BIO
Born on 24 December 1956 in Dzierżoniów; son of Edward Lizakowski, a soldier in the Polish Army who after the conclusion of the Second World War was a military settler in the Owl Mountains (a region that belonged to Germany before the war) and became a farmer, and Jadwiga, née Naporska, a weaver. He spent the early part of his childhood in Pieszyce, now Lower Silesia. Between 1971 and 1974, he attended the Mining Vocational School (Zasadnicza Szkoła Górnicza) at the Makoszowy Coal Mine (KWK) in Zabrze. He graduated as a qualified mining technician specializing in the exploitation of deposits. He then worked at the Knurów Coal Mine until 1975. From 1976 to 1980, he continued his education at the J. Śniadecki Grammar School (No. 1) for people in work in Dzierżoniów. He earned a living from physical labour for a time before becoming a theatre instructor in 1979 at the Prządka Works House of Culture at the Bieltex Bielawy Textile Plant in Pieszyce. He made his debut as a poet in 1980 with the poems Strach (Fear) and Za każdym razem… (Every time...), which appeared in "Tygodnik Kulturalny" (no. 25). In July 1980, he was called up for military service but was discharged after five months. Following his return to Pieszyce, he worked at the Predom Terment Metalworks in the transport section of the electroplating workshop. In October 1981, he left for Austria with friends. Following the imposition of martial law in Poland in December that year, he applied for political asylum. In June 1982, he received a Tolstoy Foundation grant to leave for the United States and he settled in San Francisco. He got involved in the cultural life of the Polish diaspora there. In 1983, he was made editor of the Polish-American periodical "The San Francisco Beacon", while also being appointed to the editorial board of the monthly "Polonian". In 1984, he started collaborating with the "Przegląd Polski" supplement of the New York daily "Nowy Dziennik". His poems also appeared in the US-American press, including in the monthly "The Tenderloin Times" (San Francisco; 1986–90). In 1986, he started studying journalism at the City College of San Francisco, also joining the editorial board of the student newspaper "The Guardsman". During this period he became acquainted with Czesław Miłosz, who helped him have his poems published in the Paris-based journal "Kultura" (1987–2000). Between 1986 and 1990, he was editor-in-chief of the social and cultural monthly "Razem", which was published in San Francisco. In 1987, he co-founded the Los Angeles-based group of poets and painters Krak. That year he received the Golden Poetry Award (Sacramento). In 1989, he started a degree in Slavic studies at the University of California, Berkeley, which he soon abandoned. He married the nurse Anna Łuniewska in December of that year. A year later, he and his wife moved to Chicago where he started collaborating with the newspaper "Dziennik Związkowy" and the weekly "Kalejdoskop". His poems also appeared in other émigré publications, including the weekly "Relax", the newspaper "Dziennik Chicagowski" and the monthlies "À propos" and "Kobieta". In 1991, he founded the Unpaid Rent Poetry Group, which lasted until 1999. He joined the Polish Writers' Association (SPP) in 1993. That year he established the quarterly "Dwa Końce Języka", serving as its publisher and editor-in-chief until 1996. He opened the Golden Bookstore, which specialized in literature. It operated initially in South Chicago from 1993 to 1996, before opening in North Chicago, where it operated from 1995 to 1998. He organized over 200 meetings with artists and writers there. It also provided a venue for the monthly meetings of the Unpaid Rent Poetry Group, as well as for various other Polish émigré organizations. During this period, his memoirs Zapiski znad zatoki San Francisco (Notes from San Francisco Bay) appeared in the weekly "Gwiazda Polarna" (Stevens Point, WI; 1995–97). He divorced in 1998 and then spent four months in Mexico. After returning to the USA, he focused on his writing and promoting his works in Poland. In 2000, he received the Wladyslaw and Nelli Turzanski Foundation Prize from