URBANOWSKI Maciej

Born on 24 February 1965 in Krakow; son of the professional soldier Lech and the ceramic materials engineer Teresa née Kubicka. He completed his advanced secondary education at the King Jan Sobieski Grammar School No. II in Krakow in 1984 before studying Polish philology at the city's Jagiellonian University (UJ). He graduated with a master's degree in 1989, which was awarded for his thesis Dziennik i jego autor – „Szkice piórkiem” Andrzeja Bobkowskiego (A Diary and its Author: Andrzej Bobkowski's "Szkice piórkiem" [Pen sketches]). He was supervised by Prof. Marta Wyka ↑. He was a member of the Confederation of Independent Poland from 1984 to 1989 and of the Independent Union of Students (NZS) from 1988 to 1989. He made his debut as a literary critic in 1990 with a review of Tadeusz Nowakowski's novel Obóz Wszystkich Świętych (All Saints' Camp). The review appeared as „Obóz Wszystkich Świętych” po latach (All Saints' Camp years later) in the periodical "Dekada Literacka" (no. 4). He collaborated with the publication until 1994 and again between 2006 and 2009. In 1993, he was initially appointed as a research assistant and then as an associate lecturer at the Chair of Twentieth-Century Literary History at UJ. He was awarded a doctoral degree in 1994 for his dissertation *Nacjonalistyczna krytyka literacka lat 30. Próba rekonstrukcji i opisu nurtu w II Rzeczypospolitej (Nationalist literary criticism in the 1930s: Towards a reconstruction and outline of a trend in the Second Republic of Poland), which was supervised by Prof. Marta Wyka. The same year, he spent time in Paris on a scholarship awarded by the Fonds D’Aide Aux Lettres Polonaises Indépendantes. His research focused on the history of contemporary literature, in particular the history of Polish literary criticism, the connections between literature and politics, and the editing of twentieth-century literature. In 1993/94, he served on the editorial board of the bi-monthly "Arka", while in 1994/95 he co-edited alongside Krzysztof Koehler ↑ the literary supplement ("Dodatek") of the daily "Czas Krakowski". During this period, he also wrote scripts for documentary films by Polish Television (TVP) on twentieth-century literature. In 1995, he co-founded the bi-monthly "Arcana", serving as its editor until 2012. He rejoined its editorial board in 2015. During the 1998/99 academic year, he was a visiting professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago having received a grant from the Kościuszko Foundation. From 1999, he was a lecturer at the Department of Contemporary Criticism at the Institute of Polish Philology at UJ (which in 2005 became the Chair of Contemporary Criticism). In 2004, he was awarded a habilitation degree from UJ in recognition of his study Człowiek z głębszego podziemia. Życie i twórczość Jana Emila Skiwskiego (A Man from further Underground: The life and works of Jan Emil Skiwski). That year he also became co-editor alongside Dorota Kozicka and Marta Wyka of the publication series *Krytyka XX i XXI wieku (Twentieth and Twenty-first Century Criticism), which was published by the Universitas Society of Authors and Publishers of Academic Studies. From 2006, he served as a juror on the J. Mackiewicz Literary Prize while from 2017 he was chair of the prize's Chapter. In 2007/08, he acted as a consulted for the TVP documentary film series Errata do biografii (Biographical errata), which focused primarily on contemporary Polish authors. He also appeared on television shows broadcast by TVP Kultura and TVP2, including Czytelnia (Reading Room; 2007–10), Kwartet literacki (Literary Quartet; 2009), Sądy przesądy (Judgements, Superstitions; 2020–22). In 2008, he was appointed associate professor at UJ. From 2008 to 2020, he was Chair of Contemporary Criticism at UJ. Between 2013 and 2018, he was again employed as a lecturer owing to the expiry of his position. He was awarded the title of professor of humanities in 2018 and was re-appointed associate professor at UJ. In 2023, he was made an honorary professor at UJ. He served on the juries of several literary prizes, namely: the Krystyna and Czesław Bednarczyk Poetry Prize (2014-18), the Identitas Literary and Historical Prize (2014-17), the Angelus Central European Literary Prize (2017/18), the M. Nowakowski Literary Prize (2017 and then from 2018 as chair of the jury), and the Transatlantyk prize (from 2017). He collaborated with Polish Radio Two, including in 2017 as co-creator, alongside Dorota Gacek, of the series Wyspa skarbów (Treasure Island). The same year, he was appointed to the Programme Council of the Book Institute (Instytut Książki). Between 2019 and 2022, he served on the Council of the Discipline of Literary Studies at UJ. His articles, scholarly reviews, literary criticism, and column pieces appeared in periodicals including "Arka" (1993–94), "Europa" (2005–06), "Ruch Literacki" (2004, 2012, 2017, and 2021), "Dziennik" (2006–08), "Wielogłos" (2007–09, 2011, 2013, and 2015), "Nowa Dekada Krakowska" (2014–15, 2018, and 2020), "Arcana" (1993–12 and 2014–22), "Fronda" (1996–98, 2000, and 2004), "Rzeczpospolita" (2008, 2010–11, 2013–14, and 2016), "44/Czterdzieści i Cztery" (2008 and 2011–13), "Zeszyty Karmelitańskie" (2009–12), "Nasz Dziennik" (2010–12 and 2016), and "Nowe Książki" (from 2020). He was awarded the Individual Prize of Rector of UJ in recognition of his academic achievements on several occasions (1998, 2000, 2018, and 2020), as well as the Individual Prize of the Minister of National Education and Sport (2004), the UJ Rector's Prize – Second class (2008), and the Individual Prize of the Rector of UJ – Third class, in recognition of his academic achievements (2012). He was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit (2005), the Medal of the Commission of National Education (2016), the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2016), the Long Service Gold Medal (2020), and the Medal of the Centenary of Restored Independence (2023). He lives in Krakow. In 1987, he married the art restorer Bożena Ligendza; they have two children, the Polish studies scholar Agnieszka and the lawyer Łucja.