Home 
Kraków UNESCO City of Literature announces the 2023 call for applications for the International Residency Program for writers and translators.
The Residency Program is realized by the Kraków Festival Office, operator of the Kraków UNESCO City of Literature program in partnership with the Villa Decius Institute for Culture.
The Program is dedicated to all emerging writers, and poets having at least one published book working currently on a writing project and are willing to learn more about the Polish literary community. The Residency Program is a perfect opportunity to professionalize writing skills, find the optimal conditions for creative work, and present your own writing to a new audience.
The call for applications for 2023 is now open. The deadline for application submission is the 23rd of April.
What we offer:
In 2023 the Residency Program in Krakow will offer the writer a two-month stay in the following period of the year:
1st July – 31st August
Residents will stay at the Villa Decius, the official partner of the project with years of experience running international residencies, including the Visegrad Literary Residency and the ICORN residency program.
Besides stipend (2500 PLN gross/month) we cover transportation costs to and from Krakow. The Krakow Festival Office will guarantee residents the opportunity to participate in the literary life of the city and help to develop opportunities for them to promote their works in Poland.
What we expect:
– Connection with any UNESCO City of Literature outside of Poland.
– At least one published book (fiction or non-fiction), a poetry collection, screenplay or theatre script by the applicant.
– Work on a literary project during the residency.
– Upper-intermediate level of spoken English.
– Interest in the Central European region.
– Readiness to participate in the literary life of Krakow, including events, meetings promotional interviews and engagements,and festivals, where applicable.
– Residents will be asked to write a text (work of fiction or non-fiction) that will feature the City of Krakow (min. 6 000 to max. 11 000 characters with spaces) in some fashion and will be used in the future, published collection for promotional purposes.
Required documents listed below should be sent to: residencies@miastoliteratury.pl
– Extract from a published text (in Polish or English), no more than 2 pages in length
– Biography/CV
– Optional: recommendation letter, letter of motivation
Deadline
To submit an application, please fill out the application form along with the required documents by April 23rd 2023.
In case of inquiries, please contact residencies@miastoliteratury.pl
The meeting, chaired by the program director of the Conrad Festival, Grzegorz Jankowicz, will be attended by:
🇨🇿 Pavla Horákova (Czech writer and journalist)
🇭🇺 Viktor Horváth (Hungarian prose writer and university teacher)
🇵🇱 Weronika Gogola (winner of the Conrad Prize, permanently residing in Slovakia)
🇸🇰 Silvester Lavrík (Slovak writer and theater director).
In the year 2005 – not long after the enlargement of the European Union to include new countries – Alexandra Laignel-Lavastine’s book “Spirits of Europe” was published in France. The author states that new hope for the European community would come from Central European countries. “Revival can only come on the condition of reassimilating the Central European part of our intellectual heritage,” wrote Laignel-Lavastine. Central Europe, however, is not only about ideas and stories, but above all about experience, which Milan Kundera once called “work in the laboratory of twilight.” The enslavement against which the people living in this part of the continent struggled was, as Václav Havel said, a shorthand for the entire 20th century world.
What else is Central Europe and what is its contemporary literature? What experiences are described today by writers from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland? What are the specifics of what is called Central European literature?
Join us for a discussion with four distinguished authors: Pavla Horáková (Czech writer and columnist), Viktor Horváth (Hungarian prose writer and academic teacher), Weronika Gogola (Polish writer living permanently in Slovakia), and Silvester Lavrík (Slovak prose writer and theater director). All of them are engaged not only in the creation of stories, but also in translation, which enables them to constantly dialogue with other literatures, both Central European and Western. What they also have in common is that they publish in Hungary’s The Continental Literary Magazine, an English-language periodical that presents writers from Central Europe, promoting their work in Western countries, primarily in the United States.
The discussion will be accompanied by a presentation of the publishing activities of The Continental Literary Magazine by Margit Garajszki, editor, and will be moderated by Grzegorz Jankowicz (Polish essayist and the program director of the Conrad Festival).
The event is a part of the CONRAD AFTER HOURS cycle. The Continental Literary Magazine is a partner.
