Early in his life his family moved to Warsaw's borough of Czerniaków, a distinct cultural area populated mostly by factory workers and other working poor.

In 1958 he debuted with Pięć lat kacetu (Five Years in Concentration Camps), a striking description of his stay in Nazi Germany during the war.

The following year he published Boso, ale w ostrogach (Barefoot but with spurs), a description of the pre-war life of Czerniaków, one of the most colorful boroughs of Warsaw.

After its publication he became known as the chronicler of life of pre-war Warsaw in numerous songs, including the street ballads for which he became best known.

In the 1960s he started his work on yet another novel, Na marginesie życia (On the Margin of Life), documenting his struggle against tuberculosis, as well as the Polish post-war welfare services.