Justyna Bargielska

Polish poet and prose writer. Published in a number of literary magazines, including Odra and Ha!art. Debuted in 2003 with the Dating sessions volume. Subsequently, she published China Shipping (2005) and Dwa fiaty (2009). Her poems have been translated into English, Slovenian and Bulgarian. She is the winner of the third edition of the Rainer Maria Rilke poetry competition (2001) and the special award in the Jacek Bierezin competition (2002). Also, she has twice received the Gdynia Literary Award: in 2010 for Dwa fiaty and in 2011 for her prose debut, Obsoletki. In her review of Bargielska’s latest book, Natasza Goerke wrote: “As I read on, my mitochondria were shaking with laughter, freezing in reflection and trembling with admiration. Obsoletki is a sharp study of paradoxes, a philosophical dissertation on leaving and loss, written with irony and black humour”. The book also made it to the final seven in the 2011 Nike Literary Award competition. The Czarne publishing house is planning to publish Bargielska’s next prose book; the working title is Małe listy. Bargielska lives in Warsaw. During the Conrad Festival, a meeting with her, hosted by Piotr Śliwiński, took place.Picture: Anna Bedyńska