BIO
Born on 7 October 1963 in Warsaw; son of the economists Tadeusz Klejnocki and Teresa, née Przybyłowicz. He joined the Polish Scouting Association (ZHP) in 1974, while he was still at primary school. He remained active in the Warsaw Mokotów Grey Ranks Scout Group, likewise as a scout leader, until 1990 (with some breaks). He and his parents left for Kuwait in 1975, where they remained for four years and he attended the New English School. From 1979 to 1983, he continued his education at the Maria Konopnicka Grammar School No. XLII in Warsaw. He then took a degree in Polish philology at the University of Warsaw (UW). He made his debut as a critic in 1985 with a review of J. Szczodrowski's novel Tylko słowa (Only Words), which was published in "Miesięcznik Literackim" (no. 10/11). He continued to contribute to this periodical until 1990. After graduating with a master's degree in 1988, he became a Polish language teacher at the Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Grammar School No. XVII in Warsaw, where he worked until 1995, also serving as deputy head from 1992 to 1994. During this period he also worked as an inspector of middle schools for the Education Authority (1990/91) and as a teaching consultant for the Central Teacher Training Service (Centralny Ośrodek Doskonalenia Nauczycieli) in Warsaw (1991/92). He made his debut as a poet in 1991, publishing six poems in the quarterly "Ogród" (no. 2). The same year he married the journalist, and graduate in ethnography, cultural anthropology and archaeology), Joanna Olszewska. They hitch-hiked through Europe together, visiting Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and Czechoslovakia. This trip and several further journeys, which took in the Benelux countries, France, Austria, Scotland and Switzerland in 1995 and Scandinavia in 1997, resulted in the volume of essays Zagłada ogrodu (The Slaughter of the Garden) and several texts that featured in the collection Piołun i inne eseje chodnikowe (Wormwood and Other Essays from the Pavement), as well as numerous poems. In 1992, he left for the United States on a US-government scholarship in order to learn more about educational issues. After returning to Poland, he was employed as a technician at the Department of Reading Theory and Literary Methods at the Institute of Polish Literature (ILP) at UW, where between 1992 and 2001 he gave classes on teaching methods and taught seminars on contemporary Polish poetry. His poems, essays, reviews and literary pieces have appeared in magazines, newspapers and periodicals including "Polityka" (since 1985), "Gazeta Wyborcza" (since 1990), including the regular columne Między wierszami (Between the Lines) in the literary supplements "Magazyn z Książkami" (2001) and "Książki w Dużym Formacie" (2002), "Odra" (since 1990), "Kresy" (since 1992), "Nowe Państwo" (1995-2001), "Res Publica Nowa" (since 1996), "Tygodnik Powszechny" (since 1997), "Studium" (1998-2003), "Borussia" (2000-2003), and "Lampa" (1998, 2000, and 2009). Together with Rafał Grupiński he featured on Barbara Marciniak's literary programme "Loża szyderców" (The Mockers' Box) on Polish Radio 3. He also appeared on literary television shows, including the TVP series on books "Chimera". He took up a post as a teacher of Polish literature at the private grammar school Autorskie Liceum Niepubliczne (no. 42) in Warsaw in 1995. He joined the Association of Polish Writers (SPP) in 1996. Between 1997 and 1999, he received a grant from the Research Support Scheme of the Central European University, then based in Prague. In 2001, he was awarded a doctoral degree for his dissertation Poezja Adama Zagajewskiego. Metamorfozy. Interpretacje. Konteksty (Adam Zagajewski's Poetry: Metamorphoses, Interpretations, Contexts), which was supervised by Prof. Ryszard Handke. He was subsequently appointed lecturer at the Institute of Polish Literature (ILP) at UW. He started working on textbooks for Polish literature pupils in post-middle school education. Between 2005 and 2007, he was head of the Department of Literary Education at ILP at UW (previously known as the Department of Reading Theory and Literary Methods). In 2007, he received a creative writing grant from the Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators in Visby, Sweden. The same year he moved to the new Institute of Applied Polish Studies at UW, where he served as acting deputy director until 2008 before becoming an assistant there. He continued to write works of literature, including crime novels. From August 2008 until 2017 he ran the literary criticism blog "Raptularz końca czasów" (A Diary of the End Times) on the website of the publishing house Wydawnictwo Literackie. This platform featured his literary sketches, essays and discussions of books, as well as commentary on cultural events. Since August 2009 he has been employed at the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature in Warsaw, where he was appointed director in on 1 July 2010. He ran a literary criticism blog there, Poza Regulaminem (Outside the Rules), from 2010. The same year he was also appointed to the jury of the Warsaw Literary Prize. He has continued to publish poems, articles and reviews that have appeared in publications including "Poezja Dzisiaj" (2010 and again from 2013), "Nowe Książki" (2011), "Wyspa" and "Zeszyty Literackie". In 2011, he was presented with an award on the occasion of UNESCO World Poetry Day. Between 2012 and 2015, he was a member of the Social Council of Culture of the President of the City of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz. In 2016, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage bestowed the title of senior custodian upon him. He was awarded a habilitation degree from UW in 2017 for his book Przez wiersze. Szkice interpretacyjne (wokół wybranych wierszy kilku poetów urodzonych w latach 60. XX wieku) (Through Poetry: Analytical sketches on selected poems by several poets born in the 1960s). In 2017, he received the Pro Masovia Medal, awarded by the Marshal of the Mazovian Voivodeship.
He has two biological daughters, Weronika Dezyderia (b. 2003) and Klementyna Wiktoria (b. 2006), and a daughter adopted in 2013, Joanna (b. 1997). He lives in Zalesie Górne near Warsaw.
