Zyta Rudzka

(b. 1964) – a poet, playwright and prose author.

Full of archetypes and symbols, Rudzka’s work stands out with its powerfully metaphorical narrative style. The author enjoys placing her tales in symbolic realities, giving readers stories with a universal dimension – especially those that describe encounters between men and women outside of time and cultural circumstances.

The plot of her novel ‘Uczty i głody’ (Feasts and Famines) cuts across several space and time frames: Rome, the Polish émigré community and ancient Egypt. Olga, the main character, participates in events taking place at present, but also operates in a retrospective space. The overarching theme of the book is the body’s hunger, which cannot be sated.

‘Mykwa’ (Mykvah), in turn, presents the story of two generations of a Jewish family, as well as the history of a mystical love that joined distant lovers. As in the writer’s previous works, the setting here is undefined. Rudzka is not a realist; in essence she remains a poet deeply convinced that, in literature, the leading role is played by mood, insinuation, and metaphor.

This conviction is reflected in the novel ‘Tkanki miękkie’ (Soft Tissues). Its main protagonists are two doctors, father and son, men who yearn for love but cannot imagine it. Rudzka vivisects their challenging relationship, looking at what is hereditary and what changes with time. She also writes about how all the important feelings give way to the duty of loving your parent.

Rudzka’s best known novel is ‘Ten się śmieje, kto ma zęby’ (He Who Has Teeth May Laugh). It is the story of a hairdresser, Wera, who, after the death of her husband, Dżokej, wanders through the city in search of things she needs for the funeral. The protagonist is a mature woman who intends to live by her own rules. She proves this by taking her dog, Waciak, to visit past lovers – an old corset-maker, Dawid, and a shopkeeper, Zośka. With both of them, she settles old accounts.

Writing on Rudzka’s work, critics have spoken of her brash, colloquial language, building odd associations, and her rhythms that grab you by the throat, showing the ‘guts of real life’.

For He Who Has Teeth May Laugh she received the Nike Literary Award (2023). She is also the winner of the Gdynia Dramaturgical Award (2011), the Gdynia Literary Award (2019), the Gryfia Literary Award (2021) and the City of Warsaw Literary Award (2021, 2023).