The organizers of the Conrad Festival are the City of Krakow, the KBF and the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation.
UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature use creativity and culture to promote the social, economic and cultural development of their cities. In these times of global uncertainty, the network continues to connect literary communities across the world, forging bonds through the power of books, words and ideas.
Granada City of Literature in Spain leads the Cities of Literature World Poetry Day activity each year, and in 2022 their chosen theme is ‘Let’s Poetry’. Granada’s celebrations kick off with an opening ceremony at the Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo where four poets will read, followed by 25 poets reading in the gardens of the University of Granada Law School, and the long-running Poetry Slam Granada, in which 10 poets will compete to be judged the winner by public vote.
11 Cities of Literature are running activity for World Poetry Day 2022: Dunedin, Heidelberg, Kraków, Kuhmo, Manchester, Melbourne, Milan, Nanjing, Obidos, Tartu and Wonju. Across the world, these activities celebrate poetry and its power to speak to our common humanity and our shared values. Other Cities of Literature around the world will share these initiatives, inviting their communities to join in and celebrate poetry in all its forms. World Poetry Day will be marked in this way around the world, and the Cities of Literature hope to raise awareness about the power of literature and poetry for building sustainable and inclusive societies.
Nine Cities of Literature have collaborated on a chain reading of the ‘So I’ll Talk About It’, by Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan: Edinburgh, Exeter, Granada, Heidelberg, Iowa City, Kuhmo, Manchester, Norwich, and Tartu. Poets from these cities have come together to celebrate the culture of Ukraine, and share a message of solidarity, hope and resilience.
DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND
A free poem video will be shared featuring the renowned performance poet David Eggleton, Poet Laureate of New Zealand, reading ‘Time of the Icebergs’. The film by David and Richard Wallis, which will also screen on high rotate on the City Library Cube, is rich with verbal and visual references to Dunedin City of Literature.
HEIDELBERG, GERMANY
In ‘Bei Anruf: Poesie’: Poetry by dial’, 35 poets from Heidelberg will call poetry lovers by telephone across the city and the region and will read their own poems aloud. Poets and listeners will be matched by the cultural departments. There will also be an exhibition at the City Library for children to experience creative play with words; poet, translator and co-founder of the independent publishing house Das Wunderhorn will present his latest work at the Maison de Heidelberg; and there will be a music and reading event on March 20th at the central graveyard of Heidelberg.
KRAKÓW, POLAND
Krakow will contribute to the WPD’s celebrations Planting a Tree of Poetry as a commemoration of Adam Zagajewski on the 1st anniversary of his passing, with poets from Kraków, literary community and readers at Planty Park. They will also offer a Multipoetry activity, screening 5 poems by Adam Zagajewski on the wall of the Potocki Palace on the Main Square.
KUHMO, FINLAND
For WPD 2022, Kuhmo City of Literature will contribute with an event at the Juminkeko Centre celebrating the Year of Vepsian Culture with a Vepsian evening, where people can learn more about their history, culture, and language.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND
Manchester will be participating in the World Poetry Day celebrations with a film of a newly commissioned poem from one of their newly appointed Multilingual City Poets.
MELBOURNE CITY OF LITERATURE
Melbourne City of Literature will have 4 Melbourne poets read Ukrainian poems to celebrate the poetry, words and writers of Ukraine. The poems will be posted on their social media on the day.
MILAN, ITALY
Starting on March 20th, Milan will join the World Poetry Day celebrations with Water Rims, poetry walks from Chiesa Rossa Library to Via San Domenico Savio 3; readings by the Poetry and the City group (Nicola Gardini, Vivian Lamarque and Vittorio Lingiardi) with local secondary school students in the Perego Garden; Sowing Poetry, a musical reading with Stefano Orlandi (voice) and Giulia Bertasi (accordion) organized by MaMu Cultura Musicle; Poets Against War,a poetry event that engages authors who gather to recite against the war; and on March 21st, Tribute to Poetry, two poetry houses meet to give life to a choral poetry Reading.
