Silesius 2015 for the entire literary output
The award for the entire literary output will be granted to Jacek Podsiadło. ‘He is an excellent poet, whose individuality left a significant mark on the poetry of the last 25 years – from books released in the alternative publishing movement of the 1980s till the latest excellent poetry volume ‘Przez sen’ ('In Sleep'), which has recently been published and shows the best sides of his creative output,’ says Professor Jacek Łukasiewicz, the chairman of the jury of the Silesius Wroclaw Poetry Award. The rules of the Silesius Award clearly say that, apart from a considerable literary output, the award must be granted to an author whose book was published last year. ‘When such a book is good, it is easier to talk about the nomination, and Jacek Podsiadło’s volume is excellent,’ stresses Grzegorz Jankowicz, a member of the jury, a literary critic and a translator.
Jacek Podsiadło was born in 1964 in Szewna near Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (today he lives in Opole). He is not only a poet, but also a prose writer, a translator, a journalist (he runs his own home radio Studnia) and a columnist (he published his texts in Tygodnik Powszechny for nearly a decade). He gained fame as one of the most popular poets of the BruLion group.
Silesius 2015 for the book of the year
Apart from Jacek Podsiadło, awards will also be granted to two other poets, but their names have not been announced yet. In the Book of the Year category, the following seven volumes have been nominated for the Silesius Award (a prize in the amount of 50,000 PLN):
- Roman Honet, ‘Świat był mój’ ('The World Was Mine') /Biuro Literackie/ - Adam Pluszka, 'Zestaw do besztań' ('Chiding Set') /Wydawnictwo WBPiCAK, Poznań/ - Marcin Sendecki, ‘Przedmiar robót’ ('Bill of Quantities') /Biuro Literackie/ - Krzysztof Siwczyk, 'Dokąd bądź' ('To Anywhere') /Wydawnictwo a5/ - Julia Szychowiak, ‘Intro’ /Biuro Literackie/ - Adam Wiedemann, ‘Z ruchem’ ('With Movement') /Wydawnictwo WBPiCAK w Poznaniu/ - Filip Zawada, 'Trzy ścieżki nad jedną rzeką sumują się' ('Three Paths Sum Up Over One River') /Biuro Literackie/
Silesius 2015 for the debut of the year
Nominations for the Silesius Award in the Debut of the Year category (a prize in the amount of 20,000 PLN) were granted to authors of three poetry books:
- Michał Książek, ‘Nauka o ptakach’ ('The Science of Birds') /Fundacja Sąsiedzi/ - Rafał Różewicz, ‘Product placement’ /Zeszyty Poetyckie/ - Urszula Zajączkowska, ‘Atomy’ ('Atoms') /Zeszyty Poetyckie/
Nominations can be a valuable suggestion not only for the literary circle, but also for poetry fans. ‘Thanks to such suggestions, readers can get to know various poetic projects and have a different attitude to poetry,’ stresses Grzegorz Jankowski. The literary critic Justyna Sobolewska, who was a member of the jury, was astonished at the growing number of bilingual volumes (poems in Polish and English version, or in Polish and Czech version) and unexpected ancient motifs. ‘In times when we do not learn Latin and few works of ancient literature are discussed in schools, the ancient period suddenly returns in poetry,’ adds Sobolewska.
Professor Jacek Łukasiewicz praised debut books as very interesting works. ‘All of them are promising, their authors are prospective people and this may result in wonderful things,’ admits the chairman of the jury of the Silesius Wroclaw Poetry Award.
The winners will be announced during the gala in the Capitol Theatre on the 23rd of May.
