Polish translator from Romanian wins the title of the European Poet of Freedom 2016

The European Poet of Freedom 2016 awards went to Ana Blandiana (Romania) for the poetry collection My Native Land A4 and Joanna Kornaś-Warwas (Poland) for the translation of Blandiana’s poems into Polish (Moja ojczyzna A4). The translation award comprises a statuette and a cash prize of PLN 10,000.

“I don’t have a clue as to my need to translate. I guess, it comes from the need to read. First of all, I am a reader. Translation comes next,” says Joanna Kornaś‑Warwas, interviewed by Justyna Czechowska for the City Culture Institute.

For more details, see the full video interview below (in Polish).

This year, the Award was given by the Jury panel comprising: Krzysztof Pomian (President of the Jury), Krzysztof Czyżewski, Paweł Huelle, Andrzej Jagodziński (Secretary of the Jury), Zbigniew Mikołejko, Stanisław Rosiek, Anda Rottenberg, and Olga Tokarczuk.