Wiesław Myśliwski (Polish pronunciation: ; born 25 March 1932 in

Dwikozy Dwikozy is a village in Sandomierz County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Dwikozy. It lies approximately north-east of Sandomierz and east of the regional ...

, near

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

) is a Polish

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. He is a two-time recipient of the

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 ...

, the most important literary prize for

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

Life and work

He was born to a middle class family and raised in

Ćmielów Ćmielów is a town in Ostrowiec County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland, seat of Gmina Ćmielów. As of December 2021, it has 2,954 inhabitants. It is known for one of Poland's oldest Ćmielów Porcelain Factory, porcelain factories dating ...

, where his father had participated in the Polish-Soviet War and became a local official after being demobilized. In her youth, his mother was an active member of , a rural young person's organization founded by . After the war, he attended secondary schools in Sandomierz; graduating in 1951. He then studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

at the

Catholic University of Lublin John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (, , abbreviation KUL) is a university established in 1918. History Father Idzi Benedykt Radziszewski founded the university in 1918. Lenin allowed the priest to take the library and equipment of ...

, taking his degree in 1956. From then until 1976, he worked on the editorial staff at the (People's Publishing Cooperative). From 1976 to 1999, he was Editor-in-chief of the cultural quarterly ''Regiony'', and later contributed to the literary bi-weekly '. Since 1997, he has chaired the jury for the prize. He was a member of the

Polish Writers' Union The Polish Writers' Union or the Union of Polish Writers (, ZLP) was established at a meeting of Polish writers and activists in Lublin behind the Soviet front line, during the liberation of Poland by the Red Army in 1944. Its initial name (Prof ...

from 1971 to 1983.

Works

In his novels and plays Myśliwski concentrates on life in the Polish countryside. He is a two-time winner of the

(Polish equivalent of the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

) for ''Horizon'' (1996) and ''A Treatise on Shelling Beans'' (2006). To date, only Myśliwski and

Olga Tokarczuk Olga Nawoja Tokarczuk (; born 29 January 1962) is a Polish writer, activist, and public intellectual. She is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful authors of her generation in Poland. In 2019, she was awarded the 2018 Nobel Pri ...

have won the award twice. His first novel translated into English was ''The Palace'', rendered by Ursula Phillips. Bill Johnston's English translation of ''Kamień na kamieniu'', published by

Archipelago Books Archipelago Books is an American not-for-profit publisher dedicated to promoting "cross-cultural exchange through international literature in translation." Located in Brooklyn, New York, it publishes small to mid-size runs of international fictio ...

as ''Stone Upon Stone'', won the 2012

Best Translated Book Award The Best Translated Book Award was an American literary award that recognized the previous year's best original translation into English, one book of poetry and one of fiction. It was inaugurated in 2008 and was conferred by Three Percent, the onl ...

Works

Novels

*1967: ''Nagi sad'', Warsaw, Publisher: PIW *1970: ''Pałac'' (translated by Ursula Phillips as ''The Palace'' in 1991), Warsaw, Publisher:PIW *1984: ''Kamień na kamieniu'' (translated by Bill Johnston as ''Stone Upon Stone'' in 2011), Warsaw, Publisher:PIW *1996: ''Widnokrąg'', Warsaw, Publisher: Muza *2006: ''Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli'' (translated by Bill Johnston as ''A Treatise on Shelling Beans'' in 2013), Kraków, Publisher: Znak *2013: ''Ostatnie rozdanie'', Kraków, Publisher: Znak *2018: ''Ucho Igielne'', Kraków, Publisher: Znak

Dramas

*1973: ''Złodziej'' *1978: ''Klucznik'' *1988: ''Drzewo'', Szczecin, Publisher: Wydawnictwo Glob *2000: ''Requiem dla gospodyni'', Warsaw, Publisher: Muza

Essays and interviews

*2003: ''Kres kultury chłopskiej'' Bochnia, Prowincjonalna Oficyna Wydawnicza *2021: ''Myśliwski - Bocheński Rozmowy istotne'', Łódź, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego *2022: ''W środku jesteśmy baśnią : mowy i rozmowy'', Kraków, Znak

Selected awards and honors

*1996:

, ''Widnokrąg'' *1997:

Władysław Reymont Władysław Stanisław Reymont (; born Rejment; 7 May 1867 – 5 December 1925) was a Polish novelist and the laureate of the 1924 Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known work is the award-winning four-volume novel '' Chłopi'' (''The Peasant ...

Prize, ''Widnokrąg'' *2005: Golden

Medal for Merit to Culture - Gloria Artis The Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture () or Gloria Artis Medal, is a departmental decoration of Poland in arts awarded by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland to persons and organizations for distinguis ...

*2006:

, ''Traktat o łuskaniu fasoli'' *2007:

Gdynia Literary Prize Gdynia Literary Prize () is a Polish literary prize, which is awarded annually to authors of the best books published in the previous year in the prose, poetry, essay and (since 2014) translation categories. It was established in 2006 by Wojc ...

, ''Widnokrąg'' *2012:

, ''Stone Upon Stone'' (''Kamień na kamieniu'') The 2012 Best Translated Book Award Winners
Chad Post, Three Percent, May 4, 2012. *2012:

PEN Translation Prize The PEN Translation Prize (formerly known as the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize through 2008) is an annual award given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been pr ...

, ''Stone Upon Stone'' *2012: Commander's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

*2012:

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the

University of Rzeszów The University of Rzeszów () is a public university located in Rzeszów, Poland. It was established on September 1, 2001 through the merger of several higher education institutions in the city, including the Rzeszów branch of the Maria Curie-S ...

*2022: Honorary doctorate from the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mysliwski, Wieslaw Polish male writers 1932 births Living people Nike Award winners

Life and work

Works

Works

Novels

Dramas

Essays and interviews

Selected awards and honors

See also

References