Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz

Rafał Aleksander Ziemkiewicz (born 13 September 1964, in Piaseczno) is a Polish political and science fiction author and right-wing activist.

Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz
BornRafał Aleksander Ziemkiewicz
(1964-09-13) 13 September 1964
Piaseczno, Poland
OccupationWriter
Alma materUniversity of Warsaw
GenrePolitical fiction, science fiction, journalist
SpouseAleksandra Ciejek
Children2 (daughters)
Signature

Biography

Science-fiction writer

In 1984, during his studies at the University of Warsaw (Polish language and literature), he joined SFAN science fiction fan association and started writing short stories. His first science-fiction short story (Z palcem na spuście) was published in 1982. His book debut was Władca szczurów (Warsaw), (1987). He also worked for two Polish science-fiction magazines: Fantastyka (1986–1990) and as a chief editor for Fenix (1990–1994), and collaborated with an underground publishing house "STOP" by distributing its books at the Department of Polish, University of Warsaw.

In the 1990s, he became one of the most popular Polish science-fiction authors. For his novels Pieprzony los kataryniarza (1995) and Walc stulecia (1998), as well as his short story Śpiąca królewna (1996), he was awarded the Zajdel Award, the most prestigious Polish award for science fiction and fantasy literature. He was also awarded Śląkfa for Writer of a Year in 1990 and 1998.

A popular theme in his works is the fate of Poland and more broadly, Europe, in the near future (from several to several dozen years). His books often paint the future in dark colors, showing the Commonwealth of Independent States disintegrate into a civil war, European Union becoming powerless in the face of Islamic terrorism, and predatory capitalism and political correctness taken ad absurdum leading to the erosion of morality and ethics. Thus his books are often classified as political fiction and social science fiction, although they are not seen as dystopian fiction.

Journalist and publicist

After the fall of communism, Ziemkiewicz became a conservative journalist and essayist. He began this career in the early 1990s as a publicist for Najwyższy Czas! weekly magazine. Until February 1997, Ziemkiewicz wrote political and socio-economical essays for Gazeta Polska (1993–1997). He was also a columnist of popular Polish magazine Wprost (2001–2003) and the Polish edition of Newsweek (2003–2007), and occasionally published essays in Polityka. Currently his columns are being published in Rzeczpospolita, Uważam Rze, Gazeta Polska, Niezależna Gazeta Polska and Interia.pl webportal. Many of his essays have been collected and published in book format. In 2001 he won the Kisiel Prize.

He has also worked as a radio journalist, working for Radio WAWA and Polskie Radio Program IV in the 1990s, Radio TOK FM in the early 2000s, later with Radio VOX FM and Program 1 Polskiego Radia. He hosts a television talkshow on TVP Info and a program on TVP Historia.

He was a spokesman for the Real Politics Union (Unia Polityki Realnej) party (1993–1994). In 1995, as a stipendiary of the National Forum Foundation he worked for the Republican Party in United States.

In September 2006, Ziemkiewicz published an article in the Polish edition of Newsweek criticizing the editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza, Adam Michnik; Michnik brought a civil suit against Ziemkiewicz, which was settled in 2007 after Ziemkiewicz agreed to publish an apology.[1]

In 2018, he cancelled a planned speaking tour in the UK following appeals by activists and politicians to the Home Office to block his entry due to hate speech concerns.[2] On that occasion, The Guardian described the Ziemkiewicz as representing far-right views.[2]

In 2020, he published a book titled "Cham niezbuntowany".[3] The anti-racist watchdog Open Republic Association said that the book contained examples of criminal hate speech, such as when it describes Israeli children as being molded into "killing machines" and calls the Holocaust a "myth".[4][5][6] According to Gazeta Wyborcza, "the book propagates anti-Semitic views that are intended to incite hatred of Jews".[3] The Jerusalem Post described Ziemkiewicz's views in the book as being antisemitic.[7]

Bibliography

Fiction
  • Władca szczurów Warsaw, 1987 (short stories anthology)
  • Skarby stolinów Warsaw, 1990 (second edition in 1993) (short stories anthology)
  • Zero złudzeń Białowieża, 1991 (short stories anthology)
  • Wybrańcy Bogów Warsaw, 1991 (second edition in 2000)
  • Pieprzony los Kataryniarza Warsaw, 1995
  • Czerwone dywany, odmierzony krok Warsaw, 1996
  • Walc Stulecia Warsaw, 1998 (second edition in 2010)
  • Cała kupa wielkich braci Lublin, 2002 (short stories anthology)
  • Ciało obce Warsaw, 2005
  • Ognie na skałach Lublin, 2005
  • Coś mocniejszego Lublin, 2006 (short stories anthology)
  • Żywina (2008)
  • Zgred (2011)
  • Władca Szczurów" (juvenilia), 2012

Non-fiction
  • Zero zdziwień Warsaw, 1995 (essays)
  • Viagra mać Warsaw, 2002 (essays)
  • Frajerzy Lublin, 2003 (essays)
  • Polactwo Lublin, 2004 (essays)
  • Michnikowszczyzna. Zapis choroby Lublin, 2006
  • Czas wrzeszczących staruszków Lublin, 2008
  • W skrócie, 2009
  • W sieci, 2009
  • Wkurzam salon, 2011
  • Myśli nowoczesnego endeka, 2012
  • Jakie piękne samobójstwo, 2014
  • Złowrogi Cień Marszałka 2017
  • Sanacja czy demokracja?, 2018 (essays)
  • Cham niezbuntowany, 2020

Awards
Preceded by
Andrzej Sapkowski		 ESFS award for Best Author
1997		 Succeeded by
James White

References
  1. Ziemkiewicz przeprosił Michnika, Wprost, 5 march 2007
  2. Polish far-right speaker cancels UK visit amid hate speech concerns, The Guardian, 16 February 2018
  3. Sawicka, Paula; Gumkowski, Marek (29 May 2020). "Stowarzyszenie składa zawiadomienie do prokuratury na Rafała Ziemkiewicza w związku z podejrzeniem popełnienia przestępstwa" [Association submits affidavit against Rafał Ziemkiewicz to prosecutor's office regarding suspected offense]. Wyborcza (in Polish). Retrieved 30 June 2020. Kilka dni temu Rafał Ziemkiewicz zapowiedział premierę swojej najnowszej książki „Cham niezbuntowany”. Publikowane w internecie fragmenty nie pozostawiają wątpliwości, że w książce głoszone są poglądy o charakterze antysemickim, mające wywołać nienawiść do Żydów, a także podać w wątpliwość historyczne fakty dotyczące Zagłady Żydów podczas II wojny światowej.
  4. ""Wybory, to rodzaj wojny". Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz o języku debaty publicznej". PolskieRadio24.pl. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  5. Markusz, Katarzyna (4 June 2020). "Right-wing Polish journalist calls Jews 'ruthless' and the Holocaust 'a myth' in new book". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  6. Ziemkiewicz, Rafał A. (2020). Cham niezbuntowany (in Polish). Fabryka Słów Sp.zo.o. pp. 190, 188. ISBN 9788379645770. (190) Syjonizm [...] pod wpływem Holokaustu, a raczej mitu Holokaustu, który sam zbudował (188) Trzeba formowanym na maszyny do zabijania [...] dzieciakom wtłoczyć do głów, że są przedstawicielami rasy szczególnej, rasy, którą wszyscy zawsze prześladowali
  7. Polish science fiction writer calls Israelis ‘killing machines’, June 9, 2020, The Jerusalem Post
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