KĄDZIELA Paweł

Born on 25 May 1958 in Nadarzyn; son of the literary historian and editor Jerzy Kądziela and the pedagogue Teresa, née Żółkowska. He attended the Narcyza Żmichowska Grammar School in Warsaw. While still a pupil, his extensive letter to the editors of the Catholic weekly "Tygodnik Powszechny" was published in 1974 (no. 36) under the title O pracy społecznej w szkole – inaczej (On social activism in schools – a different perspective). It was a polemic with Prof. Andrzej Grzegorczyk's article Praca społeczna w szkole (Social activism in schools). While at grammar school, he attended independent lectures on recent history and Polish culture. In the late 1970s he participated in political, social, historical and literary debates at the Warsaw Section of the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia (KIK), becoming a full member of the Club in 1978. He started studying Polish philology at the University of Warsaw (UW) in 1977, graduating with a master's degree in 1984. During his studies, he spent one year as chair of the Warsaw Circle of Polish Philology Scholars (Warszawskie Koło Polonistów) and also co-edited its almanach "Z archiwum Warszawskiego Koła Polonistów”. His first published piece of literary criticism was Obowiązek odpowiedzialności (The Necessity of Responsibility), which was a review of Jan Józef Szczepański's Autograf (Autograph). It appeared in "Nowe Książki" (1981, no. 2). He continued to collaborate occasionally with this periodical as a reviewer until 1996. Following the imposition of martial law in December 1981, he worked for the Evidence and Information Section of the Primate's Aid Committee for Individuals Deprived of their Freedom and their Families (Sekcja Ewidencji i Informacji Prymasowskiego Komitetu Pomocy Osobom Pozbawionym Wolności i Ich Rodzinom). In autumn 1981, he started collaborating with the monthly "Więź", while from mid-1982 he took up a post at the publication, initially as deputy secretary of the editorial board before serving as director of the literary section. He was appointed to "Więź"'s Editorial Board in 1984. He published articles and literary reviews in the monthly between 1981 and 2000 (likewise as P.K. and PK). He also published in several religious-cultural periodicals: "Tygodnik Powszechny" between 1983 and 1986, the quarterly "Znaki Czasu" in 1986 (using the pen name Jan Makowski), the Wroclaw-based bi-weekly "Nowe Życie" (1983-89; including a series of interviews with writers), and "Przegląd Katolicki" (in 1984-85; here he published literary articles, including some using the names: S.Ż., Stanisław Żółkowski, Stefan Żółkowski). He became director of the publishing house Biblioteka Więzi in 1986. He completed the Postgraduate Editorial and Textual Studies Postgraduate Programme at the Faculty of Polish Philology at UW and the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IBL PAN) in 1987. From 1987 to 1989, and again in 1996, he was in Paris and London on research fellowships, conducting studies in Polish libraries and international archives. From 1988 to 1992 and again from 1994 to 1999 he published articles on émigré literature in the "Przegląd Polski" supplement of the New York-based newspaper "Nowy Dziennik". From 1993 to 1996, he was an editor at the publishing house Oficyna Wydawnicza Interim (which became Wydawnictwo Książkowe Twój Styl), working on the series Utwory Nieznane (Unknown Works), which presented the works of the most outstanding Polish émigré writers. He began collaborating with the quarterly "Zeszyty Literackie" in 2001. He became a member of the Polish PEN Club in 2012. In 2012, he received the Editorial Prize awarded by the quarterly "Zeszyty Literackie", while in 2014 he was awarded the Prize of the London-based Union of Polish Writers Abroad for his literary oeuvre and editorial work. He received the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 2008. He married the doctor Katarzyna Nassalska in 1984. They have three children, the sports journalist Tadeusz (b. 1986), the translator of German texts Krystyna (b. 1988), and Teresa (b. 2001). He lives in Podkowa Leśna.