"Some people like poetry...", or the international reception of Wisława Szymborska's work

Deutsche Version / polska wersja

International academic conference

15-17 November 2023

European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) (Germany) and Collegium Polonicum in Słubice (Poland)

Conference languages: German, Polish and English

Conference fee: organizers applied for funding, pending approval

Wisława Szymborska rarely travelled, yet her work has reached the furthest corners of the globe, as evidenced by foreign-language translations of her poetry and numerous foreign awards, including the most important one in 1996, the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her texts continue to intrigue and engage. In 2023, Wisława Szymborska would have celebrated her 100th birthday. This is a good time to revisit poet’s work, to reflect on her view on and perception of the world, as well as the language and imagery she used in her poetry to describe and express the reality surrounding her.

Professor Michał Rusinek, a literary scholar and writer, Szymborska’s long-time assistant and the president of the Wisława Szymborska Foundation has accepted the invitation to address the conference as a plenary speaker.

Call for papers

The conference has interdisciplinary character. We invite contributions from literary and cultural studies, linguistics, translation studies, history among others, but also for instance from practicing translators and translation critics, addressing issues such as (but not limited to) the following:
- the literary work of Wisława Szymborska and its translations,
- the reception of Szymborska’s poetry in Poland and abroad,
- the significance of Szymborska’s work in the context of intercultural dialog,
- Szymborska’s poetry in translation collections,
- the presence Szymborska’s literary work in primary, secondary and higher education in Poland and abroad, as well as in the teaching Polish as a foreign language,
- Szymborska’s “wycinanki” (collages) as the poet’s creative activity and an innovative genre of communication,
- Szymborska’s relations with Polish and foreign publishers, translators and other writers, 
- the impact of the Nobel Prize for Literature, as well as other prizes and awards, on the reception of poet’s work and the international reception of the Polish literature.

Abstracts (500-1000 words) can be submitted until 30. April 2023 through following forms:
https://forms.gle/cWnXVHLhiKAUgzUHA (English)
https://forms.gle/q4ewjXCzasg1n4Rq9 (German)
https://forms.gle/U3V9o6kgJiEPzBDu9 (Polish)

Printable / downloadable call for papers (pdf)

Further information

• A peer-reviewed publication is planned after the conference in the series “Interdisciplinary Polish Studies” (Harrassowitz) and in open access on the server of the European University Viadrina.
• The conference organizers applied for external funding (approval pending) to finance the publication and cover the costs of holding the conference.