NANJING, CHINA
Nanjing will join WPD 2022 celebrations with two events. Night of Poetry will feature readings from 20 Nanjing poets at the newly-launched Nanjing Literature Centre on the topic ‘Miracle Happens in the Spring’. Poem Walk with a White Cane sees 20 visually impaired students from the anjing School for the blind and a group of volunteers paired up to enjoy a literary walk together and share classic Chinese poems on the Mochou Lake.
OBIDOS, PORTUGAL
Obidos will join the World Poetry Day celebrations with online poetry readings, with poems from their most famous local poet, Armando da Silva Carvalho, in the Public Library which will be broadcasted online. This event is in partnership between the Library, the Municipality and local schools.
TARTU, ESTONIA
Tartu will celebrate WPD with a poetry night with readings and music from Doris Kareva, poet; Andra Teede, poet; Jaan Pehk, poet and musician at Club Salong at Tartu Literature House. Continuing the tradition started in 2020, people are invited to record and send in poetry videos, either original works or the works of others. The event is not limited by language and videos are welcomed from all parts of the world, especially from the Cities of Literature, for posting on a dedicated Facebook page during the day.
WONJU, SOUTH KOREA
Wonju will join the World Poetry Day celebrations with a Facebook and Instagram campaign, with a live event later in the year. Starting on March 17 and ending on March 21, five poets will each contribute a poem, available in both English and Korean.
For more information
About World Poetry Day: World Poetry Day takes place on 21 March, and was first declared by UNESCO during its 30th General Conference in Paris in 1999, with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.
For more information on World Poetry Day, please visit: https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/worldpoetryday
About the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN): Created in 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network gathers 246 cities from over 80 UNESCO Member States, that have positioned culture and creativity as strategic enablers for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the local level. The Network covers seven creative fields that are Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music. 39 UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature from 28 countries are currently members of the Network and collaborate actively and closely to promote the power of literature for sustainable and inclusive societies.
For more information on the UCCN, please visit: https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/home
To learn more about the UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature Network: https://www.citiesoflit.com/
The Cities of Literature press pack is here
Enquiries to:
Granada Team
Carmen Casares: carmen@granadaciudaddeliteratura.com
Jesús Ortega: granada@granadaciuaddeliteratura.com
UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature Network Lead
John Kenyon: john-kenyon@iowacityofliterature.org
Follow the social media hashtag: #WorldPoetryDay
The Residency Program is realized by Kraków Festival Office, operator of the Kraków UNESCO City of Literature program in partnership with Villa Decius Institute for Culture.
The Program is dedicated to all emerging writers, and poets having at least one published book working currently on a writing project and willing to learn more about the Polish literary community. The Residency Program is a perfect opportunity to professionalize writing skills and find the optimal conditions for creative work, and present own writing to the new audience.
The call for applications for 2022 is now open. Deadline for application submission is 4th of April.
What we offer:
In 2022 the Residency Program in Krakow will offer writers a two-month stay in the following period of the year:
1st June – 31st August
Residents will stay at the Villa Decius, official partner of the project with years of experience running international residencies, including the Visegrad Literary Residency and the ICORN residency program.
Besides stipend we cover transportation costs to and from Krakow. The Krakow Festival Office will guarantee residents the opportunity to participate in the literary life of the city and help to develop opportunities for them to promote their works in Poland.
What we expect:
- Connection with any UNESCO City of Literature.
- At least one published book (fiction or non-fiction), a poetry collection, screenplay or theatre script by the applicant.
- Work on a literary project during the residency
- Upper-intermediate level of spoken English.
- Interest in the Central European region.
- Readiness to participate in the literary life of Krakow, including events, meetings promotional interviews and engagements, festivals, where applicable.
- Residents will be asked to write a text (work of fiction or non-fiction) that will feature the City of Krakow (min. 6 000 to max. 11 000 characters with spaces) in some fashion and will be used in the future, published collection for promotional purposes.
Required documents listed below should be sent at: residencies@miastoliteratury.pl
- Application form
- Extract from a published text (in Polish or English), no more than 2 pages in length.
