Dariusz Sośnicki

(b. 1969) – a poet, English-language translator and editor.

A philosophy graduate from the Adam Mickiewicz University, in 1990 he joined the editorial office of the underground magazine Już jest jutro (1987–94). In 1994–96, he edited the Nowy Nurt biweekly. In 2005–13, he ran the Polish prose department at W.A.B. Publishers, then in 2015–20 he worked as editor-in-chief at Ossolineum Publishers: it was for this publishing house that he designed the ‘From Poland and the World’, ‘The Art of Reading’ and ‘On One Theme’ series.

As a poet, Dariusz Sośnicki debuted with ‘Pod ciężarem traw’ (Under the Weight of Grass), published underground, but his official book debut is considered to be Marlewo (1994). We should note the consistency with which Sośnicki holds to his concept of ‘ineffective poetry’. In his work, the most essential thing seems to be choosing themes and objects that initially seem uninteresting or commonplace. One of Sośnicki’s most striking works is a detailed description of the vicinity of a tram loop. The titles of his two first volumes show his focus on things that are so close to us that we often miss them. Marlewo is the name of a district outside of Poznań where Sośnicki lived in a rented house – it is also where the mostly grim and claustrophobic works in this volume are set.

‘Ikarus’ (Icarus – the name of once-popular municipal buses) came about while Sośnicki was working at Nowy Nurt, which is why a central place is occupied by Rybaki Street, where his editorial office was located. When Sośnicki was describing his view from a window this place had become a pilgrimage site for young Poznań poets.

Sośnicki has a great poetic insight, he strives to create a full, composite vision of an object or situation – sometimes he achieves this in just a few words, other times he uses detailed lists, as in ‘Ptasia piosenka’ (‘Bird Song’), pretending to be a report on the ornithological attractions of the vicinity inhabited by the poet.

Published in 2002, ‘Symetria’ (Symmetry) is, in many respects, different from the books that came before – even the title points to one onomastic detail, and pertains to a theory of aesthetics. In this volume, Sośnicki discovers the ontological basis of his work, the ‘element of symmetry’ (which the philosopher Andrzej Falkiewicz opposes to entropy), a tendency to take on regular forms shared by art and nature. The poet’s move to live in a block of flats was of some importance as well (we might single out the poem ‘Z parteru’ [From the Ground Floor’], a report on the sounds in the staircase), as was his attempt to find himself as a father.

Despite the aforementioned changes in Sośnicki’s optic as a poet, certain motifs recur. Describing ‘Spóźniony owoc radiofonizacji’ (The Late Fruit of Radio Broadcasting), Zofia Król wrote: ‘In the new volume – as in Marlewo of the 1990s, or the later Symmetry – a recurring theme is travel, movement’.

For Marlewo (1994), Dariusz Sośnicki received the Czas Kultury award for best poetry debut and a jury distinction from the Kazimiera Iłłakowiczówna Award. For Symmetry in 2002, he was nominated for the Polityka Passport, and a year later was honoured with the Young Art Medal. The Late Fruit of Radio Broadcasting (2014) brought him a nomination for the Gdynia Literary Award. In 2022, he received a nomination for the Wisława Szymborska Award and the Wrocław Silesius Poetry Award for ‘Po domu’ (About the House).