With Introduction by Marta de Zuniga Director of the Polish Cultural Institute in London.

Hosted by Rev’d Prof. Jerzy Sikora, author of a new study of the poetry of the Poet, who will describe content of his new work Żywe ryby na piasku.

Programme includes,

Poetry readings by Iza Wilczyńska and Janusz Guttner.

Music by Fryderyk Chopin and Mieczysław Karłowicz performed by Sandra Klara Januszewska (mezzo-soprano) and Robert Gowers (pianist).

Followed by a discussion/Q&A and exhibition of the Poet’s publications.

London Poets Continents and Collected Poems will available to purchase at the event.

Come join us at the table. We’ll talk

over a coffee about Original sin

Adam Czerniawski is a poet, essayist, prose writer and translator of Polish literature into English. He studied literature and philosophy at the University of London, the University of Sussex and Oxford University. Author of autobiography ‘Fragmenty niespokojnego dzieciństwa’, essays ‘Wyspy szcześliwe’, notebooks ‘Wielopolis, Wielopolis’, ‘Narracje Ormiańskie’, translation of Kochanowski’s ‘Laments’ and the poetry of Tadeusz Różewicz. He received the medal of the Norwid Foundation “For services in disseminating the work of Cyprian Norwid”, Gloria Artis Medal: from the HE Ambassador Piotr Wilczek laudation and the Rockefeller Foundation Scholarship. ‘Adam published several collections of poetry deserving the highest literary recognition – they alone placey in the history of Polish literature. This outstanding author devoted a significant part of his artistic career to the promotion of Polish literature in English-speaking countries. Unlike some contemporary poets who depend on influential critics and award committees, Czerniawski chose independence.

Jerzy Sikora is a poet, literary critic and professor at the Department of 20th-Century Literature at the Cardinal Wyszynski University in Warsaw, also a clergyman. In 2014 he received a post-doctoral degree in literature from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. His interests and research activities concern the relationship between literature and preaching, as well as contemporary Polish migrant literature. Sikora is a member of the Polish Writers’ Association and author of nine poetry books (among others, ‘Zrywanie dekoracji’ (1993); ‘Jestem złodziejem światła’, (1995); ‘Chińska porcelana. Wiersze wybrane’, (2016); ‘Dzeszczowe lato’ (2017) and one novel – ‘Pęknięte lustro’. Moreover, he writes small prose and scientific monograph, such as, ‘Londyńska grupa literacka “Merkuriusza” i “Kontynentów”’ (2000), ‘Od słowa do słowa. Literackość współczesnych kazań’ (2008), ‘Twórczość kaznodziejska ks. Józefa Tischnera. Studium literacko-homiletyczne’ (2012). His work has been published in ‘Akcent’, ‘Fraza’, ‘Nowy Dziennik’ (NY), ‘Nowe Ksiązki’, ‘Odra’, ‘Twórczość’, ‘Więzi’. In 1987-1993 he worked for the BBC Polish Section in London, preparing auditions for the programme ‘Faith and the Modern World (Initially using pseudonym Łukasz Młodziński. He is a winner of the Brother Albert Award, the Czechowicz Award, the Zygmunt Gloger Prize and Medal, the Decoration of Honor Meritorious for Polish Culture.