Małgorzata Lebda’s UK Tour

Events with the poet and prose writer accompanied the launch of her poetry collection Mer de Glace, which was published in May by the prestigious Fitzcarraldo Editions in an English translation by the outstanding translator Mira Rosenthal.

In Oxford, on 14 May Małgorzata Lebda took part in a conversation with her translators Antonia Lloyd-Jones and Mira Rosenthal, chaired by Professor Paulina Kewes of the University of Oxford. The discussion focused on two of Lebda’s recently published books in English: Mer de Glace and Voracious. On 15 May the author met readers at the Polish Hearth Club in London, again with translators Antonia Lloyd-Jones and Mira Rosenthal. In addition to the conversation, excerpts of the poet’s works were read and visual elements drawn from the author’s photographic work were presented, offering the audience a deeper insight into her creative practice.

The tour concluded with a meeting with the writer as part of the European Writers’ Festival at the British Library (16 May) on a panel discussion titled Back to Nature, moderated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones and featuring authors Zdravka Evtimova (Bulgaria) and Carolina Pihelgas (Estonia).

During the visit the author also spoke about her other recent publications: the novel Voracious (Linden Editions, 2025), translated into English by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, and the poetry collection Queen Cells (Broken Sleep Books, 2024), translated by Elżbieta Wójcik-Leese.

Mer de Glace is one of the most important works in Lebda’s oeuvre and her first poetry collection available in English. The book, awarded the prestigious Wisława Szymborska Prize in 2022, was born out of an extraordinary project by the author: a 1,100-kilometre run along the Vistula River from its sources in the Beskids to its mouth on the Baltic Sea.

This August Małgorzata Lebda will appear at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

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The aim of the Nonstop — Polish literature abroad programme is to promote the literary and artistic work of Polish authors and the translations of their works. As part of the programme, the Book Institute supports not only authors’ travel but also publishers and agents who wish to promote Polish literature worldwide.