Paweł Kaczmarski

(b. 1991) – a literary critic, editor, translator, with a PhD in the Humanities from the University of Wrocław.

He is the author of numerous sketches in the specialist press and in Polish culture and sociopolitical periodicals. Kaczmarski is a strident voice in discussions on the role of poetry and literary criticism in social commentary. He also looks at the ties between literature and economics.

His role as a critic and literary commentator often joins with his function as co-animator of many creative initiatives: with critic Marta Koronkiewicz he edited an anthology of young Polish poetry, ‘Zebrało się śliny’ (The Saliva Has Gathered, 2016), and in 2014–15 he served as director of the Microfestival International Festival of Young Poetry. He co-edits 8. Arkusz, a supplement to the Odra monthly magazine on young poetry. With Marta Koronkiewicz and Lynn Suh, he edited WIDMA, a journal of new Polish and American poetry. Again with Marta Koronkiewiecz, in Odra, he interviewed Polish and foreign contemporary poets.

He has published books of literary criticism, ‘Wysoka łączliwość. Szkice o poezji współczesnej’ (High Connectivity: Sketches on Contemporary Poetry, 2018) and ‘Oporne komunikaty. Strategie znaczenia w poezji współczesnej’ (Resistant Messages: Strategies of Meaning in Contemporary Poetry). He has translated a book by Guy Standing on the precariat and universal basic income. He has commented on the work of such Polish poets as Szczepan Kopyt, Tomasz Pułka, Jerzy Jarniewicz, Konrad Góra, Ilona Witkowska and Kira Pietrek. Paweł Kaczmarski’s writing has appeared in Rita Baum, FA-art, Odra, Arterie, Tygodnik Powszechny, Nowy Obywatel, Nowy Napis, Twórczość, Tygiel Kultury, Mały Format, and Magazyn Literacki biBlioteka.