T
he Nike Literary Award gala took place on October 2 in Warsaw. In the final of the 26th edition of the Nike Literary Award, the jury chaired by Prof. Przemysław Czapliński included three novels. Moreover, the nominated seven works include a volume of poetry, a biography, an essay and a historical reportage. In spring, the jury presented a long list of 20 nominated books.
The finals of 2022 Nike Literary Award included:
- Anna Cieplak, “Rozpływaj się”, Wydawnictwo Literackie
- Artur Domosławski, “Wygnaniec”, Wielka Litera
- Jerzy Jarniewicz, “Mondo cane”, Biuro Literackie
- Joanna Ostrowska, “Oni”, Krytyka Polityczna
- Edward Pasewicz, “Pulverkopf”, Wielka Litera
- Maciej Płaza, “Golem”, Wydawnictwo W.A.B.
- Kacper Pobłocki, “Chamstwo”, Wydawnictwo Czarne
The Nike Literary Award went to Jerzy Jarniewicz for the book of poetry, “Mondo cane”
– I hope you can see that I am utterly surprised. I do not know what to say. It takes my speech away. I take this award as a reward for poetry which can be a lifeline. How many of us read poetry? As many as there were fallen Spartans at Thermopylae. But maybe from tomorrow, there will be more thanks to this award
– said the winner of Nike from the stage.
– It was possible to make a political declaration, but it seems to me that the situation is so serious and dangerous that I would not like to devalue important reflections with my accidental, occasional comment – he emphasized. In the volume “Mondo cane” Jarniewicz records the deaths of his friends, breakups, and departures – and mercilessly looks at his reactions to these “extremes”. He deals with the model of confessional poetry when he exposes both the perverse voyeurism of the media and the weaknesses of his own, more and more often the ailing body. He constantly changes the perspective of syntax: once he sets the lens from an ironic distance, then he cameras everything in a shockingly intimate close-up.
Who is Jerzy Jarniewicz?
Jerzy Jarniewicz – born in Łowicz. He is a poet, a translator and a critic. In 1982 he graduated in English from the University of Lodz, in 1984 in philosophy. Author of, among others, poetry volumes: “Dowód z tożsamości” (2003), “Oranżada” (2005), “For Today and Now” (2012) and “Woda na Marsie” (2015), numerous translations of foreign literature and literary criticism books. Since 1994, editor of “Literatura na Świecie”. He collaborates with “Gazeta Wyborcza”, “Tygodnik Powszechny” and “Tygłem Kultury”. He lives in Łódź.
Joanna Ostrowska gets The Nike Audience Award
The Nike Audience winner was Joanna Ostrowska for her reportage “Oni. Homoseksualiści w czasie drugiej wojny światowej”.
In her speech, she talked about the current situation in Poland – the campaign against LGBT + people initiated by the representatives of the ruling camp. She indicated it as a crucial context for the creation of the book.
– This is the award to all activists, activists, researchers, archivists and archivists, brave people who have helped me against institutions. I wrote this book thanks to them – pointed out Ostrowska.
“They” do not exist because of our fault. Blurred by pre-war phantasms fueled by Nazi propaganda, war and camp rumours, they were considered nameless seducers, criminals, and an anti-social element. Finally, one has to rebel against these ideas, and it is impossible to remain silent about “them”.
The Nike Literary Award (Polish: Nagroda Literacka Nike”) is one of the most prestigious awards for Polish literature.
Established in 1997 and funded by Gazeta Wyborcza, Polish second-largest daily paper, and the consulting company NICOM, it is conferred annually in October for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish published the previous year. It is open to nominees from all literary genres, including non-fiction essays and autobiographies.
Each year, a nine-member jury selects the laureate in a three-stage process. The jury accepts twenty official nominees in May (this year in June), then declares seven finalists in September. The final decision takes place on the day of the award ceremony in October.
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The featured photo taken by Przemysław Poznański, Zupełnie Inna Opowieść
