To read Malgorzata Lebda's Queen Cells, poem after poem, is to witness an expert archer firing arrow after arrow straight into the bullseye. Not a wasted word, no ornament; only an elemental concision drawn deep from the claggy soil of the Beskidy Mountains in the south of Poland. Elżbieta Wójcik-Leese's translations capture the reticent pitch and spare, gut-punching drama of Lebda's Matecznik, giving English-language readers a rare chance to encounter this major talent in European poetry.

- Alice Lyons

About the author:

Malgorzata Lebda is the author of eight poetry collections, which were awarded, among others, the prestigious Wislawa Szymborska prize (2022) and the Gdynia Literary award (2018). Her 2023 debut novel, Voracious, published to instant critical acclaim, is forthcoming in English from Linden Editions in 2025. A photographer and ultramarathon runner, Lebda ran 1113 kilometres along Poland's longest river, Wisla, to draw attention to the environmental fragility of all rivers. She lives in a remote village in the Beskid Mountains.