Piotr Wojciechowski

(b. 1938) – prose writer, poet, author of children’s books, illustrator, film director, cultural publicist.

Piotr Wojciechowski was a member of the Polish Writers’ Union between 1970 and 1983. In the period 2002–2005, he served as president of the Polish Writers Association. He is a member of the jury of the Zbyszek Cybulski Award, which is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

He made his debut as a novelist in 1967 with the book “Kamienne pszczoły” (Stone Bees), which was well received by readers and critics alike, and for which he received the Wilhelm Mach Prize. In his prose, Wojciechowski consistently uses devices such as pastiche or quotation, consciously combining various styles (for example, psychological-social novel and spy thriller). He takes a liberal approach to historical and social realities, writing impressionistic prose that creates his own image of the world. The coexistence of different time planes seems to be an attempt to record the Polish tradition in the form that is contained within the social consciousness. These threads can be identified, for example, in the book “Strych świata” (Attic of the World). Thus, the reality of his novels is full of stereotypes, with borrowings from literary conventions and styles – as, for example, in “Tratwa manekina” (The Mannequin’s Raft). In “Harpunnik otchłani” (Harpooner of the Abyss), meanwhile, he transports readers to Zakopane in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The world of this novel is created by interpretations of contemporary myths. There is also an evident fascination with Podhale (Wojciechowski is an expert on the mountains and their culture), as well as French modernism. In 2024, he published a novel in extensive fragments titled “Obietnica Bezdroży” (The Wilderness Promise), in which the characters navigate the challenges of the 21st century.

His poetry books constitute collections of works from different years and life stages. In composing them, Wojciechowski made efforts to ensure that the reader would feel as if they were climbing a mountain – from the roots of words, through caves, valleys and passes, to glimpsing the horizon. He has described his work as follows: “In my books I am simply inviting people to a table filled with various dishes. Help yourselves, let’s have a chat, and it’s whatever anyone finds… Writing is an activity that is not only conscious. It also involves putting drains into your subconscious.”

Wojciechowski’s essays, columns and reviews have been published in many periodicals including “Wyspa”, “Więź”, “Przegląd Katolicki”, “Pastores” and “Nowe Książki”. He has also illustrated several books: “Mysteria, 48 miniatur prozą” (Mysteria, 48 prose miniatures) by Krzysztof Lipowski (2020), “Władcy czterech ścian” (Masters of the Four Walls) by Jolanta Cywińska (2021), “Wszędzie – tomu wierszy” (Everywhere – A Volume of Poems) by Krzysztof D. Szatrawski (2021), “Pieszycka księga umarłych – tomu wierszy” (The Pieszyce Book of the Dead – A Volume of Poems) by Adam Lizakowski (2022), and “Nie zabrałam z sobą radości – wyboru wierszy poetek ukraińskich” (I Didn’t Bring Joy – A Selection of Poems by Ukrainian Female Poets, 2023). He publishes dramatic art and writes film and television scripts.

Wojciechowski has been awarded the Kościelski Award for lifetime achievement (1978), the Silver Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture (2016), and the Władysław Reymont Literary Award for lifetime achievement (2019). For the poetry volume “Chleb z deszczem” (Bread with Rain), he was nominated for the “Orpheus” Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński Poetry Award for the best volume of the year (2019).