Antoni Matuszkiewicz (born 13 August 1945) is a Polish poet, prose writer, playwright, journalist, and promoter of literary life. As a poet, he expresses himself in a modern and, at the same time, spiritual manner.
An opposition activist during the Polish People's Republic, he was interned on 13 December 1981. Associated with à Âwidnica, and later with the eastern part of the Kà Âodzko Land. Since 2008, he has been living in MartÃÂnkovice in the Czech Republic.
He was born on 13 August 1945 in Lviv into a family of teachers. In April 1946, his parents Wà Âadysà Âaw and Maria née Alexandrowicz moved with him to Olesno in Opolian Silesia, where they lived until 1948, then to à Âwidnica, where Antoni graduated from the . From 1963 to 1968, he studied history at the University of Wrocà Âaw, while also participating in the Interdepartmental Cultural and Educational Studies, and was a member of Polish Students' Association. From 1961 to 1980, he was a voluntary guardian of monuments for Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society.
From 1968 to 1970, he was the head of the collections department at the . From 1971 to 1972, he was an instructor at the à Âwidnica Cultural Center. In 1976, he completed postgraduate studies in museology at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. From 1973 to 1979, he worked at the ; from 1976 as its director. From 1979 to 1982, he was the head of the scientific and educational department at the .
After the period of internment, he was released from the museum, and in 1982 he started working as a clerk at the Lower Silesian Graphic Works in Waà Âbrzych, then from 1983 to 1985 he worked as a laborer at the Galess candle factory in à Âwidnica; in 1985 he briefly worked at an antique shop. From 1987 to 1988, he was an instructor in the publishing department of the Provincial Center for Culture and Art "KsiÃ à ¼ Castle", and from 1989 to 1990, he was the deputy editor-in-chief of Niezaleà ¼ne Sà Âowo.
After the Polish Round Table Agreement, the birth of the Third Polish Republic, and the political changes, he founded the Pluton Publishing House, of which he was the owner from 1991 to 1994. He published 20 books by authors associated with the region and classics of literature, including Sándor Petà Âfi, János Pilinszky, Kahlil Gibran. In 1995, he worked at the Association of Friends of Sick Children Serce in à Âwidnica.
In 1996, he moved from à Âwidnica to Stronie à Âlàskie, then after a year to Stary Gieraà Âtów in the Golden Mountains, and since 2008, he has been living in MartÃÂnkovice near the Polish border, near Broumov in the Czech Republic.
From 1973, he was involved in the informal Club of Catholic Intelligentsia in à Âwidnica (registered as a branch of Club of Catholic Intelligentsia in Waà Âbrzych from 1983). In September 1980, he was a co-organizer of the Founding Committee of Solidarity at the District Museum, later becoming the chairman of the plant committee. In 1981, he was the founder, editor-in-chief, author, and organizer of the independent publication Niezaleà ¼ne Sà Âowo (until December 1981), and also contributed to Solidarnoà ÂàDolnoà Âlàska. As a member of the Lower Silesian Board of the Waà Âbrzych Region of Solidarity from 13 December 1981 to 26 February 1982, he was interned in isolation centers in Strzebielinek and Kamienna Góra. In 1982, he was dismissed from his job, and from 1985 to 1987, he was unemployed. In 1989, he participated in the election campaign of the Solidarity Citizens' Committee.
For many years (until 1996 when he left à Âwidnica), he was a significant animator of literary life in à Âwidnica. He was involved in the Regional Society of the à Âwidnica Region, was an active member of the Association for the Sake of Man ITON, a member of the boards of ITON, the Association of Friends of the Valley Kruszynka in Nowy Gieraà Âtów, and the Limestone Museum Association in Stara Morawa.
He was the guardian of the à Âwidnica Literary Club Logos. He promotes poets and writers, conducts poetry workshops, and provides introductions to the volumes of other poets. He translates Czech poets. He is a founding member of the Polish Writers Association. In the Kà Âodzko Land, he organized literary meetings as part of the Literary University. In the summer of 1999, he conducted a Literary Retreat on the Biaà Âa Làdecka river. From 1999 to 2000, he was the editor of the regional-artistic magazine Stronica à Ânieà ¼nicka published by the Union of à Ânieà ¼nickie Municipalities.
With VÃÂra Kopecká, they have been co-organizers of Poetry Days in Broumov () for many years. At the 20th Poetry Days, they jointly published an anthology Pegas nad Broumovem, containing poems from participants of the Poetry Days from 2010 to 2019 (55 writers, mainly Czech, Slovak, and Polish, as well as from Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, and Vietnam), which were published in Czech, Slovak, and Polish. At the same time, seminars, meetings, and discussions were organized in Broumov, the Czech Republic (including Prague and Hradec Králové), and in Poland. The 22nd edition took place in 2021.
In 1972, his poems were published for the first time in the monthly magazine Odra. He is the author of over thirty volumes of poetry, prose poetry, and dramas. He has also published almost a hundred articles, texts, and reviews in various periodicals including: ' (Olsztyn), Dialog (Warsaw), ' (Wrocà Âaw), ' (Rzeszów), Krasnogruda (Sejny), Tytuà  (Gdaà Âsk), ' (Poznaà Â), ' (Warsaw), and others.
Antoni Matuszkiewicz's poetry is meditative, full of emotions, sensitive to detail, to the human environment and nature. He often describes the space of encounter with God and examines the biblical and Christian tradition in a new, very personal theology.
Poet, writer, and literary critic Karol Maliszewski believes that Antoni Matuszkiewicz expresses himself in his own way (the poet of his own voice and one theme), avant-garde yet spiritually (as if a modern artist were trying to reconcile [...] inventive metaphor with something eternal, with something akin to mystical spiritual formation). Matuszkiewicz's poems constantly speak of love, yet:<blockquote>Matuszkiewicz does not renounce the body. [...] In the volume from 1989, titled "New Year", not only does the naked female body shine through, at times it speaks with a full voice. The poet allows it to express itself.</blockquote>An important feature of the poet's expression is the awareness of his Lviv roots and the ecumenical mythology of reconciliation between Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews. On the other hand, he follows the traces of the intertwining of Silesian cultures in their German, Czech, and Polish varieties, intrigued by the phenomenon of cultural proximity. He draws poetic realities from the neighborhood. Bielice ("the last village on the edge of the homeland"), Bà ÂÃÂdne Skaà Ây, Broumov, Gieraà Âtów, Owl Mountains, Golden Mountains, Kà Âodzko, Nowa Ruda, à ÂlÃÂà ¼a, à Ânieà ¼nik, and Wambierzyce are for the poet a reserve of locality open to universality.
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