LIGĘZA Wojciech

Born on 24 July 1951 in Nowy Sącz; son of the traders Bronisław Ligęza and Zofia, née Krzanowska. He attended the Jan Długosz Grammar School (No. I) in Nowy Sącz from 1965, completing his advanced secondary education in 1969. He the studied Polish philology at the Jagiellonian University (UJ) in Krakow, graduating with a master's degree in 1974. His master's thesis was supervised by Prof. Kazimierz Wyka. In October of that year he took up a post as a trainee assistant at the Institute of Polish Literature and Culture at the University of Silesia (UŚ) in Katowice. He then worked as an assistant, later senior assistant, at the Institute until 1982, before being sacked as a result of the repressions that followed the imposition of martial law in December 1981. He made his debut in 1975 with a review, titled Miazga (Pulp), of Marian Pilot's novel Zakaz zwałki (No Dumping). It appeared in the periodical "Życie Literackie" (no. 19). He published essays, mainly on contemporary poetry, in the journal "Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Śląskiego" (1977-79, 1982), while his articles and reviews appeared in periodicals including "Odra" (1975, 1977, 1979-80, and 1987) and "Twórczość" (intermittently between 1979 and 2000). He was awarded a doctoral degree from the University of Silesia in Katowice in 1983 for his dissertation Wiersze Wisławy Szymborskiej. Problemy poetyki (The Poetry of Wisława Szymborska: Exploring questions of poetics), which was supervised by Prof. Ireneusz Opacki. He was employed at the Institute of Polish Diaspora Studies from 1984, initially as an assistant and then as lecturer. In 1985, he travelled to New York on a Kościuszko Foundation fellowship, where he began collaborating with "Przegląd Polski", a weekly supplement on society and culture of the daily "Nowy Dziennik". He published literary articles there intermittently until 1988 (some using the pseudonym Bronisław Dobrzański). Between 1986 and 1988, he was head of the literary and theatre section of the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia (KIK) in Krakow. He also collaborated with the local press in Krakow that was published outside the reach of official censorship (using the names Henryk Flis, Lektor, XX), including the publications "Promieniści" (1984) and "Arka" (1988-89). In 1989, he received a Romer foundation grant to conduct research in Montreal and Ottawa, working on the personal papers of Beata Obertyńska. During his time in Canada he gave several lectures on émigré literature at universities in Montreal, Ottawa and Edmonton. In 1991/92 and again from 1994 to 1996 he was head of the Department of Polish Émigré Literature (Zakład Literatury Polskiej na Obczyźnie) at the Institute of Polish Diaspora Studies at UJ. He remained active as a literary critic, publishing articles and reviews in periodicals including "Dekada Literacka" (intermittently between 1991 and 2006, and in 2011), "PAL Przegląd Artystyczno-Literacki" (1996-97 and 2000), "Tygiel Kultury" (1996-2012; including the regular column Inna historia [Alternative history] which appeared from 1996 to 2003 and from 2006 to 2010), "Nowe Książki" (1997-2003), "Akcent" (intermittently between 1999 and 2011, and in 2016). He was awarded a habilitation degree from UJ in 1998 for his book Jerozolima i Babilon. Miasta poetów emigracyjnych (Jerusalem and Babylon: The cities of émigré poets). In October that year he gave a series of lectures at the Charles University in Prague. Between 1992 and 2002, he was involved in the work of the Committee on Polish Diaspora Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 2000, he joined the editorial board of the journal "Archiwum Emigracji" and the jury of its prize. In 2002, he joined the editorial council of the periodical "Świat i Słowo". He became a member of the Polish Writers' Association (SPP) in 2001, serving on the board of the Krakow Branch from 2001 to 2004 before becoming its deputy chair in 2008. In 2009, together with Gabriela Matuszek, he began editing the publication series "Krakowska Biblioteka SPP" (The SPP Krakow Library). He moved to the Chair in 20th Century Polish Literature at the Institute of Polish Studies at UJ in 2001, while also lecturing on literature in the Postgraduate Programme in Literary and Artistic Studies at UJ from 2002 to 2007. He was appointed associate professor at UJ in 2003, when he was also made state-appointed professor. That year he also received the prize of the Minister of National Education and Sport. In 2004/05, he was acting head of the Chair in 20th Century Polish Literature at the Faculty of Polish Studies at UJ. In 2007, he joined the Commission for Polish Diaspora Studies of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (PAU). From 2007 to 2009 he was a member of the jury of the Literary Prize of the Society of Polish Writers in Exile, while from 2010 he served on the jury of the Prize of the Society of Polish Writers Abroad. He was also involved in the editorial board of the yearly "Expresje", published by the Society in London. Between 2013 and 2015, he was on the jury of the Orpheus Poetry Prize (Nagroda Poetycka Orfeusz). He published pieces of literary criticism and reviews in periodicals and journals including "Kwartalnik Literacko-Artystyczny" (2007-12), "Pamiętnik Literacki" (London, 2009-10), "Znak" (2010), "Konteksty Kultury" (2011-14), "Ruch Literacki" (2012-13 and 2017), "Nowa Dekada Krakowska" (2013-15 and 2017) and "Topos" (2014). In 2011, he joined the scientific council of the journal "Tematy i Konteksty". He is also co-editor of "Konteksty Kultury". He received the Gold Cross of Merit in 2000, the Medal of the Commission of National Education in 2008, and the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis in 2011. He married the English studies scholar Maria Małgorzata Dworaczek in 1977. Their daughter Joanna (b. 1978) is a researcher at the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, specialising in the theory of mechanics. He lives in Krakow.