Born into a teachers' family in a village near Biłgoraj in the Lublin district in 1931, she has been associated since the end of the war with Wrocław, where she studied Polish, lives, and writes.
A poet, novelist, columnist, editor at "Odra" in Wrocław, and a collaborator with the Kalambur Theatre, Kozioł has won the Piętak, Kościelski, City of Wrocław, and Ministry of Art and Culture Prizes, as well as many other awards. She is a passionate traveller who has journeyed throughout Europe and America, leaving a trail of poems.
Urszula Kozioł's work is marked by broad poetic gestures, a need to refer to the whole wealth of nature, and vast, sometimes exotic cultural resources. Eden or Versailles are always the backgrounds for her landscapes. Provençal love lyrics, the story of Tristan and Isolde, or the tales of Othello and Penelope are the background for her lovers. The intersection of myth and ordinary life also marks her language. Without losing sight of the concrete, how can we bear in mind all that is permanent and infinite? Urszula Kozioł manages to do so. Her poetry is full of the aroma of hay and the taste of eternity.
Selected Bibliography:
- W rytmie korzeni (In the Rhythm of Roots). Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1963,
- Postoje pamięci (Stopping Points of Memory). Warsaw: LSW, 1964,
- Smuga i promień (Smoke Trails and Sunbeams). Warsaw: LSW, 1965,
- Lista obecności (Attendance List). Warsaw: LSW, 1967,
- W rytmie słońca (In the Rhythm of the Sun). Krakow: WL, 1974,
- Ptaki dla myśli (Birds for Thought). Warsaw: LSW, 1971,
- Z poczekalni (From the Waiting Room). Krakow: WL, 1978,
- Żalnik (Book of Sorrows). Krakow: WL, 1989,
- Trzy światy (Three Worlds). Warsaw: Czytelnik, 1984,
- Noli me tangere. Warsaw: PIW, 1984,
- Wielka pauza (The Great Pause). Krakow: WL, 1996,
- Osobnego sny i przypowieści (Dreams and Parables Separately). Warsaw: Okis, 1997,
- W płynnym stanie (In a Liquid State). Krakow: WL 1998,
- Stany nieoczywistości (States of Nonobviousness), Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, Warszawa 1999,
- Supliki (Supplications), WL, Kraków 2005,
- Przelotem (Flying By), WL, Kraków 2007,
- Horrendum, WL, Kraków 2010,
- Fuga (1955-2010) (Fugue [1955-2010]), Biuro Literackie, Wrocław 2011,
- Klangor (The Crane Call), WL, Kraków 2014,
- Ucieczki (Escapes), WL, Kraków 2016.
Selected translations
- German: Im Zeichen des Feuers. Gedichte. Eisingen: Heiderhoff, 1997,
- Im Rhytmus der Sonne. Berlin: Volk und Welt, 1983,
- Serbian: U ritmu koreni. 1972,
- English: Poems. Austin: Cop Host Publications, 1989.
Source: www.polska2000.pl; copyright: Stowarzyszenie Willa Decjusza; update: AP, July 2019.