Dorota Maslowska [ Poland ]

Dorota Masłowska was born in Wejherowo, northern Poland, in 1983. While she was preparing to take her final high school exams, she wrote her first novel, »Wojna polsko-ruska pod flag bialoczerwon « (2002; Eng. »Snow White and Russian Red«, 2005), within a month. It became a bestseller and was translated into some twenty languages. Critics praised the relentless spirit and innovative language in the novel. However it also met with bitter rejection from more conservative readers. The book tells the story of a yobbish youth who is left by his girlfriend and turns to violence, drugs and empty sex. From his perspective a stark picture of the Polish underclass emerges, highlighting prejudices and stereotypes – mindless nationalistic ideology and distorted images of the entertainment industry – which are driven by his emotions and escalate into the grotesque. Language that mimics speech patters as well as dramatic forms of expression lend the text authenticity, which is often paired with ambivalence or irony. The protagonist’s forced callousness and coolness is at the same time ludicrous and alarming and reveals his vunerability as well as his barbarity. The fictional nature of the text is shown clearly through the appearance of a character with the same name as the author, who is given an omniscient position outside the internal logic of the story. The author plays a role again in her second novel, an ironic take on the hype surrounding celebrity, which she herself experienced after her first book was published. »Paw Królowej« (2005; t: The Queen’s Peacock/Puke) presents the cynical mechanisms of the culture industry in a rap of just under two-hundred pages, consisting of echoes and internal rhymes which feed the intense flow of words. A has-been popstar is seeking revenge on his manager, who wants to alter the popstar’s image and make him into a new star. He needs a lyricist to achieve this and finds one in MC Dorota, the narrator of the rap and reflection of the author Masłowska. Towards the end of the book she is persuaded to take part in the project: »I’ll tell you now, this is your chance for another hit, your first book was popular, but I’ll be honest, you’re not famous anymore, no offers, miserable ratings. You stand for authenticity, for the real thing, Eastern Europe’s prefab culture, someone like you is perfect for producing hip-hop.« Masłowska has also written two plays which deal with the uncertainty of the changing identity of post-Socialist Poland. »Dwoje biednych Rununów mówicych po polsku« (2006; Eng. »A Couple of poor, Polish-speaking Romanians«, 2008) has been performed in Toulouse, Chicago, Sydney, London, Vienna, Braunschweig and Berlin. In addition she has written reviews and columns and contributed to newspaper supplements, for example an appraisal of the late Pope and a comment on a controversial case of the denial of an abortion in Poland. Her awards include the Polityka Prize, the German Award for Youth Literature and the renowned Nike Award. She lives in Warsaw and is currently a guest of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program in Berlin.

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