Urszula Kozioł

(1931–2025) – a poet, prose writer and columnist.

Counted among the members of the Współczesność generation, Urszula Kozioł published in Współczesność and Tygodnik Kulturalny, among other periodicals. Her poems and articles also appeared in Odra, where, in 1972–2022, she ran the literature section. In 1970, she began working with the Kalambur Student Theatre. She was a member of the Polish PEN Club, and in 1989 became a founding member of the Polish Writers’ Association.

Her poetry bears traces of her travels and journeys; as an avid traveller she crossed Europe and America. Urszula Kozioł’s poems draw from the wealth of nature and vast, sometimes quite exotic cultural sources. A backdrop for her landscapes are the gardens of Eden or Versailles; a backdrop for lovers – a Provencal love poem, the tale of Tristan and Isolde, the story of Othello or Penelope. She enjoyed clashing myth and everyday reality; this is a task for language, making it a deep reflection on the world and the human condition. Moreover, her poetry is full of precise, refined language structures that create a unique style.

One of her last volumes, ‘Momenty’ (Moments), is made up of moving and deeply reflective works on such themes as solitude, the passing of time, and mortality. These poems are an elegy showing various stages and levels of departure from the present and the dying of human relationships. This is to Urszula Kozioł’s most authentic and autobiographical, yet darkest statement. Her award-winning volume ‘Raptularz’ (Rough Draught) is a collection in which the author continues her poetic and reflective search for themes of human existence – the fragility of life, the beauty of the everyday and the passing of time. These works are full of mature humanism, admiration and hope for the experience of more everyday miracles. Kozioł brings a linguistic sensitivity to her prose, giving her works an exceptional rhythm. Her prose is full of empathy and understanding for human emotions and experiences.

She was nominated for prestigious literary awards, including the Orfeusz Poetry Award for ‘Klangor’ (Clangour, 2015), ‘Ucieczki’ (Flights, 2017), Moments (2023) and Rough Draught (2024), and the Nike Literary Award for ‘Supliki’ (Little Knots, 2006), Clangour (2015) and Flights (2017). She received the Nike for Rough Draught (2024). Urszula Kozioł has also received the Władysław Broniewski Award (1964), the Stanisław Piętak Award (1965), the Kościelski Foundation Award (1969) and the City of Wrocław and Minister of Culture and Art Award. In 1998, she was honoured with the Literary Award of the Polish PEN Club. She has also been given international prizes: the Eichendorff Literary Award (2002) and the Gold Centaur from the Italian Academy of Art and Labour in Salsomaggiore (1982). She was honoured with the Gold Service Cross (1974), the Cavalier’s Cross (1981) and Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1997), a ZaiKS badge of honour (2009) and the Gold Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture (2024).

Urszula Kozioł’s works have been featured in anthologies in English, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, French, Greek, Spanish, Dutch, German, Romanian, Serbian, Hungarian and Italian.