born in 1963, poet, prose writer, essayist, teacher. She graduated from Polish philology at the University of Warsaw. She contributes to „Nowe Książki”, „Zeszyty Literackie”, and the magazine „Twoj Styl”. She is also the author of song lyrics and the Prologue to the 18^thcentury opera by Maciej Kamieński, Nędza uszczęśliwiona (Delighted Misery), directed by Krzysztof Kolberger.

Awarded many times, with, inter alia, the Georg Trakl Literary Award (1995), distinction award of the Kościelski Foundation (2002), the IBBY Literary Award (2014), and twice the Capital City of Warsaw Literary Award. She is a scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as well as the Polish Library in Paris. Her poems were translated into English, Italian, Russian, German, Spanish, Catalan, Slovenian, and Hebrew.

She is the author of ten volumes of poetry; she made her debut in 1989 with Szkicownik (Sketchbook). As Piotr Matywiecki wrote, „In all Piwkowska’s poems (...) what stands out is an extremely careful, regular versification and exquisitely applied rhyming.” Bronisław Maj, though, indicates Stanisław Barańczak, Wisława Szymborska and Josif Brodski as the main patrons of her work. Superbly acquainted with the achievements of European culture, the poet chooses from it female characters, such as Arachne, Iphigenia, Ismena, or Fedra, and presents them in a new light, sensibly reducing the distance between them and the contemporary reader. Women are always at the centre of her poetry anyway: mothers, daughters, and grandmothers are connected by an inseparable bond, they share their experiences and family stories.  The works by the author of Po (After) are characterised by a gentle tone of nostalgia that envelops most of the interpersonal relationships described by her from the perspective of the end, for in these poems people meet only for a fleeting moment, and ultimately they always remain alone. Piwkowska’s poetry is dominated by expressive colours, especially red, white, and azure, and the greed of life coexists with the threat of death. Important sources of inspiration for Piwkowska constitute primitive cultures, myths, and folk tales, invariably reoccurring human stories and rites of passage.

Poetry is also present in Piwkowska’s prose. She published two biographical essays: Achmatowa, czyli kobieta (Akhmatova, or a Woman), and Achmatowa, czyli Rosja (Akhmatova, or Russia), including the interpretations of poems by the Russian poet, notes from travels around places connected with her, and reflections on her life, history, and literature. Piwkowska is also the author of two novels: Ślad łyżwy (Trail of the Ice Skate) inspired by the life and work of Georg Trakl, and a book for young readers entitled Franciszka (Francesca).

Intended for an adult reader, Trail of the Ice Skate is sometimes referred to as poetic prose. Focusing on emotions and sensory impressions as well as adopting the perspective of a teenage girl, she tells the story of artistically talented siblings connected by a forbidden feeling. The protagonist of Francesca is also a teenage girl, but this time the book is dedicated to the peers of the main character. Francesca is an extraordinary girl fascinated by poetry, who prefers Sappho and Hildegard von Bingen to Harry Potter. The reader witnesses the protagonist’s adolescence and her struggles with her mother’s serious illness, first infatuation, and school problems.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Poetry:

• Szkicownik, Warszawa: Młodzieżowa Agencja Wydawnicza, 1989.
• Cień na ścianie, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Miniatura, 1989.
• Wiersze i sonety, Warszawa: Warszawski Klub Młodej Sztuki, Biblioteka Magazynu Literackiego, 1992.
• Skaza, Warszawa: Wyzwania, 1996.
• Tylko trzy drogi, Warszawa:  Biblioteka Magazynu Literackiego, 2000. 
• Po, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Nowy Świat, 2002.
• Niebieski sweter: Wiersze dawne i nowe, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Nowy Świat, 2004. 
• Farbiarka, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Znak, 2009. 
• Lustrzanka, Warszawa: Fundacja Zeszytów Literackich, 2012. 
• Wyspa Nieborów. Wybór poezji z lat 1990-2015, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Znak, 2016.

Essays:

• Achmatowa czyli kobieta, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Książkowe Twój Styl, 2003.
• Achmatowa czyli Rosja, Warszawa: Biblioteka Więzi, 2015.

Prose:

• Ślad łyżwy, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Książkowe Twój Styl, 2007.
• Franciszka, Warszawa: Fundacja Zeszytów Literackich, 2014.

TRANSLATIONS:

English:

In anthologies:

• Six Polish poets, trans. E. Chruściel, ed. J. Dehnel, Yorkshire: Arc Publication, 2009.
• Scattering the dark: an anthology of Polish women poets, sel. and ed. by Karen Kovacik, New York: White Pine Press, 2015.

Lithuanian:

• Juodojigulbė [Czarny łabędź], trans. Kazys Uscila, w: Literatūra ir menas nr 3495, 2014.
• Frančeska [Franciszka], trans. Kazys Uscila, Wilno: Nieko Rimto, 2016.