Hanna Kowalewska

(b. 1960) – a poet, writer and scriptwriter.

She has been a member of the Polish Writers’ Association since 1996. She collaborated with Polish Radio and Polish Television, writing radio plays and television dramas.

Kowalewska’s poetry is subtle, nostalgic and moody. Her reader finds reflections on human nature and daily life, these works urge us to reflect on life and how it passes, the transitoriness and essence of being human. The motif of connection to nature present in many of Hanna Kowalewska’s poems stresses the relationship between people and the surrounding world.

In her novels, in turn, the reader finds all the traits of her earlier work, confined to a tight plot. This author’s prose has no detailed historical or geographical reference points, her tales unfold in a world of subjective emotions. Kowalewska’s reality is dynamic, full of colours and dichotomies: beauty and ugliness, good and evil. She creates credible protagonists, often grappling with emotional conflicts and forced to make difficult decisions (the main protagonist of the Zawrocie series, for instance, inherits an old-fashioned manor from her grandmother and a keepsake that helps her discover a secret in her life, tied to events in post-war Polish history; at the same time, the begins to understand herself better, and the relationships she is a part of).

Hanna Kowalewska is also the author of plays, including: ‘Gigant’ (Giant, Telewizyjny Teatr Rozmaitości, 1995), ‘Porwanie’ (The Abduction, Scena na Piętrze, 1999; awarded at the Tespis ’97 Polish Drama Competition), ‘Siódme przykazanie’ (The Seventh Commandment, Teatr Autora / Teatr Mały, 1998). She has also written radio play scripts: ‘Czterolistna koniczyna’ (Four-Leaf Clover, 1993), ‘Jezioro o podwójnym dnie’ (Lake with a False Bottom, 1995; winner of an award from the Polish Radio Drama Editors ‘Choosing a Dwójka Premiere’ competition, 1996), ‘Szukam drzewa, kochanka oczu’ (I’m Looking for a Tree, A Lover’s Eyes, 1996), ‘Samotność na sprzedaż’ (Loneliness for Sale, 1997; awarded at the Polish Radio Integration with Europe competition), ‘Ty, tylko ty’ (You, Just You, 1999), ‘Szepty i kłamstwa’ (Whispers and Lies, 2001) and ‘Jeden mglisty poranek’ (One Foggy Morning, 2014).

For her book ‘Tego lata, w Zawrociu’ (That Year in Zawrocie), she took first prize in the competition for the best Polish novel organised by Zysk i S-ka and Świat Książki Publishers (1997). In 2003, she received the Miesięcznik Literacki award for ‘Julita i huśtawki’ (Julita and the Swings) and a nomination for the Silesian Library Award in Katowice – Śląski Wawrzyn Literacki.

For more on Hanna Kowalewska’s work, see here.