(born 19 May 1955 in Warsaw) - theatre scholar, poet, essayist, and writer.

as editions of works and correspondence from the "Wisła" underground archive, collected by his father, Zbigniew Mitzner, in the following magazines: "Za Wolność i Lud" (1975; here, article signed (p.m.)), ”Kultura” (1976), ”Itd” (1977), ”Pamiętnik Teatralny” (1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1988), ”Poezja” (1977-78, 1981; here, inter alia, notes signed P.M.), ”Dialog” (1978, 1981, 1986-87, 1999), ”Literatura” (1979, 1981), ”Nowy Wyraz” (1979-80), „Meander” (1980-83; permanent cooperation as a theatre reviewer), ”Odra” (1981, 1987), ”Więź” (1984, 1987-88), ”Powściągliwość i Praca” (1985, 1988), ”Russkoj Mysli” (Paris; 1985-86; here, article signed using a pseudonym: Paweł Jankowski), ”Kronika Warszawy” (1986, 1988), ”Literatura Ludowej” (1986), as well as in magazines published underground: ”Arka” (1983), ”Nowy Zapis” (1983; here, the bibliographical register of books together with W.W. Wisniewski, signed Bibliofil [Bibliophile]), ”Karta” (1984-89; also signed using the pseudonym Jan Pławski; member of the editorial board until 1997), ”Arka” (Selection) (1985-87; also signed using the pseudonym Jan Pławski), ”Kultura Niezależna” (1986).

From April to September 1980, together with Krzysztof Jaworski, he ran the underground publishing house Oficyna Wydawnicza P.T. Spółka Poetów in Podkowa Leśna, in which 11 volumes were published, most of them in his graphic design (the name of the publishing house was revealed in the last volume of the series); the publishing house was reactivated in 1990 (it operated until 1999). In 1981-89, he was the head of the literary editorial office of the independent publishing house "Krąg", and from December 1981, a member of the board of this publishing house. In 1981, he founded the Almanac of the "Krąg" publishing house, entitled "Silva Rerum" and edited it until 1982 (two issues were published; here, in 1981, a programme note signed Redakcja ["Editorial office"]). In 1981-84, he was a PhD student at the Institute of Art (IS) at the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 1981-83, he was a member of the Polish Journalists Association and the Youth Circle at the Warsaw branch of the Polish Writers’ Union.

From April to August 1982, he was an internee at a prison in the Warsaw district of Białołęka. In 1984-85, he was a repertoire and literary consultant at the Polish Theatre in Szczecin. At the same time, he worked at the A. and J. Iwaszkiewicz Museum in Stawisko until 1986. In 1985, he obtained his PhD from the Institute of Art at the Polish Academy of Sciences on the basis of a thesis entitled Postać Tadeusza Kościuszki w teatrze polskim 1803-1983 (“The figure of Tadeusz Kościuszko in Polish theatre 1803-1983”, supervisor: Prof. Z. Raszewski).

In the years 1985-89, he was the editor-in-chief of an underground magazine called "Rocznik Podkowiański" (3 issues were published). In 1986-92, he was literary manager of the S. Jaracz Theatre in Łódź; he edited then many theatre programmes. In 1987, he co-founded the Archiwum Wschodnie (Eastern Archive), which collects accounts of Poles repressed in the USSR. In 1987-89, he was employed as an assistant professor at the Department of Theatre Knowledge of the National Higher School of Theatre in Warsaw. In November 1987, he was in Paris on a scholarship awarded by the Independent Science Committee. In 1989, he became a member of the Polish Writers’ Association. In 1990-91, he was deputy editor-in-chief of the Interim publishing house. In 1990-93, he hosted a regular feature entitled Archiwum wschodnie (“The Eastern Archive”) on Radio Free Europe. In 1990, he received the Polcul Foundation Award (Australia). He continued his cooperation with a quarterly magazine “Karta” devoted to the history of Poland and East-Central Europe in the 20^th century, previously published underground and since 1991 legally; until 2008, he published in this magazine, among other things, memoirs of the Gulag prisoners and opposition activists, as well as translations from Russian. He also cooperated with the "Karta" Centre.

