Marek Bieńczyk

(born 1956) – essayist, prose writer, translator of literature. Associated with the French quarterly L’atelier du roman and Tygodnik Powszechny. Author of the novels Terminal (1994) and Tworki (1999; nominated for the Nike Literary Award), which have been translated into English, German, Spanish and French. Winner of the main prize at the Lettres du monde festival in Bordeaux (2007) and winner of the Władysław Reymont Literary Award. Author of essays: Czarny Człowiek (Arthur Górski Prize), Melancholia. O tych, co nigdy nie odnajdą straty (translation into Bulgarian and Hungarian, Culture Foundation Award, nomination for Nike Literary Award), Oczy Durera (nomination for Nike Literary Award), Przezroczystość (award of the Raczyński Library), Kroniki wina, Książka twarzy (Nike Literary Award). Following the words of Marcel Proust, who said “The duty and task of a writer is therefore the duty and task of a translator”, he translates the most outstanding authors – Roland Barthes, Charles Baudelaire and Proust himself. He is also a board member of the Polish PEN Club and a wine critic. Together with Wojciech Bońkowski, he created the first Polish oenological guide Wina Europy (2009). In 2019, he was nominated for the Nike Literary Award for his collection of essays Kontener.

photo Krzysztof Dubiel