Zbigniew Herbert; photo: Witold Skotnicki / Reuters / Forum
The Zbigniew Herbert Award is the first prize of its kind to be presented in Poland to a international range of recipients, with a jury of acclaimed writers and literary critics from across the world
The Zbigniew Herbert Foundation established the Award, and it has officially announced its launch on the 21st of September, 2012, at the Teatr Polski in Warsaw. The Award fulfills the mission of protecting and promulgating the legacy of Zbigniew Herbert.
The director of Teatr Polski in Warsaw, Jarosław Gajewski, had stated his wish for the poet’s name to be associated with his theatre, commenting that "poetry is the organic tissue of theatre."
The voice of the late poet himself animated the atmosphere of this official meeting, as audio recordings from the archives of the Polish radio were aired throughout the evening. The participants were able to hear Herbert read his poems Fotografia / Photography, Pan Cogito szuka rady / Mr. Cogito Seeks Advice, recorded by the editor Romana Bobrowska during the last months of the poet’s life.
Katarzyna Dzieduszycka-Herbert, the wife of the poet was introduced to the participants as the institution’s main founder. Dzieduszycka-Herbert claimed that it is in fact her late husband that should be regarded as the founder, and that he had repeatedly stated his wish for the establishing of an award.
Andrzej Franaszek, the secretary of the jury emphasised that the legacy of Zbigniew Herbert is part of the Polish, European and world heritage.
The main goals and plans of the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation are:
- The promulgation of the legacy of Zbigniew Herbert;
- The popularisation and promotion of literature and literary talents in Poland and abroad
- The support of literary and humanist education in the area of contemporary literature, writing skills in poetry and journalism, with particular emphasis on the education of youth;
- The propagation of reading and development of literary criticism
- The promoting of transcriptions of great international literature into Polish, and the translation of Zbigniew Herbert’s poetry into foreign languages
- Activities supporting scientific research and scholars in the area of literary studies of the works from Zbigniew Herbert
A special website commemorating the poet presents a time-line of his life and works, and also posts select poems, as well as various texts written in Herbert’s memory. In addition to these articles, users can also view unique illustrations and photographic material from the poet’s archive.
The main focus and goal of the Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award is to bring out the most striking merits in the literary and artistic fields, with special attention to works which take up similar values as those found in the writings of Herbert.
The award is also to emphasise the international significance that Polish culture has inspired throughout the 20th century, and the repercussions of this influence throughout the contemporary reality of the 21st century. The Herbert award will be presented annually to a living poet, for the entirety of his work. The board also has the possibility of presenting an additional prize in the area of editing, translation or non-fiction writing. Only the winning figures are to be announced, with no pre-selection list of nominees made public.
The Jury of the Award in 2013 consists of: the American poet and critic Edward Hirsch (1950), Wolfgang Matz (1955) – the German translator, writer and editor, Jarosław Mikołajewski (1960), a Polish poet, translator and the author of essays as well as children’s books, the Spanish literary scholar and publisher Jaume Vallcorba Plana (1949), Agneta Pleijel (1940) a writer, poet and playwright from Sweden, and Tomas Venclova (1937) – and essayist, poet, translator and historian of literature from Lithuania. Andrzej Franaszek (1971) a polish literary critic and writer has been selected to be the Jury’s secretary.
Maria Dzieduszycka, the chair of the Herbert Foundation board, also draws attention to other activities pursued by the Foundation. Dzieduszycka explained there are many educational activities that the Foundation takes part in: "We address these activities to high school youth from Warsaw and from across Poland. A special club of Herbert Schools was founded in 2001, and there are 20 member schools."
A special speech was written up for the official occasion by Adam Zagajewski:
In the second half of the 20th century, Polish poetry became known across the world. These great poets, who have achieved this are either passing away or have already passed. The intiative of creating the Zbigniew Herbert foundation aims to create the situation in which it is not only the poems and books – although these are the most important – but also the institutions which will aim to preserve this presence, and to make it a lasting component of universal culture. Various activities of the Foundation will serve this purpose, and first of all this is the goal of the Zbigniew Herbert Award. Perhaps it ought to find itself among those other international awards which contribute to the drawing up of a global map of contemporary literature.
The official partners of the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation are the National Library (Biblioteka Narodowa), the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Warsaw-based Teatr Polski.
For more information about the foundation, see: www.fundacjaherberta.com
Editor: SRS
Source: press release, www.fundacjaherberta.com,