Polish poet Tadeusz Rózewicz (1921- ) is considered one of Europe's most innovative and important writers. Along with his contemporaries Czeslaw Milosz, Zbiegniew Herbert, and Wislawa Szymborska, he created the extraordinary phenomenon that was post-war Polish poetry. Lionized in his native country and beyond, since his debut in 1946 with Unease, he has published over twenty major collections of poetry. He is also one of the most important Polish playwrights of the 20th century. His poetry and plays continue to attract the highest critical acclaim in Poland; his numerous awards include the Nike Prize, Poland's most prestigious literary award, for his 1999 book Mother Departs.
Bill Johnston is the Chair of the Comparative Literature Department at Indiana University. His translations include Wies?aw My?liwski¢s Stone Upon Stone, and Magdalens Tulli¢s Dreams and Stones, Moving Parts, Flaw and In Red. His 2008 translation of Tadeusz Ró?ewicz¢s new poems won the inaugural Found in Translation Prize and was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Poetry Award.