- Biography/CV
- Optional: recommendation letter, letter of motivation
Deadline
To submit an application, please fill out the application form by April 4st, 2022.
In case of inquiries, please contact Elżbieta Foltyniak, elzbieta.foltyniak@kbf.krakow.pl.
The Residency Program is a strategic project of the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature Program, operated by the Krakow Festival Office, which will fulfill the priority of strengthening international cooperation in the field of literature and the creative industries. It aims to promote the Cities of Literature Network, provide writers with a platform to showcase their work and talent to a Central European audience, support greater diversity of voices and literature on the Polish and Central European book market and offer local writers the chance to create links with international writers as well.
UNESCO has announced the designation of 49 new Cities to join its Creative Cities Network making for a total of 295 Creative Cities from 90 countries worldwide. Among these new Creative Cities, 3 have been designated as Creative Cities of Literature: Gothenburg, Sweden; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Vilnius, Lithuania.
There are now 42 designated Creative Cities of Literature from 31 countries across the globe. The UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature extend a warm welcome to their new sibling Cities and look forward to collaborating to promote the power of literature for sustainable and inclusive societies.
‘We warmly welcome our colleagues in the newly designated Creative Cities of Literature. We look forward to working with our new partners as we promote our values, including the need to celebrate and protect freedom of speech and expression. As our network diversifies, adding new cultural perspectives, new languages, and new stories, we strengthen the base from which we do that work.’ (John Kenyon, Executive Director, Iowa City UNESCO Creative City of Literature and Creative Cities of Literature Network Lead)
The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created by UNESCO in 2004 and gathers Cities that have positioned culture and creativity as strategic enablers for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Network recognises Cities from the seven creative fields of Craft and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music. Designated Creative Cities place creativity at the core of their development to enhance inclusivity, safety, and sustainability.
For more information:
UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN): https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/home
UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature Network: https://www.citiesoflit.com/
“Reykjavík UNESCO Creative City of Literature celebrates its ten-year anniversary in 2021. Hosting the Cities of Literature Annual Meeting made this milestone birthday very special, and organising a hybrid meeting on this scale was highly educational. It will benefit both the network and Reykjavík City generally as we further develop this new way of working together globally. As always, the Reykjavík team came out of the conference with new ideas, new connections, and further plans for cooperation and this international meeting was also highly valuable for the local literary community.” (Kristín Ingu Viðarsdóttir, Project Manager, Reykjavík UNESCO Creative City of Literature)
Reykjavík UNESCO Creative City of Literature welcomed 31 representatives from 21 Creative Cities of Literature for the hybrid Creative Cities of Literature Annual Conference (6 to 10 September), and the same number of delegates took part remotely from Creative Cities of Literature around the world. The theme of the Conference was Conversation and Inspiration – Reconnect in Reykjavík, focusing on the need for Cities to reconnect after a time of relative isolation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cities shared what they had learned and offered best practice for recovery and equity of opportunity in communities, and planned residencies, future collaborations, and mentoring and cooperation within the growing Network.
‘The UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature have used the time during the global pandemic to explore new ways to support readers and writers in our communities, knowing the connection afforded by literature is needed more than ever in these isolating times. Our annual meeting in Reykjavík allowed us to share what we have learned with one another and to discuss how we can strengthen our collaborations globally through the virtual tools that have become commonplace. To do so in a beautiful city like Reykjavík, where we had the opportunity to see in person the work being done by writers, artists, creators, programmers and so many others, brought home how vital that work can be.’ (John Kenyon, Executive Director, Iowa City UNESCO Creative City of Literature and Creative Cities of Literature Network Lead)
The delegates experienced Reykjavík‘s literary and cultural landscape and met authors, translators, booksellers, and other key players on the City‘s literary scene. Reykjavík also published a collection of new essays on creativity and writing by 14 local authors, launched at the Reykjavík International Literary Festival which coincided with the Creative Cities of Literature Annual Conference. During a visit to the Reykjavík City Library, delegates presented the Library with children’s books from their City, in keeping with a tradition established at previous Creative Cities of Literature Annual Conferences. Literacy was a key theme of the Conference, and Reykjavík’s anniversary year had in fact commenced with a book gift for all children in the City celebrating their first birthday, along with reading tips for their parents.
