Dorota Masłowska (
Polish pronunciation:; born 3 July 1983) is a Polish
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just
Readin ...
,
columnist
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...
and
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
. She is the winner of the 2006
Nike Award
The Nike Literary Award (, pronounced ) is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award for Polish literatu ...
, Poland's most important literary prize, for her novel ''The Queen's Peacock''.
Life and work
Masłowska was born in
Wejherowo
Wejherowo (; formerly ) is a city in Gdańsk Pomerania, northern Poland, with 48,735 inhabitants (2021). It has been the capital of Wejherowo County in Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999; previously, it was a city in Gdańsk Voivodeship (1975–199 ...
, and grew up there. She applied for the
University of Gdańsk's faculty of psychology and was accepted, but left the studies for Warsaw, where she joined the culture studies at the
Warsaw University
The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well as 100 specializat ...
. She first appeared in the mass-media when her debut book ''Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną'' (translated to English as either ''White and Red'' in the UK or ''Snow White and Russian Red'' in the US; literally means ''Polish-Russian War under White-Red Flag'') was published. Largely controversial, mostly because of the language seen by many as vulgar, cynical and simple, the book was praised by many intellectuals as innovative and fresh. Among the most active supporters of Masłowska were
Marcin Świetlicki
Marcin Świetlicki (born 24 December 1961) is a Polish poet, writer, and musician. He lives and works in Kraków, Poland.
Świetlicki was born in Piaski, near Lublin, Polish literature">Polish Literature at the Jagiellonian University in Krak� ...
and
Polityka
''Polityka'' (, ''Politics'') is a centre-left weekly news magazine in Poland. It had a circulation of 95,300 during 2021. ''Polityka'' has a slightly intellectual, socially liberal profile, setting it apart from the more conservative ''Wprost ...
weekly staff, most notably renowned writer
Jerzy Pilch
Jerzy Pilch (; 10 August 1952 – 29 May 2020) was a Polish writer, columnist, and journalist. He is the winner of the 2001 Nike Award for his novel ''Pod Mocnym Aniołem''. Critics have compared Pilch's style to Witold Gombrowicz, Milan Kunde ...
. A notable example of post-modernist literature, her book became a best-seller in Poland and won Masłowska several notable awards as well as general support among the critics. It was almost immediately translated onto several languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Russian, English, Hungarian, Czech and Lithuanian, and won the
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...
.
Her second novel ''Paw królowej'' (''The Queen's Peacock'') did not gain similar popularity, even though it won the
NIKE Literary Award in 2006. As of 2009, Dorota Masłowska's permanent residence is in
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
. In 2009, she resided in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
on a
German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD; ), founded in 1925, is a joint organization of German universities and student bodies to foster their international relations. Since 1 January 2020, the president has been Joybrato Mukherjee.
Organisa ...
stipend. She has collaborated with a number of magazines, most notably the
Przekrój
''Przekrój'' (; ''Cross-section'') was the oldest Polish weekly newsmagazine in operation, established in 1945 in Kraków. After temporary closure in 2013, it was bought by photographer Tomasz Niewiadomski and subsequently relaunched in December ...
and
Wysokie Obcasy weeklies, as well as Lampa monthly and the quarterly B EAT magazine.
Her first play, ''Dwoje biednych Rumunów mówiących po polsku'' (''
A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians''), has been translated by Lisa Goldman and Paul Sirett and was performed for the first time in the UK at
Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in north-east London. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three pe ...
from 28 February – 29 March 2008 with a cast featuring
Andrew Tiernan,
Andrea Riseborough
Andrea Louise Riseborough (born 20 November 1981) is an English actress. She made her film debut with a small part in ''Venus'' (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in '' Brighton Rock'' (2010), '' W.E.'' (2011), '' Shadow Dan ...
,
Howard Ward,
Valerie Lilley,
Ishia Bennison,
John Rogan
John Rogan (February 12, 1867 – September 11, 1905; some sources indicate 1871 as his birth year), was an American sharecropper who was recorded as the tallest non-mobile person ever, and the second-tallest person ever at , behind Robert Wad ...
and
Jason Cheater. Neither Goldman nor Sirett know Polish and based their adaptation on a technical translation and a line by line translation with Dorota Maslowska in London in 2007. An American translation of the play by Benjamin Paloff was commissioned by TR Warszawa in 2007 and has been performed in New York. Dorota Maslowska October 2015 she was awarded the Bronze
Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.
Works
*2002: ''Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną''. Warsaw:
Lampa i Iskra Boża, (UK edition: ''White and Red'', Atlantic Books, ; US edition: ''Snow White and Russian Red'', Grove Press, )
*2005: ''Paw królowej''. Warsaw:
Lampa i Iskra Boża, (no English translation announced yet)
*2006: ''Dwoje biednych Rumunów mówiących po polsku''. Warsaw:
Lampa i Iskra Boża, . Translated into English as ''A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians'', by Lisa Goldman and Paul Sirett, Oberon Books Ltd (29 Feb 2008), , . Staged at Soho Theatre, London, between 28 February – 29 March 2008.
*2008: ''Między nami dobrze jest'' ("All's Good Between Us"), drama
*2010: ''Schneeweiß und Russenrot'', drama
*2012: ''Kochanie, zabiłam nasze koty'' ("Honey, I Killed Our Cats"), novel
*2018: ''Inni ludzie'', novel
Discography
* ''
Społeczeństwo jest niemiłe'' (2014, as Mister D.)
References
External links
''The sweet taste of underground''– Essay on Maslowska's second book, a rap poem, by German journalist
Ina Hartwig at signandsight.com
''I Was a Teenage Polish Existentialist''– Essay on Maslowska's first novel by Wolfie Darling.
Dorota Masłowskaat culture.pl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maslowska, Dorota
1983 births
Living people
People from Wejherowo
21st-century Polish novelists
Nike Award winners
Polish women novelists
21st-century Polish women writers
Recipients of the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis