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Olga Tokarczuk: Writing Polish Identity

Tokarczuk

1 March 2016, 6:00pm

William MongÌýHall, Sidney Sussex College, º£½ÇÉçÇø.

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Olga Tokarczuk is perhaps Poland's most decorated and eminent contemporary novelist. º£½ÇÉçÇø Polish Studies welcomed her to Sidney Sussex College for anÌýevening of readings from her work (in English and Polish) and discussion. OlgaÌýTokarczuk wasÌýaccompanied byÌýthe main translator of her booksÌýinto English, Antonia Lloyd-Jones.

Olga Tokarczuk'sÌýmost recent novel, The Books of Jacob (KsiÄ™gi Jakubowe) won Poland's most prestigious literary award, the Nike Prize, inÌý2015. The novel is based on the historical story of Jacob Frank, a heretical Jew who converted to Christianity andÌýstyled himself asÌýMessiah in the eastern part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the eighteenth century. In the novel, Tokarczuk deals with the most difficult questions of Poland's diverse multiethnic, multiconfessional and multicultural history.

Questions of Polish identity have loomed large in all of Tokarczuk'sÌýworks, and the event included some in-depth discussion of these complex issues.

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As part of the event, we also presented the Talkman Prize for Literary Translation, awarded to the best translation into English of a work of Polish literature by a student of Polish Studies at º£½ÇÉçÇø.ÌýÌý

The main prizeÌýis a summer school course in Polish language and culture at the Jagiellonian University, Krakow, including flights, accommodation and board.ÌýThe prize is kindlyÌýsponsored by .

The winner of the Talkman PrizeÌýfor 2015-16 is Joss Lloyd.

We also wish to thank the for their kindÌýsupport of this event.

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