About the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN): Created in 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network gathers 246 cities from over 80 UNESCO Member States that have positioned culture and creativity as strategic enablers for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the local level. The Network covers the seven creative fields of Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music. Thirty-nine UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature from 28 countries are currently members of the Network and collaborate actively and closely to promote the power of literature for sustainable and inclusive societies.
For more information on the UCCN, please visit: https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/home
To learn more about the UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature Network: https://www.citiesoflit.com/
The Creative Cities of Literature press pack is here.
Maarten van der Graaff from the Netherlands and Ostap Ukrainiets from Ukraine are this year’s residents of the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature. They will work on their latest texts during a two-month stay at the Villa Decius. For them, it is a time of intensive work, exploring the city and developing contacts in the literary industry.
Maarten van der Graaff has been working as a poet and writer in the Netherlands for 7 years now. His first collection of poems, Vluchtautogedichten (Getaway car poems), was awarded the C. Buddingh’-prize, a prestigious prize for debut collections. He teaches at the Radboud University in Nijmegen and ArtEZ in Arnhem. In recent years was a resident of the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht and read at bookstores and festivals in London, Lviv, Zagreb, and Sydney.
The second resident Lviv-bound writer and translator from Ivano-Frankivsk Ostap Ukrainiets finished National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, has a master’s degree in comparative literature studies. Started out as a writer in 2017 with a novel “Malchut”, which was dubbed as “Debut of the Year” by the Village magazine. Since then he published novels “Trance” and “Crusade Chancellery”, which both got a warm public reception. Ostap writes in genres of historical and weird fiction, often referring to cultural heritage and historical anecdotes.
Maarten van der Graaff and Ostap Ukrainiets will stay in the Łaski House, in the guest rooms of the Villa Decius Institute for Culture, a partner of the project. Their stay in Krakow gives them an opportunity to work on literary texts in the friendly environment of Decius Park and, at the same time, to participate in the literary life of the city and present their work to Krakow audiences.
The Krakow UNESCO City of Literature Residency Program is dedicated to writers, poets and translators from the Cities of Literature of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. It aims to promote the Cities of Literature Network, provide writers with a platform to showcase their work and talent to a Central European audience, support greater diversity of voices and literatures on the Polish and Central European book market and offer local writers the chance to create links with international writers as well. In the past, as part of the programme, Krakow hosted artists from such countries as Great Britain, New Zealand, Ukraine, Spain or Australia.
The Residency Programme for authors from UNESCO Cities of Literature is one of a bunch of such projects implemented by Kraków UNESCO City of Literature, along with the International Cities of Refuge Network ICORN, the Kraków-Angoulême exchange residency, a residency programme for translator and residencies for winners of literary prizes.
The programme is implemented by KBF – a cultural institution of the City of Krakow in cooperation with the Villa Decius Institute for Culture.
Krakow, Gdańsk and Warsaw joined forces with the Literary Union Association and the Association of Literary Translators to jointly launch the Literary Residencies project. The literaryresidenciespoland.pl website is the first platform of its kind, fully devoted to creative residencies and fellowships for writers and translators. The project was inaugurated on the World Book and Copyright Day with a debate featuring Antonia Lloyd-Jones – translator of Olga Tokarczuk’s prose – and writer Jacek Dehnel.
Creative residencies for writers and translators are a long-standing and beautiful tradition in Europe – Martin Luther worked on his translation of the Bible while in hiding at the Wartburg Castle, the French Academy in Rome has been offering fellowships since the early 18th century, and Rainer Maria Rilke wrote his Duino Elegies as a guest of the eponymous Duino Castle. What did not change from the very beginning was offering residents a place, where they can work for a couple of weeks or months, fully focused on their work, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, all while being able to network – something that is crucial for authors of literature, who often have to deal with loneliness and solitude in their work.
