Michał Paweł Markowski

(born 1962) – literary critic, essayist, translator, publicist. Visiting Professor at the Jagiellonian University, Head of the Department of International Polish Studies, Stefan and Lucy Hejna Family Chair in Polish Language and Literature at the University of Illinois in Chicago. An expert in the works of Barthes, Gombrowicz, Derrida, Schulz, Proust, Witkacy, Nietzsche and Leśmian. Artistic director of the Joseph Conrad International Literature Festival in Krakow. Regular contributor of Tygodnik Powszechny magazine. His published works include Słońce, możliwość, radość (2010), Powszechna rozwiązłość: Schulz, egzystencja, literatura (2012) and Polityka wrażliwości. Wprowadzenie do humanistyki (2013), and recently, a collection of essays, Kiwka (2015). Co-publisher of two publishing series: Hermeneia and Horyzonty nowoczesności, member of the editorial team of Teksty Drugie and The Slavic Review academicjournals. Winner of many awards, recently honored with the Kazimierz Wyka Award for all his essayistic and critical literary output.