Szczepan Twardoch: My grandfather had hard work in the mine. I sit and type on the computer

– It’s not like I have to force my books out, they just disappear. That’s why I don’t remember anything. I don’t remember what “Morphine” was about. If, God forbid, one of my books became required reading in high school, I wouldn’t pass the test on its knowledge – he explains to us

This is interesting, because we are talking about the release of his latest novel, “Popowiedzimy, że Piontek”. Although the book has only just been released, the rights to its film adaptation have already been sold – revealed the writer during the interview, who, what’s more, is already writing another novel. – It wasn’t supposed to be there and suddenly it is – Twardoch tells us. In addition, he told us, among other things, how it happened that he became a writer, how he works and how literary characters can be freed, why he loves his work but really doesn’t like writing books and why he doesn’t read his own novels. The entire conversation can be watched in the recording below:

Twardoch: I became a writer through negative selection. I really don’t like the writing process

– I hope that I will be able to work until the very end of my days. Because I cannot imagine myself doing nothing – said the writer, who at the same time said with defiance that he took up literature because “I don’t know anything else”. – I became a writer through negative selection, because I was not suited for anything else – believes Twardoch. He also emphasizes that he loves his work, considers it a calling in the sense of a life path. – I define myself through my profession – he states, adding that he would have a problem defining himself outside of this role. However, there is a certain paradox here.

– I really don’t like the writing process itself. Because it’s tedious, tiring and seems endless. When I’m in the middle of a novel, I never believe that I’ll finish it, that this moment will come. (..) I write something for 18 months, two years and it’s almost like a prison sentence. There’s no end in sight. You sit and write these four pages, and then you think how little it is compared to the size of the whole task – explains Twardoch.

– I like having a book written. I like the moment when a novel appears in my head. Regardless of whether it appears through hard conceptual work or, as sometimes happens, ready. I have books that appear ready. And suddenly I start writing, although I didn’t intend to at all, I wanted to write something else. Now I’m at a point where a book has appeared that wasn’t supposed to be and suddenly it is. And it’s being written. And it will be written. Although I didn’t want to write at all, I wanted to do other things, but I write a novel. Because it is. If it is, then you write it – the writer describes the mechanism of creating his novels.

Twardoch: I really don’t like writing. It’s a tedious and tiring process.

– I don’t like it because it’s simply tiring. I wouldn’t dare call it hard work, though. Of course, it’s intellectually tiring. When I sit in the office for 10 hours and type on this funny computer, after 10 or more hours I’m really exhausted. I feel like I have clay in my brain. But let’s agree that it was my grandfather in the mine who had hard work, not me. When he measured the length of the fuse wrong, because he was a shishayer, or a blaster miner, it scarred him and he died. It’s hard work. When someone goes down every day, it’s hard work. I don’t have hard work. I sit in an armchair, or at home on the terrace, and type on the computer – he said.

Szczepan Twardoch is one of the most widely read and respected contemporary writers writing in Polish. He has written such bestselling novels as “Morfina” (2012), “Drach” (2014), “Król” (2016), “Królestwo” (2018), “Pokora” (2020) and “Chołod” (2022). Wydawnictwo Literackie reported in 2023 that the author’s books published to date have sold a total of over one million copies. The rights to his novels have been sold to a dozen countries, and the English translation of “Król” was met with particular enthusiasm in the USA.

“Król” was also adapted into a series by Canal+, directed by Jan P. Matuszyński, known for “The Last Family”. The production, for which Twardoch also helped to create the script, won the Orzeł award for best feature film series in 2020. “Król” was also adapted into a theatre play, as were the novels “Drach” and “Pokora”. “Byk”, in turn, is the first work that Twardoch wrote with the theatre stage in mind. The writer has so far won numerous industry and literary awards, including the “Polityka” Passport, the Kościelski Award, the Brücke Berlin-Preis, the Śląski Wawrzyn Literacki, the Nike Readers’ Award, the Kazimierz Kutz Award and the EBRD Literature Prize.