A new destination for literary residencies
To celebrate the World Book and Copyright Day, we have launched the literaryresidenciespoland.pl website – the first platform of its kind dedicated to literary residencies, which came to be as a result of a joint initiative of the Krakow Festival Office – operator of the Krakow – UNESCO City of Literature Programme, Institute of Urban Culture in Gdańsk, and the Old Town Cultural Centre in Warsaw, undertaken jointly with the Literary Union Association and the Association of Literary Translators. This virtual database of information about open calls for proposals, previous fellowship holders, hosting institutions, as well as fellowship programmes for writers and translators in Poland and abroad is supplemented by the Literary residencies: open calls for writers and translators group on Facebook, which will be used to disseminate information about open calls for creative fellowships, as well as sharing experiences of stays at various destinations.
The kick-off of the project was accompanied by a debate entitled “Writing – but where?” What experiences do authors have with literary residencies? What are the outcomes of exposure and contact with other literary circles? How does the artist contribute to the cultural history in their destination? Participants of international residency projects – Belarusian poet Julia Cimafiejewa, translator of works by eminent contemporary Polish writers and reporters, including Stanisław Lem and Olga Tokarczuk, Antonia Lloyd-Jones from the United Kingdom, as well as Aleš Šteger, Slovenian writer and poet – talked about literary residencies in Poland and abroad and how the atmosphere and the history of a given space impact the experience of creative work. The debate was moderated by translator Justyna Czechowska and writer Jacek Dehnel. You can watch the recording HERE.
Literary residencies in Poland
To date, numerous Polish writers and translators took advantage of the international residency offering. Some of the most prominent ones include Olga Tokarczuk, who wrote a significant part of her Books of Jacob in Graz, while her stay in the Swiss town of Zug inspired one of her Tales of the Bizarre; Anna Wasilewska translated Jan Potocki’s Saragossa Manuscript and Italo Calvino’s American Lessons abroad, while Magdalena Heydel translated Alice Oswald’s Monument in Visby – later, she reminisced: “The sense of detachment from mainland affairs, characteristic for the island, gave me the space I needed to focus on such an extensive poem.” In some cases, residencies inspire new works – Żanna Słoniowska wrote her Wyspa (The Island) due to her stay in Visby on the Swedish isle of Gotland, and Dorota Masłowska was inspired to write her Jesień w Szanghaju (Autumn in Shanghai) in similar circumstances.
An increasing number of Polish institutions offer stays, during which Polish and international writers and translators can live together, all while working and getting involved with the local circles, contributing to the local cultural history. As such, the residencies not only allow the audience to meet and encounter world-famous authors, but they also serve as a great promotion for cities and regions.
For many years now, Krakow has been extending its offering of literary residencies to authors and writers, initially mainly as part of international programmes addressed to authors from the UNESCO Cities of Literature network. With time, the residency offering started growing to include fellowships for winners of awards (such as Paszport Polityki and the Conrad Award), as well as local residencies. To date, Krakow welcomed dozens of fellows from all corners of the world, including Australia, Spain, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. In 2011, Krakow was the first city in Central and Eastern Europe to join the ICORN International Cities of Refuge Network, and currently hosts the ninth fellow to take advantage of the support – Angolan poet, performer and activist Aaiún Nin.
Gdańsk, Kraków and Warsaw decided to join forces with the Literary Union Association and the Association of Literary Translators to jointly offer a new fellowship programme, extending the offering of residencies with three new exceptional destinations – the Potocki Palace in the heart of Krakow – near its Main Market Square, a house right next to the Oliwa Park in Gdańsk, in the Oliwa district, which constitutes a key part of the literary landscape of the Tri-City, as well as on the borderline of the Old Town and Powiśle.
Ongoing calls
The first residency programme for translators, who translate literary works into the Polish language, organised by Krakow – UNESCO City of Literature, has already been launched. The offer is addressed to authors, who have at least one book translation published in print, and who are currently working on a translation project. In addition to accommodation and reimbursement of travel costs, participants will also receive a salary of 2,000 PLN gross. The objective of these residencies is to support translators by offering them the conditions that will enable them to focus on their translation work for 30 days. What is more, throughout the entire stay, the fellows can count on networking support provided by the Krakow – UNESCO City of Literature staff. The deadline for submitting applications is 4 May. You can find out more about the offer HERE.
