Ewa Lipska: the Poetess of the Surrealist Imagery

Polish Poetry Unites is a video series complementing our Encounters with Polish Literature series for anyone interested in literature, poetry in particular, history, and reading. In each episode, Edward Hirsch, a distinguished American poet, and the president of the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, will introduce a celebrated Polish poet to American audiences.
This episode of Polish Poetry Unites introduces the work of Ewa Lipska to American audiences. Ewa Lipska was born in 1945 in Kraków and now shares her time between Viena, Austria and Kraków, Poland. Her poems were translated to many languages worldwide.
Her poetry collection, “Dear Mrs. Schubert” was published by the Princeton Press in the USA and was introduced by Adam Zagajewski, another great Kraków’s poet.
Following the exploration of Lipska’s poetry by Edward Hirsch (more below) the video showcases the story of Helena Konopka, a 14-year-old student at a Warsaw school who loves Lipska’s poetry and especially one poem: “The Children’s Home.” (below) The poem was translated from the Polish by Barbara Plebanek and Tony Howard and published by Wydawnictwo Literackie in “White Strawberries” book (2000).
In the video Edward Hirsch says: “Ewa Lipska is one of the finest living poets in Poland. She’s translated all over Europe. (…) She’s part of the generation of new wave poets, though really, she’s always stood apart from them.
Moderator: Edward Hirsch
Writer and Director: Ewa Zadrzyńska
Cinematography: Jacek Mierosławski
Editor: Anna Jędrzejewska
Curator and Executive Producer: Bartek Remisko
Learn more: instytutpolski...