Preserving the art of letter writing from being forgotten – that is the idea behind the organizers of the “Letter” literary competition. The theme of this year’s edition was “A letter to a favorite hero or idol” – its interpretation was left to the participants. The event was held under the patronage of the Szczecin branch of the Polish Writers’ Association. The letters were assessed by a competition committee consisting of: Róża Czerniawska-Karcz, poet and head of the Szczecin branch of the Polish Writers’ Association, Leszek Dembek, poet and political scientist, and Rafał Podraza, poet and journalist.
The award ceremony for the winners will take place on November 22 in the conference room of the Municipal Culture and Sports Center in Bolesławiec, based in Kruszyn, the event’s organizer. The first prize in the 10–12 age category went to Kubuś Miś from Trzebnica. The second prize was awarded ex aequo to Kacper Rzepka from Łaziska and Piotr Siarkowski from Bolesławiec. Third place went to Bolesławiec resident Mateusz Nejfeld. Honorable mentions went to Bartoszowi Kunaszce (Bolesławiec), Kindze Jasińskiej (Łaziska/Bolesławiec), and Rafałowi Burzawie (Bolesławiec).
Among 13–15-year-olds, the best letter was written by Izabela Bendkowska from Bolesławiec. The second prize went to Angelika Koziarska from Nowa Wieś. The third prize went to Julia Babijczuk from Kruszyn. The jury also honored Huberta Góreckiego from Izabelin and Ewelinę Dubiel from Stare Jaroszowice.
In the 16-and-over category, the first prize went to Kraków resident Radomiła Birkenmajer-Walczy. Second place went to Bolesławiec resident Anna Guzik. Bolesławiec resident Krzysztof Klementowicz came third. The jury also awarded three honorable mentions. They went to: Sabina Splitter (Starogard Gdański), Anna Przybyll (Warsaw), and Adrian Prościak (Bolesławiec).
The jury was also impressed by letters displaying calligraphic qualities – written in careful, legible handwriting and following all the rules of calligraphy. Their authors are: Daria Wyrębska (Brzeźnik/Bolesławiec), Natalia Domerecka (Tomaszów Bolesławiecki), Dominik Chlastawa (Lubków/Raciborowice), Katarzyna Strojek (Bolesławiec), and Krzysztof Klementowicz (Bolesławiec).
The awards were presented by: Róża Czerniawska-Karcz, Rafał Podraza, Deputy Mayor of the Bolesławiec Municipality Roman Jaworski, head of the Bolesławiec GOKiS Janusz Cieśla, and Bolesławiec Municipal Councilor Grażyna Łucka.
The ceremony was combined with an authors’ evening featuring Róża Czerniawska-Karcz and Rafał Podraza. “A lot has changed since last November,” said the head of the Polish Writers’ Association. Both promoted their latest publications in Kruszyn. Rafał Podraza presented a book about Helena Majdaniec, devoted primarily to her life in France. Stars of Polish music and culture remember the outstanding Polish singer, including Wojciech Korda, Katarzyna Gaertner, Irena Jarocka, Janusz Kondratowicz, Halina Kunicka, Czesław Niemen, Tomasz Raczek, Karin Stanek, and... Anja Orthodox.
It is worth adding that the book can be purchased with a unique record. “My idée fixe was for an album of Helena Majdaniec’s French songs to be released in Poland for the first time,” says Rafał Podraza. “We succeeded.”
There was also discussion of Róża Czerniawska-Karcz’s latest poetry collection, entitled “...skrawki Czasu”. As it turned out, the fact that it was created was partly thanks to the people of Kruszyn. “During last year’s meeting at GOKiS, someone asked: where is your collection?” recounted the author of the book about Helena Majdaniec. “At the time, we explained that Mrs. Róża, as president of the Polish Writers’ Association, takes care of everyone except herself. But together with Mrs. Róża’s husband, we decided that she had to find time to write another collection and that we would help her with it.
The writers from Szczecin presented an honorary award to Elżbieta Gizela Erban, one of the winners of the “Letter” competition, who did not participate in this year’s edition for health reasons – she can no longer write by hand. However, she writes on a computer and also runs a blog: elzbietaerban.blogspot.com.
Moreover, representatives of the Polish Writers’ Association gave librarian Grażynie Wężyk books published by the Association.
(information: GOKiS in Bolesławiec/GA)