The Old Town Cultural Centre in Warsaw has also opened a call for applications for its literary residency programme for translators and writers, opening its doors to visitors from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, who will get an opportunity to spend a couple of creative weeks in the heart of the city. The two open calls will result in a selection of at least five residents, who will be able to take part in 2-6 week stays organised in May-June and July-December. By organising its residencies, the OTCC wants to invite international writers and translators to become a part of Warsaw’s literary world, encouraging them to spend a couple of weeks in Warsaw and discover the local art scene, explore the history of the city and take advantage of its cultural offering. The residents can take advantage of an apartment in the heart of the city with a comfortable space for creative work, professional and logistical support, a grant of 840 PLN gross per week, all while getting involved in the institution’s everyday operations. The deadline for submitting applications is 7 May (first call) 30 June (second call). You can find out more about the residency HERE.
The Literary Residencies programme is carried out by the Krakow Festival Office – operator of the Krakow – UNESCO City of Literature programme, Institute of Urban Culture in Gdańsk, and the Old Town Cultural Centre in Warsaw within the framework of the partnership of three Polish cities – Krakow, Gdańsk and Warsaw. The activities within the programme are supported by two artists’ associations: the Literary Union Association and the Association of Literary Translators.
As every year, Krakow UNESCO City of Literature joins the international celebrations of World Poetry Day. This year we move to the online reality and celebrate not only at the weekend.
World Poetry Day is a holiday celebrated annually on March 21, established by UNESCO in 1999. Its aim is to support linguistic diversity through poetry and to promote the literature of small languages.
In Krakow, we will highlight poetry on Saturday, March 20. On the wall of the Potocki Palace, poems by poets from various UNESCO Cities of Literature will be displayed. Look out for a special edition of “Multipoetry”, a poetic multimedia project of the Poemat Foundation, on the wall of the tenement house at the corner of Bracka Street. The poems in Polish and English will be available to read until Sunday.
On March 21, we invite all poetry enthusiasts to the PLAY KRAKÓW platform. At 6.00 p.m. there will be a premiere of a virtual tour of Czesław Miłosz’s apartment. 6 Bogusławskiego Street in Krakow – this is the address where the poet lived after returning to Poland in 1993 and spent the last 11 years of his life. From here he would go to the Noworolski Cafe, visiting the office of Tygodnik Powszechny at Wiślna Street, to finally do some small shopping and chat with the owner of a small shop at Bogusławskiego 4.
Joanna Zach, the author of the book “Miłosz and the Poetics of Confession”, head of the Czesław Miłosz Center, and Andrzej Franaszek, author of the book “Miłosz: A Biography”, will talk about the home, work, loves, and sufferings of the Nobel Prize winner. “The space we are in is a kind of text that we can read and understand. Through the items gathered here, we can tell a story about the life of Czesław Miłosz, ”says Franaszek.
Also on Sunday, on our Facebook profile, you will find a video with Jakub Kornhauser, who selected and read three of his poems, especially for World Poetry Day.
Throughout the weekend, we also invite you to the profile of the Miłosz Festival, where we will soon present the idea of the jubilee, the tenth edition of the festival, and introduce the first guests.
On Tuesday, March 23 at At 6.00 p.m. on the Facebook profile of Krakow UNESCO City of Literature, we will meet Aaiún Nin – a poet, performer, and activist from Angola, who is just starting her two-year residency as part of the ICORN International Cities of Refuge Network. Her poetry draws from childhood and youth experiences in a traditional patriarchal community and is deeply rooted in the context of postcolonial African history. In her poems, the artist often refers to the situation in Angola, incl. addressing the issues of sexual violence against women, religious fundamentalism, social inequalities, and racism, as well as the experiences of LGBT + people. The meeting will be hosted by Aleksandra Lipczak.
