“Sorry for the ugly handwriting” — meeting with Antonina Tosiek

bookshop Ashes and Diamonds

Meeting with Antonina Tosiek, author of the book “Sorry for ugly writing”; Wydawnictwo Czarne, 2025

Between 1933 and 1995, as many as ninety thousand women could take part in memoir competitions for rural residents. This is Nowy Sącz or half Olsztyn of the memoirs. For many of the heroines in this book, writing down memories was an act of acknowledging that their story deserves attention. For the first time, they had the opportunity to look at personal experiences and give them meaning beyond the private sphere. Antonina Tosiek reached out to hundreds of original manuscripts and typescripts submitted to competitions, as well as statistical data and scientific studies. Combining insightful analysis with sensitivity, she created a picture of the transformations of the Polish countryside in the 20th century. Realistic and deeply moving picture.

*from the publisher's materials

Author:

Antonina Tosiek (born 1996) — researcher of twentieth-century folk diaristics, poet and critic. PhD student of the Doctoral School of Language and Literature of the University of Warsaw University of Applied Sciences. Student Nobel Laureate in Literature and Journalism. Member of the scientific editorial board of the quarterly “Czas Kultury”. She is the author of the book Sorry for Ugly Writing and volumes of poetry, storytelling and fornication. For this first, she received the prize in the Lubimyczytać.pl Book of the Year plebiscite and nominations for the Ryszard Kapuściński Prize, Discoveries of Empik 2025 and went to the final of the Marcin Król Award, and for her sacrifices the Wisława Szymborska Prize and the Literary Award of the City of Warsaw.

Leading:

Ewelina Wypchło — administrative and production specialist in the Department of the Main Exhibition of the Museum of Mr. Tadeusz. Cultural animator, graduate of cultural studies. She cooperated with Teatralny.pl and the Academy of Imagination Theatre. In the museum, she is responsible, among other things, for co-creation and co-hosting of the film program. Co-curator of the temporary exhibition “Greta. Additional classes.” Since 2022, he coordinates a series of author meetings “Ash and Diamond” and “Mission: Books”.

About the cycle

“Ash and Diamond. Author's meetings” is a continuation of the cycle of cultural events focused on historical and historical-literary issues implemented since 2022, promoting the activities of Wrocław's independent stationary bookshop Popiół i Diament.

Planned events include a range of activities taking place both inside the bookstore and outdoors. As part of the series, we invite you to the Museum of Mr. Tadeusz for monthly meetings with the authors of the books offered by the bookstore and discussions dedicated to the presented publications. The themes of the meetings and the presented items refer to the permanent exhibition “Mission: Poland” in the Museum of Mr. Tadeusz, and the books selected by us deal with Polish culture, history and literature of the 20th and early 21st centuries, raise important issues and show the events and cultural phenomena of the last decades in a new light.

The guests of this year's author meetings will include Damian K. Markowski, Marta Grzywacz, Błażej Brzostek, Paweł Machcewicz, Anna Wacławik with Maria Ciesielska, Ryszard Kaczmarek, Antonina Tosiek and Kamila Sowińska and Ewa Pluta, who will invite you to thematic walks around Wrocław, which will be an opportunity to to know important and symbolic places for the inhabitants of the city. The program of the series also includes literary workshops, which will be conducted by Urszula Glensk — “How to become a writer?”

See also

Media patrons

“Co-financed from the funds of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Fund for the Promotion of Culture — a state special purpose fund”.

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