Born in 1981, Agnieszka Drotkiewicz is a prose writer and journalist. She graduated with a degree in cultural relations at the Oriental Studies Institute of Warsaw University, and in cultural studies at the same institution. She has been published in “Gazeta Wyborcza,” “Polityka,” “Lampa,” “Lettre International,” and “Der Tagesspiegel,” among others. She has received scholarships from Villa Decius in Krakow and the Literariche Colloqium in Berlin.

Drotkiewicz debuted with the novel Paris London Dachau (2005), and a year later published The Same for Me, and in 2009 published the novel Now, which brought her a nomination for the Polityka Passport, a prestigious award for young artists. She has also written short stories, which have appeared in a few anthologies, such as Project: Man and Don’t Ask about Poland (both in 2009).

The main attribute of Agnieszka Drotkiewicz’s first two novels is their collage form, their play with quotations, both literary and from other fields of culture. But over time, the author discarded the method of mixing languages to speak in her own, pure voice in her third and most mature book. She has consistently concentrated, however, on women’s stories. Her heroines are young women trying to define their identities and find their place in the world. Their philosophies of life are close to those ideas proposed by third-wave feminists: they long for freedom of choice, above all. To achieve it, they have to stand up against the roles and stereotypes imposed upon them by those all around, but also against their own passivity. In her latest novel, Drotkiewicz broadens her thematic spectrum with an analysis of contemporary interpersonal relationships. Her protagonist, Karolina Pogórska, an independent woman who is professionally fulfilled, is not just looking for love, but above all intimacy. She finds herself among others reluctant to accept the traditional family model, and with whom she creates an alternative family. This “family,” however, is held together less by friendship than by fear of loneliness and responsibility for others. The novel’s conclusion thus has an ironic dimension to it. This ability to make insightful sociological/psychological observations makes Drotkiewicz one of the most interesting writers of the younger generation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Novels:

• Paris London Dachau, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Lampa i Iskra Boża, 2004
• Dla mnie to samo, Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Lampa i Iskra Boża, 2006
• Teraz, Warszawa: W.A.B., 2009
• Dusza światowa, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2013
• Nieszpory, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2014

Interviews:

• Głośniej! Rozmowy z pisarkami, Warszawa: Twój Styl, 2006
• Teoria trutnia i inne, Wołowiec: Czarne, 2009
• Jeszcze dzisiaj nie usiadłam, Wołowiec: Czarne, 2011
• Dusza światowa, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2013.
• Piano rysuje sufit, Wołowiec: Czarne, 2015