the Canadian organization in recognition of his lifetime achievement in poetry. Between 2002 and 2004, he was a member of the editorial board of the Torun-based art and culture periodical "Przegląd Artystyczno-Literacki", where he also published his poems, essays, column pieces and short stories. He founded the Polish Arts and Poetry Association in Chicago in 2005. Around this time, he collaborated with other periodicals in Poland, including "Zeszyty Poetyckie", also serving as a member of the editorial board from 2005, and with "Rocznik Dzierżoniowski" from 2006. In 2006, he published his poetry in the column Okienko wierszem (A window on poetry) in the Chicago-based periodical "Reklama", where his memoirs covering the years 1981 to 1988 appeared in 2007/08 under the title Dziennik pieszycki (Pieszyce Diary). He started a degree in creative writing at Columbia College Chicago in 2008, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 2011. He joined the editorial board of the monthly "Życie Kolorado" in 2009. In 2010, he was the winner of two Chicago poetry competitions, Father William's Frabjous and Curious Poetry Contest and the Elma Stuckey Poetry Award. The following year he was selected for the David R. Rubin Scholarship at Columbia College Chicago. He conducted poetry workshops at the Jesuit Millennium Center in Chicago between 2012 and 2015. He joined the editorial board of the journal "TriQuarterly" in 2012. He received the K. Janicki Prize (Bydgoszcz) in 2013. He was awarded a Master of Arts from Northwestern University in Chicago in 2014. His work promoting the metropolitan area of Chicago in his poetry was recognized in an honorary resolution of Chicago City Council in 2014, before being made an Honorary Member of the Polish American Chamber of Commerce the following year. He returned to Poland permanently in February 2015. He conducted poetry workshops at the Faculty of Journalism and Social Communication at the University of Wroclaw (UWr.) and on the Postgraduate Programme in Literary and Artistic Studies at the Jagiellonian University (UJ) in Krakow. He also gave workshops at the Cultural Centre in Pieszyce and at many other locations in the Dzierżoniów district. He also taught English at Dzierżoniów Centre for Social Engagement (Dzierżoniowskie Centrum Aktywizacji Społecznej). In recognition of his efforts to promote Polish culture abroad, he received the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis in 2011, the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland in 2012, the Honorary Gold Medal for Services to the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in 2014 and the Golden Owl of the Polonia in 2015. He lives in Pieszyce.
Twórczość
1. Cannibalism. Poetry. [Przeł.:] a.k., R. Lewczyk. San Francisco: [Nakład Autora] 1984, 44 s. [Wyd. 2] takoż 1985.
2. Anteroom. Poetry. [Współautor:] N.M. Warren. San Francisco: Trojan Horse Press 1986, 40 s. [Wyd. 2] Denver, Colorado: Outskirts Press [2013].
3. Zapiski znad Zatoki San Francisco. [Dziennik]. Powst. 1981–1988. „Gwiazda Polarna” Stevens Point, WI 1995 nr 45 — 1998 nr 1. Przedruk: „Życie Kolorado” 2012 nr 20–80. Wyd. osobne: [Ustrzyki Dolne]: Otwarty Rozdział; [Rzeszów]: Stowarzyszenie Literacko-Artystyczne „Fraza” 2004, 450 s. Biblioteka „Frazy”.
Nagrody
Zawartość
4. Wiersze amerykańskie. Dzierżoniów: Oficyna Wydawnicza „Obok”; Dzierżoniowski Ośrodek Kultury 1990, 32 s.
5. Złodzieje czereśni. Wiersze i poematy. Stevens Point, WI: Artex Publishing 1990, 95 s. Wyd. nast.: [wyd. 2 poszerzone] Toruń: A. Marszałek 2000, 193 s., wyd. 2 [właśc. 3] tamże 2001.
Nagrody
Zawartość
6. Współczesny prymitywizm. Wiersze i poematy. [1986–1992]. Chicago: Grupa Poetycka Niezapłacony Rent = The Unpaid Rent Poetry Group 1992, 94 s. The Unpaid Rent Poetry Group Library, 2.
Zawartość
7. Święte miasto. Arkusz poetycki. Chicago: Grupa Poetycka Niezapłacony Rent 1995, [8], 26 s.
8. [Dwa tysiące pięćset] 2500 najpopularniejszych idiomów amerykańskich dla Polaków z przykładami w języku polskim i angielskim. [Współautor:] P. Marcinkiewicz. Chicago, IL: Unpaid Rent Poetry Group 1996, 351 s. Library volume of the Unpaid Rent Poetry Group, 8.