In 1991, he became a member of the International Memorial Society and the initiator and coordinator of cooperation with this Society, among other things, he organised several international conferences on the history of the 20^th century, he also directed the international research programme A Common Place - Eastern Europe, and between 1992 and 2007, he was a member of the editorial board of the Russian journal “Karta”, published by the Memorial Society in Ryazan.

He started permanent cooperation with "Zeszyty Literackie" and the monthly magazine "Dialog". His poems, articles, columns, reviews and translations from Russian were published, among others, in the following magazines: "Kultura" (Paris; 1989, 1997), "Odra"(1990, 2000), ”Pamiętnik Teatralny” (1990, 2010), ”Kresy” (1993, 2005-06, 2009), ”Podkowiański Magazyn Kulturalny” (1993-2014), ”Krzywe Koło Literatury” (1997), ”Kwartalnik Artystyczny” (1997, 2001, 2008, 2011, 2016), ”Rzeczpospolita” (1997, 2000-01, 2003), ”Tygodnik Powszechny” (1997, 2005, 2007), ”Koło” (1998), ”Zeszyty Historyczne” (Paris; 1998, 2007-08), ”Gazeta Wyborcza” (1999, 2000, 2008, 2014, 2016), ”Więź” (1999, 2001, 2011), ”Pracownia” (2000-01), ”Teatr” (2000, 2002, 2005, 2007), ”Literatura na Świecie” (2001), ”Topos” (2004, 2007, 2010; here, among others, the poetic sheet Słowa ruchome [”Words in Motion”] No. 2-3, 2016), ”Teksty Drugie” (2005-07), ”Twórczość” (2006-07, 2010, 2013-14, 2018), ”Przegląd Polityczny” (2009), ”Colloquia Litteraria” (2012, 2015-16), ”Pamiętnik Literacki” (2012, 2014), ”Miasteczko Poznań” (2016), ”Nigdy Więcej” (2016), ”Konteksty” (2017), ”Ruch Muzyczny” (2018).

He also published his poetic works in magazines published abroad, including the Russian "Utro" (1996), ”Arion” (2002), ”Zwiezda” (2009), ”Kovčeg” (2013), Belarusian ”Kałosie” (1998), Kosovan ”Jeta e Re” (2002), French ”Poésie” (2004), Lithuanian ”Naujoji Romuva” (2007), Czech ”Protimluv” (2011, 2013), as well as in the Slovenian magazine ”Apokalipsa” (2012). In 1998, he moved from Podkowa Leśna to Warsaw. In 1999-2000, he was employed as assistant professor at the Institute of Applied Social Sciences of the University of Warsaw, and from 1999, at the Faculty of Humanities of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University (UKSW) in Warsaw; in 2000-2008 he served as Vice-Dean of the Faculty, and in 2008-2009 - as Director of the Institute of Polish Philology.

His academic work focused on Polish literature after 1918 (especially the biography and works of Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz and wartime literature) and on Polish-Russian literary relations. In 1999-2000, he was a member of the jury for the competition of the Fundacja Kultury "Small Homelands. Tradition for the Future”. In 2000, he became deputy editor-in-chief of Nowaja Polsza, a Russian-language monthly published in Warsaw, where he also began to publish articles and poems. In 2003, he obtained his postdoctoral degree at the Faculty of Philology of the University of Wrocław on the basis of his thesis entitled Na progu. Doświadczenia religijne w tekstach Jarosław Iwaszkiewicza. (“On the Threshold. Religious Experiences in the Texts of Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz.”). In 2004, he became an associate professor at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw (UKSW). In 2004-08, he was a member of the Committee on School and Academic Education of the Committee on Literature of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 2006, he became a member of the Board of the "Borussia" Foundation, and in 2008 of the Editorial Board of the "Borussia" magazine. In 2007, he was a member of the jury of the C.K. Norwid National Poetry Competition, and in 2012 - the jury of the R. Kapuściński Award. In 2008, he became a member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences Interdepartmental Commission for the Study of the Polish Diaspora. In 2010, he joined the Scientific Board of the Memorial Society in St. Petersburg. In 2012, he became a member of the editorial committee of the quarterly “Tekstualia” (here also articles, poems, and translations from Russian and Ukrainian) and editor of the Biblioteka Zapomnianych Poetów (“Forgotten Poets Library”) series of the Brama Grodzka Centre in Lublin. In 2013, he was awarded the academic title of professor. In the same year, he joined the editorial board of the journal "The A.S. Pushkin Vestnik LGU [Leningradskij Gosudarstvennyj Universitet. St. Peterburg]. Filosofia". In 2013-17, he was the head of the international research programme W poszukiwaniu misji emigracji. Polsko-rosyjskie kontakty literackie 1919-1989. (“In Search of the Mission of Emigration. Polish-Russian Literary Contacts 1919-1989.”). He has twice received the Chancellor’s Award at UKSW for his scientific work (2004, 2012), and the J. Czapski Award granted by "Zeszyty Literackie" for his essayist works (2012).