Twórczość
1. Literatura staropolska. Warszawa: Towarzystwo Wiedzy Powszechnej 1989, 59 s. Towarzystwo Wiedzy Powszechnej Zarząd Główny.
2. Oswajanie. Wiersze. Warszawa: Towarzystwo „Ogród Ksiąg” 1993, 39 s.
3. Miasto otwarte. [Wiersze]. Warszawa: LNB 1995, 36 s. Biblioteka „Ogrodu Ksiąg”,t. 4.
Inne formy wydań
4. Chwilowe zawieszenie broni. O twórczości tzw. pokolenia „bruLionu” (1986-1996). [Monografia]. [Współautor:] J. Sosnowski. Warszawa: Sic! 1996, 190 s. Stanowiska, interpretacje.
5. Zagłada ogrodu. [Szkice literackie]. Warszawa: Lampa i Iskra Boża 1996, 159 s.
Zawartość
6. Okruchy. [Wiersze]. Kraków: Studium Literacko-Artystyczne przy Instytucie Filologii Polskiej Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Zielona Sowa 1997, 43 s. Biblioteka Pisma Literacko-Artystycznego „Studium”, t. 1.
7. W drodze do Delft. Piętnaście portretów. [Wiersze]. Warszawa: Open 1998, 23 s. Biblioteka „Kwartalnika Artystycznego”.
8. Krótka historia przeistoczeń. (Epigramaty). [Wołowiec:] Czarne 1999, 39 s.
9. Mr. Hyde. [Wiersze]. Wałbrzych: Ruta 1999, 57 s.
10. Piołun i inne eseje chodnikowe. Warszawa: Lampa i Iskra Boża 1999, 80 s.
Zawartość
11. Adam Zagajewski. [Szkic]. Red.: E. Kalinowska-Styczeń, M. Baran. [Przeł.:] K. Dedecius, L. Murawski. Kraków: Villa Decius. Arbeitsgruppe Literatur Polska 2000, 2000, 30 s.
12. Bronisław Maj. [Szkic]. [Przeł.] A. Kutter. Kraków: Villa Decius. Arbeitsgruppe Literatur Polska 2000, 2000, 30 s.
13. Bez utopii? Rzecz o poezji Adama Zagajewskiego. Wałbrzych: Ruta 2002, 301 s.
14. Jak nie zostałem menelem. (Próba autobiografii antyintelektualnej). [Powieść]. Warszawa: Prószyński i S-ka 2002, 168 s.
15. Reporterzy, fotograficy, zawiedzeni kochankowie. [Wiersze]. Kraków: Studium Literacko-Artystyczne przy Instytucie Polonistyki Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Zielona Sowa 2002, 34 s. Biblioteka Pisma Literacko-Artystycznego „Studium”,t. 41.
16. Przylądek pozerów. Powieść antykryminalna. Warszawa: Prószyński i S-ka 2005, 246 s.
17. Skarby dni ostatecznych. Psalmy, epigramaty, lamenty, litanie. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 2005, 56 s.
18. Literatura w czasach zarazy. Szkice i polemiki. Warszawa: Prószyński i S-ka 2006, 289 s.
Zawartość
19. Południk 21. [Powieść]. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 2008, 344 s.
20. Victoria. Wiersze ostatnie. Warszawa: Nowy Świat 2009, 76 s.
21. Człowiek ostatniej szansy. [Powieść]. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 2010, 386 s.
22. W proch. [Wiersze]. Wyd. jako dokument elektroniczny: Warszawa: RTC AW 2011, 40 s., plik w formacie EPUB.
23. Zaprzysiężony = Sworn. [Wybór wierszy]. [Przeł.:] A. i A. Fincham. Poznań.: Ibis 2011, 57 s.
24. Elegia na śmierć szczegółów. Wiersze wybrane. [Opole]: K.I.T. Stowarzyszenie Żywych Poetów 2012, 96 s. Seria Poetycka Oficyny SŻP”, t. 15.
25. Opcje na śmierć. [Powieść]. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie 2012, 346 s.
Inne formy wydań
26. Próba miłości. Jak pokochać cudze dziecko. [Współautor:] K. Klejnocka. Wołowiec: Wydawnictwo Czarne 2014, 221 s. Bez fikcji o.
27. Ciemne zwierciadło. [Wiersze]. Grafika: M. Sobczyk. Warszawa: Staromiejski Dom Kultury 2016, 52 s.
28. Przez Wiersze. Szkice interpretacyjne. (Wokół wybranych wierszy kilku poetów urodzonych w latach 60. XX wieku). Warszawa: Wydział Polonistyki Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego 2016, 256 s.
Zawartość
29. Rzeczy warszawskie z dreszczem. Opowiadania dla młodych dorosłych. Autorzy: J. Klejnocki, H. Klimko-Dobrzaniecki, J. Olech, Ł. Orbitowski. Warszawa: Muzeum Warszawy 2018, 268 s.
30. Ulica Słodkich Migdałów i inne opowieści. [Eseje]. Kraków; Budapeszt; Syrakuzy: Wydawnictwo Austeria 2024, 51 s. Z Rękopisów.
Zawartość
Podręczniki do języka polskiego
Nagrody
Nagrody
Nagrody
Nagrody
Przekłady utworów literackich w antologiach zagranicznych
angielski
białoruski
bułgarski
czeski
grecki
hiszpański
łotewski
rumuński
serbski
szwedzki
węgierski
Prace redakcyjne
Omówienia i recenzje
• Ankieta dla IBL PAN 2008.
Autor o sobie
Wywiady
Ogólne
Artykuły
Oswajanie
Miasto otwarte
Chwilowe zawieszenie broni
Zagłada ogrodu
Okruchy
W drodze do Delft
Krótka historia przeistoczeń
Mr. Hyde
Piołun i inne eseje chodnikowe
Zob. też Wywiady.
