From 1 July to 31 December 2021, a curated set of European literature entitled “The Future of Living” is available for reading free of charge. There is one literary work from each EU Member State in the original language and the English translation. Various literary genres – novels, short stories, poetry, comics, and essays – present a wide variety of perspectives and address a global audience. 

Poland is represented in this project by the work Psalmy by the poet Julia Fiedorczuk.

Julia Fiedorczuk is a writer, poet, translator, researcher, practitioner of ecocriticism, and author of the School of Ecopoetics’s programme. An important topic in her works is the relationship between human beings and their planetary environment. She is affiliated to the Institute of English Studies at Warsaw University, and has published essays, short story collections and six volumes of poetry. The latest, Psalmy (Psalms), was awarded the Wisława Szymborska Prize, Poland’s most prestigious prize for poetry. Her works have been translated into over 20 languages.

Psalms speak on behalf of the excluded — people, plants, animals and landscapes. They are expressions of mourning for those irrevocably lost species and ecosystems. The poems seek to correlate Biblical poetics with modern discourses (academic, social media and Internet jargons) to reclaim the meanings of essential words. According to Julia Fiedorczuk, the present crisis – political, economic, but most of all ecological – is related to the crisis of communication.

Psalmy by Julia Fiedorczuk

Discover Psalmy in its original and Polish version here and in its translated English version here.

The digital Europe Readr platform brings current social issues to readers around the world. It encourages reflection on the world we want to live in, presenting us with an opportunity to consider the European Union as a community in all its diversity and interconnectedness and as a community with a common future. Numerous accompanying events around the world – from Paris to Helsinki, from Washington to Beijing – encourage the creation of public spaces dedicated to reading and the exchange of ideas on the world of the future. More info about the platform here.

“The Future of Living” is a project initiated by The Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council. Coordinators of the project, co-designed with EU Member States and supported by EU institutions.