Justyna Bargielska (Poland)

Justyna Bargielska (born 1977) - poet, prose writer. She made her debut in 2003 with the poetry book Dating sessions. Then she published in 2009 poetry book Two Fiats, for which she received Gdynia Literary Award 2010.

Winner of the 3rd edition of the Rainer Maria Rilke (2001) and a special prize in the Jacek Bierezin (2002). In 2010, she published hers Obsoletka's first prose book, for which she was awarded the Gdynia 2011 Literary Award, the award of the Polish Society of Book Publishers for the best prose book in the years 2010–2011.

In 2012, the book of poems Bach for my baby was published, for which the author was nominated for the Wisława Szymborska and the awards: Gryfia, Silesius and Nike (the book was in the final of the latter). In 2013, she released the novel Little Foxes, which she brought her nominations for the Nike Award and the Warsaw Literary Award. In 2014 Bargielska's monodrama premiered at the Witkacy Theater in Zakopane Clarissima. In 2015 the Dramatic Theater in Warsaw staged her drama "My First Death in Venice". 2016 is the year published together with the illustrator Iwona Chmielewska's book "Obie" and a collection of short stories for older children "Seven the first adventures of Rozalia Grozy“. In 2019 he was released her latest collection of poems, "Child with gifts" (nominated for the Awards Silesius and the Wisława Szymborska). In 2021, she published a collection of columns "Drink compote with me".

Translated into English, Russian, German, French, Slovenian, Slovak, Dutch, Icelandic, Czech, Ukrainian, Korean.

 

Bug

 

There was only one and he died instantly.

Someone had trodden on him on the first step,

if you count from the bottom, or on the last if you count from the top.

Something poured out of him as he lay there. My daughter

asked if it was him I had in mind

when I talked about Spring miracles and new life.

We were just on our way somewhere and all around us

it was like the Great Mushroom War: nothing had changed

but nothing was the same either. Yes, it’s him

I had in mind, in my speech and in my heart. And look

what happened.

 

That night someone cleared him away. Few saw him,

me, my daughter and the cleaner. Most of us are still alive 

though some have fallen asleep.

 

Translated by Maria Jastrzębska