Awarded, inter alia, with the honorary badge Meritorious Activist of Culture (2001), Silver Cross of Merit (2005), Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2009).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Dusza z ciała wyleciała (poems; Oficyna Wydawnicza P. T., Podkowa Leśna 1980)
• Z czasem (poems; Podkowa Leśna 1980)
• Poeta w ruinach teatru (theatre sketches and anthology; [b.m.w.] 1981)
• Wacław Maciejowski i jego uczniowie (contains also: Ćwiczenia wierszem łacińskie uczniów klasy VI Liceum Warszawskiego w r. 1820 pod przewodnictwem profesora Wacława Aleksandra Maciejowskiego robione, [b.m.w.] 1981; series: " Łacina w dawnej szkole" [Latin in the Old School])
• Podróż do ruchomego celu (poems; Przedświt - Warsaw Independent Poets and Painters' Publishing House, 1985)
• Teatr światła i cienia: oświetlenie teatrów warszawskich na tle historii oświetlenia od średniowiecza do czasów najnowszych (theatre essays; Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy 1987​)
• Zmiana czasu (poems; Oficyna Wydawnicza P. T. - Spółka Poetów, Podkowa Leśna 1990)
• Las (poems; drawings Urszula Słonina-Święcicka; Galeria Parawany, Podkowa Leśna 1996,​)
• Hans wieczny tułacz (Koło Podkowy, Podkowa Leśna 1999)
• Hania i Jarosław Iwaszkiewiczowie: esej o małżeństwie (literary sketches; Wydawnictwo Literackie 2000​)
• Myszoser (poems; Przedświt 2000​)
• Kto gra "Antygonę"? O tragicznych przyczynach i skutkach (literary sketches; Aula, Podkowa Leśna 2002​; Nomination for the Władysław Reymont Award)
• Teatr Tadeusza Kościuszki: postać Naczelnika w teatrze 1803-1994 (Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego 2002​)
• Na progu: doświadczenia religijne w tekstach Jarosława Iwaszkiewicza (literary sketches; Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego 2003​)
• Zagrać wszystko (literary sketches; Twój Styl 2003​)
• Pustosz (poems; tCHu 2004)
• Gabinet cieni (memoirs; Fundacja Zeszytów Literackich 2007; Nomination for the Józef Mackiewicz Literary Award)
• Podmiot domyślny (poems; tCHu 2007​; Nomination for the Wrocław Silesius Poetry Award 2008)
• Dom pod świadomością (poems; tCHu 2008​; NoNomination for the Cogito Award)
• Niewidy (poems; tCHu 2009​)
• Biedny język. Szkice o kryzysie słowa i literaturze wojennej (Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego 2011)
• Kropka (poems; tCHu 2011​; Nomination for the Nike Literary Award 2012[7])
• Klerk w studni (poems; tCHu, 2016; Nomination for Orpheus – the K.I. Gałczyński Poetry Award 2017)
• Ulica tablic (poems; tCHu, 2017; Nomination for Orpheus – the K.I. Gałczyński Poetry Award 2018, Nomination to the Literary Award of the Capital City of Warsaw 2018)
• Siostra (poems; tCHu, 2019; Nomination for Orpheus – the K.I. Gałczyński Poetry Award 2020)