RODOWSKA Krystyna

Born on 20 April 1937 in Lwow (now Lviv, Ukraine); daughter of the doctor Bronisław Rodowski and Klementyna, née Wanke. She spent the first years of her life in Mosty Wielkie (Velyki Mosty), a small town near Żółkiew (Zhovkva), where her father worked at the Police School. She remained there following the outbreak of the Second World War and the subsequent Soviet occupation of the region. In autumn 1942, with the area under German occupation and threatened by Ukrainian nationalist partisans, she and her family moved to Lwow (Lviv). In spring 1944, she settled in a village near Rzeszow, before moving to the city itself six months later. In autumn of that year she started primary school and later joined the Girls' Grammar School, while also taking piano classes at the local Music School. She completed her advanced secondary education in 1953. She came third in the National Singing Contest that year, too. The following year she left for Warsaw where she trained as a singer with Ada Sari. She also continued to train as a pianist at the Middle School for Music No. 1. As a result of a throat problem she abandoned vocal training after three years, although she continued her piano training, receiving a diploma in 1958. That year she started a degree in Romance philology at the University of Warsaw (UW). After graduating with a master's degree in 1963 she left for France, where she spent several months. She wrote reports and reviews in Spanish for Polish Radio's Ibero-American service for a period of time. From 1964 to 1966 she worked as a translator at the Mexican Embassy in Warsaw, further developing her knowledge of Spanish. She made her debut in 1966 with the poems Aby ocalić (To survive) and Dedykacje (Dedications), which appeared in "Kultura" (no. 4). That year she published her first piece of literary criticism, a discussion of the prose works of Józefa Radzymińska, which appeared in "Kierunki" (no. 40). She continued to collaborate with these weeklies in subsequent years ("Kultura" until 1980, "Kierunki" until 1970), publishing her poetry, reviews and, later, translations of French and Spanish-language literature there. Between 1967 and 1973 she was editor of the culture section at the weekly "Forum". She published her first translations of Spanish-language and French literature in 1969, making her debut with Polish versions of three pre-Cortesian works (they were considered anonymous at the time but have since been attributed to the philosopher-king Nezahualcoyotl): Hymn do Dawcy Życia (Ode to the Life-Giver), Początek i koniec (Beginning and End), and Zagadka człowieka wobec Boga (Humanity as the Mystery of God). The translations were published in the periodical "Orientacja" (November issue). Her long-term collaboration with the monthly "Literatura na Świecie" began in 1971 with translations of the poetry of Octavio Paz. From autumn 1973 to summer 1974 she published socially-engaged journalism in the Poznan weekly "Tydzień". As a member of the Youth Circle of the Polish Writers' Union (ZLP), she subsequently left for Mexico on a scholarship awarded by the Mexican government. She attended seminars on Ibero-American literature while in the country. During this period she started writing poetry and essays (likewise in Spanish). She also translated contemporary Polish poetry into Spanish, with selections of poems appearing in publications including the Mexican literary periodicals "Revista de Bellas Artes" and "Semanario de Bellas Artes". Between 1975 and 1976, she worked as a tutor in Spanish language at the Adam Mickiewicz University (UAM) in Poznan. She became a full member of the Polish Writers' Union (ZLP) in 1976. It was dissolved in 1983. She travelled to Mexico again in 1977/78 on a scholarship. After returning to Warsaw, she joined the editorial board of "Literatura na Świecie", where she continued to publish translations and pieces of literary criticism even after her early retirement in 1994. She remained active as a translator and poet throughout the 1980s. She received several grants, enabling her to travel to Spain in 1982, France in 1986, and Mexico and Cuba in 1989. She started collaborating with Polish Radio 2 in the 1990s. In 1991, she joined the Polish Writers' Association (SPP), where she served four terms on its qualifications commission. From 2005 to 2008, she was chair of the SPP Executive Board's International Commission. After 1989 she participated in many international festivals and meetings of poets and translators, including events in Cordoba (2004), Mexico City (2004 and 2005), Paris and Bordeaux (2004), Granada (Nicaragua, 2006 and 2008), and Havana (2007). Throughout this period she continued to publish in "Literatura na Świecie" and "Twórczość", while also contributing to periodicals including "Arkusz", "Kwartalnik Artystyczny", "Nowa Okolica Poetów", "Pogranicza", "Odra" and "Tygiel Kultury". In 1991, she received the prize of the editorial board of "Literatura na Świecie" for her translations of Ibero-American poetry. In 2005, the Polish Society of Authors and Composers (ZAiKS) awarded her its prize for her translations of French and Spanish-language literature. From 2005 to 2008, she published poetry in her own Spanish translations and in translations by Gerardo Beltrán in the literary supplement of the Buenos Aires-based periodical "El Clarin". She was awarded the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis in 2016 and the French Order of Arts and Literature in 2015. She has a son, the graphic designer Kamil Wiesiołowski (b. 1968). She lives in Warsaw.