Jacek Dehnel – författare

A lyrical and moving Polish family saga set against the turbulent backdrop of twentieth-century EuropeLala has lived a dazzling life. Born in Poland just after the First World War and brought up to be a perfect example of her class and generation – tolerant, selfless and brave – Lala is an independent woman who has survived some of the most turbulent events of her times. As she senses the first signs of dementia, she battles to keep her memories alive through her stories, telling her grandson tales of a life filled with love, faithlessness and extraordinary acts of courage.Sweeping from nineteenth-century Kiev to modern-day Poland, Lala is the enthralling celebration of a beautiful life.

Arc New Voices from Europe and Beyond: 5The six poets chosen here belong to a generation whose work stands in stark contrast to the highly individualist writing unleashed by the removal of censorship after the fall of communism, writing with an aesthetic of stylistic brutality personified by the anarchic artist-outsider, writing which rejected what had gone before. They all take a longer view of their cultural past, re-examining and experimenting with traditional poetic forms, themes and cultural references in a refined, witty dialogue with the reader. The editor, Jacek Dehnel was born in 1980 in Gdansk and is a poet, writer, translator and painter. Dehnel studied at Warsaw University in the MISH College (Interfacultative Individual Humanistic Studies) and graduated from the Polish Language and Literature department.