WALAS Teresa

Born on 24 December 1944 in Krakow; daughter of the bookkeeper Marian Walas and Wiktoria, née Jurek. She attended the J. Joteyko Grammar School No. IX in Krakow, completing her advanced secondary education in 1962. She then studied Polish philology at the Jagiellonian University (UJ), graduating with a master's degree in 1967, which was awarded for her thesis Powieść popularna dwudziestolecia międzywojennego (Popular Novels in the Interwar Period). She was supervised by Prof. Henryk Markiewicz. In 1967/68, she was a trainee at the Chair of the History of Polish Literature at UJ before being appointed tutor there in May 1969. She made her debut in 1969 with the article Bez szlachectwa. (O międzywojennej powieści popularnej) (Without Nobiltiy: On interwar-era popular novels), which appeared in "Życie Literackie" (no. 30), a journal she continued to publish in regularly until 1980 (also as: T.W.). She also published articles on the literature of Young Poland, popular literature, contemporary literature and cultural issues in periodicals including "Nowe Książki" (1970-81), "Teksty" (1972-73), "Literatura" (1972 and 1974), and "Pamiętnik Literacki" (1977, 1982, and 1989). She was appointed assistant at the Institute of Polish Philology at UJ in 1972. She completed a doctoral programme and was awarded a doctorate in 1976 for her dissertation Literatura polska wobec dekadentyzmu (Polish Literature and Decadentism), which was supervised by Prof. Henryk Markiewicz. She was then appointed lecturer at the Department of Literary Theory and Poetics at UJ. In 1978 and 1983, she taught Polish language and literature in the United States, first at Alliance College (Cambridge Springs, PA) and then at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She started publishing reviews and articles in periodicals including "Dziennik Polski" (1979-80; here numerous theatre reviews), "Pismo" (1981; also as: Salwa), "Twórczość" (1981 and 1983-88), "Odra" (1985-86 and 1989), "Ruch Literacki" (1986) and "Tygodnik Powszechny" (1987-91, 1997, and 2001). From 1980 to 1995, she was a member of the Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarity. She was involved in the Trade Union's University Commission at UJ. In 1987, she was a visiting lecturer at the Institute of European Studies in Vienna. She joined the Polish Writers' Association in 1989, serving the Association's Executive Board from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2000. She co-founded the periodical "Dekada Literacka" in 1990, initially serving as secretary of the editorial board before becoming deputy editor-in-chief in 2000. She published numerous reviews, articles and column pieces in the journal. She also published occasionally in "Dialog" (1990), "Teksty Drugie" (1990 and 2008), and "Znak" (1996, 2000, and 2011). From 1991 to 1993, she was head of the translation section of the literary journal "Pamiętnik Literacki". She was awarded a habilitation degree in 1994 for her study Czy jest możliwa inna historia literatury? (Is a Different History of Literature Possible?). She became a member of the Polish PEN Club in 1999. In 2002, she was appointed associate professor at UJ. From 2002 to 2004, she was deputy director of the Institute of Polish Studies at UJ. She was made state-appointed professor in 2004 and took up a post at the newly-created Chair in Anthropology of Literature and Cultural Studies at the Faculty of Polish Studies at UJ. She also taught literary criticism on UJ's Postgraduate Programme in Literary and Artistic Studies. In 2007, she was appointed editor-in-chief of "Wielogłos", the journal of the Faculty of Polish Studies at UJ. In 2012, following the closure of the journal "Dekada Literacka", she became deputy editor-in-chief of the new bimonthly "Nowa Dekada Krakowska", where she continued to publish numerous articles and reviews. In 2012, she also joined the Board of the Wisława Szymborska Foundation, which she had been associated with for years. She lives in Krakow. In 1994, her students founded the Society of Admirers of Teresa Walas. It was soon renamed the Limerick Lodge of Admirers, with this group's output appearing in print under the humorous title Liber limericorum to jest Wielka Xięga Limeryków i Innych Utworów ku Czci Jej Wysokości Królowej Loży Teresy Walas jako też przy Innych Okazjach Sposobnych przez Limeryczną Lożę Jej Admiratorów Ułożonych (Liber limericorum, or The Great Book of Limericks and Other Works in Honour of Her Royal Highness Queen of the Lodge Teresa Walas together with Pieces Composed for Other Suitable Occasions by the Limerick Lodge of Her Admirers; Krakow 1997).