%22antoni+gronowicz%22&pg=PA318&printsec=frontcover
• 18- https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/30/books/god-s-broker-author-refuses-to-produce-notes.html
• 20- https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2559&context=vlr
• 22- https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/28/books/author-of-book-on-pope-ordered-to-produce-notes.html
• 24- https://openjurist.org/764/f2d/983/in-re-grand-jury-matter-antoni-gronowicz
• 29- ​https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/11/21/The-author-of-a-controversial-biography-of-Pope-John/2012980649176/

Thanks. Aporesing60 (talk) 09:43, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

@Aporesing60 Some of the citations do not support the claim. Please provide better citations or the claim could be removed. Duke Gilmore (talk) 16:28, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

COI request for edits to Antoni Gronowicz - Part 10

Add after Selected bibliography:

Plays

• Radosne Dosnyki
• The United Animals[30]
• Shores of Pleasure Shores of Pain[31]
• Chiseler’s Paradise
• Forward Together[32][33]
• Recepta
• Greta (unproduced)[34]
• Rocos[14]
• Colors of Conscience
• The League of Animals, A Fantasy, in One Hundred Non-Royalty Radio Plays compiled by William Kozlenko[35]

Sources:

• 14- ​​https://www.nytimes.com/1977/10/06/archives/westchester-opinion-biography-of-garbo-planned.html
• 30- https://www.google.com/books/edition/Catalog_of_Copyright_Entries/MDMhAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22the+united+animals%22+%22antoni+gronowicz%22&pg=RA1-PA129&printsec=frontcover
• 31- https://www.google.com/books/edition/Catalog_of_Copyright_Entries/ijshAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22antoni+gronowicz%22+%22shores+of+pleasure%22&pg=RA1-PA50&printsec=frontcover
• 32- https://www.google.com/books/edition/Catalog_of_Copyright_Entries/REEhAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=antoni+gronowicz+%22forward+together%22&pg=RA2-PA106&printsec=frontcover
• 33- https://www.nytimes.com/1969/05/05/archives/julian-mayfield-to-do-broadway-play-in-fall.html
• 34- https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1972/05/04/pique/
• 35- https://www.worldcat.org/title/one-hundred-non-royalty-radio-plays/oclc/1220775

Thanks. Aporesing60 (talk) 09:43, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

@Aporesing60  Done Duke Gilmore (talk) 16:32, 27 December 2022 (UTC)

COI request for edits to Antoni Gronowicz - Part 11

Add after above section (Plays) add these:

Poetry

• Melodia świtów: Poezje zebrine (1939)[36]
• Prosto w oczy, translated as Straight in the Eye, Poland: Ludowa Spółdziełnia Wydawnicza. (1978)[38]
• The Quiet Vengeance of Words, Reprinted from The Polish Review, Vol. Xiii, No.1, winter, pp. 66-94, New York, NY. (1968)[37]
• Selected Polish Poems, translated by Antoni Gronowicz, reprinted as a booklet from The Polish Review, Vol. XVI, No. 3, Summer, 1971, pp. 79-86 and Vol XVII, No.2, Spring, 1972 pp. 78-85. Published by the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences in America, Inc., (1972)[39][40]

Sources:

• 36- https://opac.chbp.chelm.pl/sowacgi.php?KatID=0&typ=record&001=LCHk17000525
• 37- https://www.jstor.org/stable/25776755
• 38- https://www.google.com/books/edition/Prosto_w_oczy/KjtIAAAAIAAJ?hl=en
• 39- https://www.jstor.org/stable/25776992
• 40- https://www.jstor.org/stable/25777047

Thanks. Aporesing60 (talk) 09:43, 3 August 2022 (UTC)

@Aporesing60 {done}} Please see various comments above and respond with a new edit request. Cheers. Duke Gilmore (talk) 16:34, 27 December 2022 (UTC)