Bronisław Maj

(b. 1953) – a poet, essayist, columnist and literary critic.

Maj made his debut in 1970 with poems in the Poezja journal. After graduating from secondary school, he enrolled in Polish Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, and upon graduating, worked as a scriptwriter and actor at KTO Theatre, which he co-founded. Developing his literary and critical activities, he published reviews and poems in Więz, Nowy Wyraz, Tygodnik Kulturalny and Tygodnik Powszechny. In 1983, he founded a spoken-word literary journal, NaGłos, of which he was editor-in-chief until 1989.

He has written books of poetry which earned him prestigious literary awards, the reputation of one of his generation’s finest poets, and a place in many anthologies of contemporary poetry, both in Poland and abroad.

Maj’s work often focuses on metaphysical themes, yet it departs from traditional religious verse. The protagonist of his poems is delighted by the world’s beauty, but terrified by its incomprehensible nature. He contemplates the moment where he finds a miraculous sense of belonging, then analyses the bitterness of surprise at his own alienation in the world. This protagonist lives in his memories, recalling the past – his own, but also that of the many – tormented by illness that is the passage of time, which makes intense presence turn into a stinging absence. Finally, this protagonist will not have poetry simply ease the pain or dredge up beauty without trying to cut through to reality and describe the ‘compelling commotion’ that is life. These anxieties ever-present in Maj’s work temper it into an elegiac tone of tenderness for others, but also make him adhere to his values. These are fidelity, friendship, solidarity, and admiration for those things that deserve it.

Stanisław Barańczak wrote of Maj’s poetry: ‘These works are lyrical epiphanies, records of poetic revelations or illuminations that allow the reader to grasp a sense of existing for moment, in all the complexity of their inner antinomies… Bronisław Maj has confirmed this simple truth throughout his work: a consistent metaphysical poet cannot be, in the final analysis, a moralist’.

Maj’s PhD appeared under the title ‘Biały chłopiec’ (The White Boy, published with a selection of Tadeusz Gajcy’s poems, ‘Dotknięty ogniem’ [Touched by Fire]). He also writes literary criticism, for many years was a columnist at Gazeta Wyborcza and Rzeczpospolita, and is an academic lecturer – he runs courses at the Jagiellonian University and the School of Creative Writing. He has written for the theatre and the opera: his script for the film Angelus earned him a nomination for the Polish Orzeł Film Award.

Maj’s poetry has been translated into numerous languages, including French, German, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Hebrew and Vietnamese. He has been published in Polish poetry anthologies abroad. He has been translated by Czesław Miłosz, Stanisław Barańczak and Karl Dedecius, among others.

In 1981, Maj received the Stanisław Grochowiak Medal from the student community for best book debut. In 1984, he was honoured with the Kościelski Foundation Award in Geneva. He is also the winner of the Solidarity Culture Award (1983 and 1984). In 1990, he received the Ring award for lifetime achievement in poetry, and in 1995, the Polish PEN Club Award.