Poetry Against Oblivion. Award Ceremony of the 2026 Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award
On Wednesday, 27 May 2026, the Palace of the Commonwealth, the seat of the National Library of Poland, hosted the award ceremony of the 2026 Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award. This year’s laureate is Ana Blandiana – one of the most important poets of Central and Eastern Europe, an outstanding Romanian writer, intellectual and democratic activist, whose work has for decades remained a symbol of independence of spirit, moral courage and opposition to totalitarianism. The Strategic Partner of the Award is ORLEN.
This year’s ceremony had a special significance. In a world marked by crises, social tensions and questions about the condition of democracy, Ana Blandiana’s work resonated as a reminder that literature can be a space of freedom, and poetry – a form of responsibility for memory, truth and humanity.
The Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award has been presented since 2013 to the most outstanding authors of world literature whose work remains close to the values present in the poetry of the author of Mr Cogito: attachment to freedom, ethics, human dignity and independence of thought. It is the only Polish literary award of this rank with a global reach, rooted in the conviction that literature is not merely an aesthetic experience, but also a form of dialogue with history and the present day.
Ana Blandiana, born Otilia Valeria Coman in 1942 in Timișoara, made her debut as a poet during the communist dictatorship. Her work soon became the voice of a generation seeking freedom and spiritual independence. Because of her anti-regime activity, she was banned from publishing three times by the communist authorities.
After the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s dictatorship, she helped build Romanian civil society, engaging in democratic activity and the reconstruction of independent cultural institutions. She co-founded the Civic Alliance, re-established the Romanian PEN Club, and created in Sighet one of Europe’s most important sites of remembrance dedicated to the victims of communism.
Her poetry – restrained, intellectual and at the same time deeply emotional — has long been recognised as one of the most important testimonies to the experience of twentieth-century Eastern Europe. Literary critics have repeatedly emphasised that Blandiana is able to speak about history without pathos, and about freedom without rhetorical simplification. In her poems, private experience constantly meets collective fate, and poetry becomes a form of
The artistic culmination of the Herbert Award Gala was a poetry and music concert directed by Tomasz Cyz, which gave the event the character of an intimate reflection on word and music. The artists presented interpretations of Ana Blandiana’s poems performed by Sławomira Łozińska and Masza Wągrodzka, subtly bringing out the emotional and intellectual depth of the texts. The musical layer was provided by DUO Karolina Mikołajczyk & Iwo Jedynecki, who performed works including those by H. M. Górecki, creating a moving dialogue between violin and accordion that highlighted the rhythm and metaphorical quality of the poetic message.
The evening at the Palace of the Commonwealth was not only ceremonial, but also deeply symbolic – in keeping with the idea of a meeting of the arts, in which literature and music create a shared space of interpretation and memory.
The ceremony also featured speeches by Dr Tomasz Makowski, Director of the National Library of Poland, and Dr Maria Dzieduszycka, President of the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation.
More information about the Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award is available on the website of the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation.
