Photo by Bartosz Mokrzycki / www.wroclaw.pl
Prof. Bartczak is the Head of the Department of North American Literature and Culture at the University of Lodz. He conducts research on American poetry from Romanticism to the present day, considering historical, theoretical and comparative contexts.
The Silesius Poetry Award is a literary prize awarded in the field of poetry since 2008. Previous winners include Tadeusz Różewicz, Stanisław Barańczak and Julian Kornhauser.
Silesius Lifetime Achievement Award – to say I'm surprised is an understatement. I'm simply overjoyed. There's something new in this verdict, which I sense in the enthusiastic reaction of young people, which makes me incredibly happy. Moreover, in this case, "lifetime" refers to my university activities to some extent, as my creative activities are correlated with my research and teaching work. These fields feed into each other. So I'm doubly happy because – as I'd like to see it – this is also my contribution to the life of our community, the intellectual and creative community of the University of Lodz
– underlines Prof. Bartczak.
The award ceremony was held on 18 October during a joint Silesius and Angelus Central European Literature Award gala. In addition to a commemorative statuette, the laureate from the Faculty of Philology of the University of Lodz received a prize of PLN 100,000.
Bartczak made his debut 25 years ago, and today he has published nine books of poetry. Each is a distinct world: different images, different emotions. And yet, a Bartczak poem is easy to recognise; it contains all the gold that poetry can still gather and preserve for the future. We have recognised not only his originality of thought and critical engagement with language, but also –and perhaps above all – his wonderful poetic imagination
– stated Anna Kałuża, a Silesius juror, in the justification of the verdict (quote from www.wroclaw.pl).
We would like to offer our sincere congratulations on the award!
Source: Promotion and Communication Office, Faculty of Philology, University of Lodz
