Wojciech Pestka

(1951–2023) – a poet, prose writer, translator and scriptwriter.

After finishing his studies at the University of Marie-Curie Skłodowska in 1974 (in mathematics), until Martial Law broke out he was an academic at the Pedagogical Academy (presently the Jan Długosz Academy) in Częstochowa. He belonged to the Polish Writers’ Association, was the founder and chair of the Jedlnia Association, initiator of many social and cultural projects. He collaborated with numerous magazines, including Wrocław’s Odra, Warsaw’s Twórczość, the bimonthly Lublin, Kultura i Społeczeństwo, and Radom’s Miesięcznik Prowincjonalny. It was said he was ‘a mathematician by education, a farmer by necessity, a writer by choice’.

He made his debut in the biweekly Kamena in 1972. He wrote several poetry collections, and for ‘Dziesięć wierszy dla Grosza’ (Ten Poems for Grosz, 2005), he took the main prize in the competition of the Lublin Branch of the Polish Writers’ Association for the year’s best volume. In his short-story collections – like ‘Ballada o żyletce’ (Ballad of a Razor, 2009) or ‘Mój mąż frajer’ (My Husband the Sucker, 2017) – he looks at ordinary people, their daily lives, emotions and desires. He had an interest in the Borderlands; his reportage looked at the events and experiences of various people residing there (‘Gdyby Polacy nie byli Polakami’ [If Poles Weren’t Poles], 2019), the experience of those residents with Nazi and communist totalitarianism (‘Do zobaczenia w piekle’ [See You in Hell], 2009), and the war that began in 2014 with Russia (‘Diabelska maszyna do szycia’ [The Devil’s Sewing Machine], 2020). He also collaborated on a few books with Ukrainian writers, such as ‘Spacer po linie’ (Tightrope Walk, 2008) with Anna Bagriana and ‘Doliny pod śniegiem’ (Valleys in the Snow, 2015) with Siergiej Morejno. He was the author of a play, ‘Syrop z kocimiętki’ (Catnip Syrup, 2020), a documentary, ‘Leo zawodowiec’ (Leo the Professional, 2015), the co-author of a film script, ‘Klecha’ (Clergyman, 2017, based on motifs from his novel ‘Powiedzcie swoim’ [Tell Your Folk]) and recordings ‘Na powierzchni lustra’ (On the Mirror’s Surface, 2012, with Majra Assare and Siergiej Morejno). He also translated several books from Ukrainian, Russian and Latvian.

Apart from the aforementioned awards, he also received the Marshall’s Award of the Masovian Voivodeship for literary achievement (2010) and the Bolesław Prus Literary Award (2013). For his collection of shattering reportage about the Borderlands, See You in Hell, he was nominated in 2010 for the Józef Mackiewicz Award and the Marshall’s Award of the Masovian Voivodeship. He was also honoured in Ukraine with the Hryhorii Skovoroda International Literary Award (2012) and the International Nikolai Gogol Literary Award (2013) and a medal ‘For Fidelity to the Poet’s Vocation’ (Ukrainian Culture Foundation, 2015). He received an honorary badge for ‘Service to Polish Culture’ (2013), a Bronze Medal ‘Gloria Artis for Merit to Culture’ (2017), and posthumously, in 2023, a Silver Medal ‘Gloria Artis for Merit to Culture’.