9. Nie zapłacony czynsz. Wiersze pieszyckie. Dzierżoniów: „Obok” Oficyna Wydawnicza 1996, 78 s.
10. Manifest pokoleniowy czyli złodzieje czereśni proszą o głos. [Esej]. Chicago, IL: Unpaid Rent Poetry Group = Grupa Poetycka Niezapłacony Rent 1997, 64 s. Przedr. poz. ↑[wyd. 2].
11. Chicago miasto nadziei. [Wiersze]. Chicago, IL: Grupa Poetycka Niezapłacony Rent 1998, 93 s. Library Volume of the Unpaid Rent Poetry Group, 10. Wyd. nast. [poszerzone]: Toruń: A. Marszałek 2000, 183 s; tamże: 2001, 2003.
12. Legenda o poszukiwaniu ojczyzny. [Wybór wierszy]. Wybór i posłowie: B. Hebzda-Sołogub. Dzierżoniów: Dzierżoniowski Ośrodek Kultury 2001, 179 s.
13. Kuzyn Józef albo Emigracja loteryjna po roku 1989 do Ameryki, czyli wyprawa po złote runo. [Opowiadania]. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek 2003, 98 s.
Zawartość
14. Chicago city of hope. In poetry and photography. [Red. i przekł.] A. Wisnicki. Chicago: The Unpaid Rent Poetry Group 2005, 80 s.
15. Wódz. [Utwór dramatyczny]. Pierwodruk „Reklama”, Chicago 2006 nr 8–15, 20–31 — 2007 nr 1–13. Przedruk: „Aha!”, Vancouver 2010 nr 173.
16. Dzieci Gór Sowich. [Wybór wierszy i przekładów]. Wybór i słowo wstępne: B. Hebzda-Sołogub. Dzierżoniów: Studio Edytor; Piława Górna: Miejski Ośrodek Kultury w Piławie Górnej 2007, 208.
Zawartość
17. Chicago city of belief = Chicago miasto wiary. [Wiersze]. [Przeł.] T. Pietrzyk. Warszawa: IBiS 2008, 105 s.
Nagrody
18. Pieszyckie łąki. [Wybór wierszy]. Wybór i słowo wstępne: B. Hebzda-Sołogub. Dzierżoniów: Studio Edytor Drukarnia-Wydawnictwo; Dzierżoniowski Ośrodek Kultury 2010, 208 s.
19. Bogaty Strumień — Dzierżoniów. Wiersze. Dzierżoniów: Studio Edytor Drukarnia-Wydawnictwo 2012, 84 s.
20. [Sto pięćdziesiąt sześć] 156 listów poetyckich z Chicago do Pieszyc z lat 1991–2010. [Wiersze]. Pieszyce: Urząd Miejski 2012, 174 s.
21. Wiersze spod krzywej wieży. [Wiersze]. Ząbkowice Śląskie: Biblioteka Publiczna Miasta i Gminy im. Księgi Henrykowskiej; Kłodzko: Zakład Poligraficzny Perfekta [2013], 96 s.
22. Bielawa. Randka trzech sylab. [Wiersze]. Bielawa: Miejska Biblioteka Publiczna 2014, 94 s. Sudecka Poezja i Proza, 9.
23. Listy. 40 listów poetyckich z Chicago do Pieszyc = Letters. 40 poetic letters from Chicago to Pieszyce. Chicago, IL: The Fahrenheit Center for Study Abroad 2014, 89 s.
24. Dziennik pieszycki = Pieszyce’s diary. Bielawa: Wydawnictwo Biblioteka Bielaviana, Miejska Biblioteka Publiczna 2016, 141 s. Sudecka Poezja i Proza, 17.
25. Jak zdobyto Dziki Zachód. Wiersze i poematy. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Wojewódzkiej Biblioteki Publiczna i Centrum Animacji Kultury w Poznaniu 2017, 78 s. Biblioteka Poezji Współczesnej, t. 150.
26. Gdybym twą miłość miał Ameryko! [Wybór wierszy]. Londyn: Literary Waves Publishing 2022, 92 s.
27. Pieszycka księga umarłych. [Wiersze]. [Ilustracje: P. Wojciechowski]. Warszawa: Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich. Oddział Warszawa 2022, 95 s.
Przekłady utworów literackich w antologiach zagranicznych
angielski
białoruski
litewski
Przekłady
Zob. też Twórczość poz. ↑.
Omówienia i recenzje
• Ankieta dla IBL PAN 2014.
