Author's evening by Marek Andrzejewski

Hieronim Łopaciński Provincial Public Library in Lublin

invites you to an author's evening

Marek Andrzejewski

photo: Dariusz Kudeń

13 October (Tuesday), 17:00 Galeria Biblioteki (2nd floor — direct access by elevator is not possible) Lublin, 4 Gabriela Narutowicza Street

Marek Andrzejewski — author, composer, musician, singer from the circle of poetic song and folk ballad. Co-founder and pillar of the Lublin Federation of Bards. In 1994 he received the First Prize at the Student Song Festival in Krakow and the Wojtek Bellon Award given to singing authors. Twice he won the Grand Prix and the Audience Award of the National Recitali Festival in Siedlce (in 1994 and 1997). He has repeatedly represented the Lublin community at gala concerts of the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, Review of Acting Song in Wrocław, Student Song Festival in Krakow, Olsztyn Castle Meetings “Let's Sing Poetry”, National Festival of Artistic Song OFPA Rybnik, National Meetings with the Author “Orangery” and many others. In the 1990s he collaborated with the folk ensemble Orkiestra Sveti Mikołaj and with the Gardzienice Theatre. As a singer and composer, he took part in the play Family Album of the Theater Grupa Chwilowa. His compositions for poems by Karol Wojtyła were performed by Marek Grechuta, Mieczysław Szcześniak and Andrzej Piaseczny. This is documented by the album “Słowa” from 2005. In 2025 he took part in the International Festival “In the Footsteps of Singer”, where his songs were transformed into circus and acrobatic etudes by art masters gathered from all over the world. He published lyrics in “Akcent” and in the writing “Song”. Marek Andrzejewski writes in a “bardic” manner about social issues and the relationship between nature and civilization. About truth, love, difficult choices, emotions, about the search for the spirituality of modern man. The artist has six original albums: “Trolleybus bathyscaph” (1997), “Ten floors” (2003), “Electric sweater” (2012), “Acoustically” (2015), “Hashtags” (2018), “Wariactwo” (2021), and 14 albums recorded with the Lublin Federation of Bards. In July 2026, the book “Gold, Incense and Spam was published. Songs written” is a collection of lyrics of Marek's songs written during the thirty-five years of his presence on the poetic scene.

I can say the same thing about Marek Andrzejewski's lyrics as Wojciech Młynarski once wrote about the works of one of the French bards: “They renew my faith in the possibility of song as a genre.” All the more so because Marek's work, which has evolved over the decades, is probably closer to the French tradition (Brassens, Brel) than to the Russian tradition, despite his perceptible listening to Okudzhava's best lyric works a quarter of a century ago. In the early years, we admired in Mark's songs, above all, the perfect balance of melancholy and humor. Later, however, the ethical expressiveness and even the predatory nature of his opinion about the dominant modern model of culture and morals was also revealed, summed up in the sarcastic phrase: “No need for imagination, the TV will explain it to you.” The achievements of Marek Andrzejewski are therefore striking in the vast scale of emotions related to the variety of problems faced by today's vulnerable people, the extraordinary versatility of experiencing the world in all its aspects. This poetry is a voice directed against ossification, stagnation in existing schemes, in standard recipes for life. “Light the fire,” the poet exclaims. And we believe in the sincerity of this call and are ready to listen to it. The author is hurt by social atomization, the barriers we put between ourselves, the cocoons with which we tightly surround ourselves. Mark sees both those who are near — the passengers of the trolleybus aquarium — and those who are far away — despised, lonely angels. He also does not shy away from looking at the laptop-periscope. If you can't catch contact with loved ones, catch contact with aliens,” he suggests ironically. What is needed in the world is “madmen” — misfits who do not give in to generally accepted patterns. But Andrzejewski also values constancy, continuity, fidelity to himself. True, fate “braids”, but the dominant motifs in the second part of this book are associated with continuity: the road, the thread, the current, the eyebrow line like a lifeline... What allows us to “get out of fear” and “move on” is love, hope, loyalty, mutual closeness and support.

Bogusław Wróblewski, editor-in-chief of “Accent”

It has a characteristic brightness, a youthful serenity, an optimism that is infectious to the audience.

Jan Poprawa, music critic

Information and Promotion Department