Aleksandra Boćkowska

(b. 1973) – a journalist, editor, reporter.

She is the author of books about the everyday life in and fall of Communist Poland: “To nie są moje wielbłądy. O modzie w PRL” (These Are Not My Camels. Fashion in the Polish People’s Republic), “Księżyc z peweksu. O luksusie w PRL” (The Moon from Pewex. Luxury in the Polish People’s Republic) and “Można wybierać. 4 czerwca 1989” (Free to Choose. 4^th June 1989).

In 1998 she started working as a journalist for “Gazeta Wyborcza” and “Newsweek”, and then as an editor at opinion-forming weeklies and lifestyle magazines “Pani”, “Viva! Moda” and “Elle”.

She became highly regarded for her incisive reportage focused on the realities of social and cultural life in Poland. The books These Are Not My Camels. Fashion in the Polish People’s Republic (2015) and The Moon from Pewex. Luxury in the Polish People’s Republic (2017) show that fashion and luxury were associated not only with material or social aspirations, but also with a desire to retain a sense of agency in a scarcity economy. 2019 saw the publication of her reportage book Free to Choose. 4^th June 1989, describing Poland’s first partly free parliamentary elections from the perspective of people from small towns and villages.

Her next book “To wszystko nie robi się samo. Rozmowy na zapleczu kultury” (All This Doesn’t Happen By Itself. Conversations Behind the Scenes of Culture, 2023), is the result of a series of interviews with figures from the world of art, literature, theatre and film which she carried out from 2019 onwards in “Dwutygodnik” magazine. The album “„Ty i Ja”. Magazyn, grafika, zjawisko”, (“Ty i Ja”. Magazine, Graphics, Phenomenon), published by Dom Spotkań z Historią (The History Meeting House) in Polish and English, included her text about postwar fashion.

In 2025 Boćkowska published her most recent book, about the history of Gdynia: “Gdynia. Pierwsza w Polsce” (Gdynia. The First in Poland). With a journalist’s insight, the author talks about the complex history of this city, which has held a unique position on the Polish map – both real and imagined – for decades. She talks to local residents, activists and politicians, outlining the history of beautiful, overlooked or forgotten places.

Boćkowska writes articles and columns for the portals “Dwutygodnik” and “Vogue Polska” and the magazine “Wysokie Obcasy Extra”.

More information about Aleksandra Boćkowska’s work can be found on the website www.aleksandrabockowska.com.