Patryk Szaj

(1989) – Doctor of Humanities, literary scholar, editor, occasional translator.

Patryk Szaj is interested in environmental humanities, the discourse of the Anthropocene, literary theory, the connections between literature and philosophy, contemporary Polish poetry, and the political contexts of literature. He is the author of the monograph “Wierność trudności. Hermeneutyka radykalna Johna D. Caputo a poezja Aleksandra Wata, Tadeusza Różewicza i Stanisława Barańczaka” (Fidelity to Difficulty: The Radical Hermeneutics of John D. Caputo and the Poetry of Aleksander Wat, Tadeusz Różewicz and Stanisław Barańczak, 2019) and the book of essays “Pamiętnik z końca świata (jaki znamy)” (Diary from the End of the World (As We Know It), 2022). His work has been published in “Porównania”, “Pamiętnik Literacki”, “Przestrzenie Teorii”, “Czas Kultury”, “Postscriptum Polonistyczne”, “Kultura Współczesna”, “Śląskie Studia Polonistyczne”, “Wielogłos” “Environmental Values”, and “Phainomena: Journal of Phenomenology and Hermeneutics”. He has edited over 100 volumes of poetry from the Contemporary Poetry Library series (WBPiCAK Publishing House in Poznań). He also regularly collaborates with the editorial office of the cultural biweekly “artPapier” and the online edition of “Czas Kultury”. He is scientific editor of the Environmental Humanities series (słowo/obraz terytoria publishing house, formerly WBPiCAK Publishing House in Poznań). He co-translated the books “Antropocen czy kapitałocen? Natura, historia i kryzys kapitalizmu” (Anthropocene or Capitalocene? Nature, History, and the Crisis of Capitalism), edited by Jason W. Moore (2021, 2nd edition, revised 2025), and “Zoografie. Kwestia zwierzęca od Heideggera do Derridy” (Zoographies: The Question of the Animal from Heidegger to Derrida) by Matthew Calarco (2022). He has edited monographic issues of the journals “Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. Studia Poetica” (“Języki antropocenu”, Languages ​​of the Anthropocene, 2023, vol. 11) and “Zoophilologica: Polish Journal of Animal Studies” (“Zwierzęta w teorii i praktyce politycznej”, Animals in Political Theory and Practice, 2025, no. 1, with Dariusz Gzyra). He is working on a monograph devoted to Polish poetry of the self-conscious Anthropocene.

In 2013, Szaj was awarded the Adam Mickiewicz University Medal “for outstanding achievements in science and distinguished participation in the life of the University”. In 2021, he received the Rector’s Award of the Pedagogical University of Kraków for his scientific achievements and highly rated publications, and in the same year he also received the ZaiKS Creativity Support Fund Scholarship and the Kraków UNESCO City of Literature Award.