Published 21st May 2026

Mer de Glace is a new book of poetry by one of Europe’s leading contemporary writers Malgorzata Lebda and another of her works published in English translation.

In 2021, Małgorzata Lebda ran the entire length of the longest river in Poland, the Vistula, from its source in the Beskid Mountains to its mouth at the Baltic Sea – a distance of 1,113 kilometres. She set out to run as a poet, not as an athlete, to use the rhythms of her own body as a means of understanding and connecting to the rhythms of the river’s body of water, under threat of environmental ruin. Mer de Glace, which won the Szymborska Award, is the introduction to her remarkable journey. A profound meditation on the porosity, reactivity and receptivity of both the body and the natural world, the collection reveals their deep interdependence.

‘Małgorzata Lebda’s poetry never ceases to amaze the reader. Even a chance encounter with it imperceptibly creates an everlasting connection. As eternal as the bond between the frozen sea and the forest.’
— Olga Tokarczuk, author of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

About Malgorzata Lebda

Małgorzata Lebda is a Polish poet and fiction writer. She grew up in a hamlet in the Beskid Mountains and now lives in a meadow house in the Suwałki Gap, on Poland’s northeastern border. She is the author of several poetry collections. Mer de Glace, translated into English by Mira Rosenthal (Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2026), received the prestigious Wisława Szymborska Award in 2022, and her most recent poetry book, Dunaj. Chyłe pola, was awarded the Kościelski Foundation Prize in 2025.

Olga Tokarczuk has written of Małgorzata’s work: “Małgorzata Lebda’s poetry never ceases to amaze the reader. Even a chance encounter with it imperceptibly creates an everlasting connection. As eternal as the bond between the frozen sea and the forest.”

In 2023, Lebda published her prose debut, Łakome (Voracious), which received numerous nominations and awards. The novel has been translated into English by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Linden Editions, 2025), and a film adaptation is due for release in 2027.

Her books have been translated into numerous languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Finnish, Danish, Ukrainian and Serbian. She is currently working on her second novel.

Małgorzata is also an ultramarathon runner. In 2021, she ran 1,047 km (651 miles) — the entire length of Poland’s longest river, the Vistula — from its source in the Beskid Mountains to its mouth at the Baltic Sea. She set out to run as a poet, not as an athlete, using the rhythms of her own body as a means of understanding and connecting with the rhythms of the river’s waters, now under threat of environmental ruin.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Read more about Mer de Glace: Mer de Glace by Małgorzata Lebda | Fitzcarraldo Editions

Link do Malgorzata Lebda’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malgorzata_lebda/