LiterActions with Monika Ksieniewicz-Mil | Themerson Festival 2026

As part of the Themerson Festival, we invite you to an author's meeting with Monika Ksieniewicz-Mil around the book “Mira. World woman. The story of Mira Michałowska”.

When: October 23, 17:00 Where: PoKiS (10 Jakubowskiego Street) Admission: Free

ABOUT THE HERO AND THE BOOKShe wrote columns for “Section” and “Your Style”. She translated Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, George Bernard Shaw and Joan Didion into Polish. She introduced the cult program “Tele-Echo” to the Polish Television, and based on her book the beloved series Civil War was created.

Mira Michałowska (1914—2007) - wife of diplomat, mentor of Jerzy Kosiński and friend of Antoni Slonimski. A distinguished, witty and brilliant “world woman” who felt equally at ease in Warsaw and New York. Behind this colorful facade, however, there was tragedy — her entire family died in the Holocaust, and she herself struggled with depression and PTSD all her life. As a writer, she loved to confabulate and mix truth with fiction.

Monika Ksieniewicz-Mil bravely unravels the understatements of Michałowska's life and creates an insightful portrait of this extraordinary figure against the background of the war and the times of the People's Republic of Poland.

About guestMonika Ksieniewicz-Mil — PhD in Social Sciences, journalist and communication specialist. For 15 years, she worked in the government's gender equality unit, dealing with international cooperation. She taught at Kobe College in Japan. During the pandemic, she decided to save the story of Mira Michałowska from oblivion, which resulted in a biography published by Marginesy publishing house.

The conversation will be moderated by Renata Jaskulska.