The situation of LGBTQ+ people in Poland – never very good – has been deteriorating fast under the current right-wing, populist government. There are attacks on non-heteronormative people, constant attempts at curbing their rights. There are protests, marches and people are being arrested. Recently the fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ people has also become part of a wider wave of demonstrations under the umbrella of the Women’s Black Protests, which has shaken Poland since the attempt at making the abortion law even more restrictive. At the same time more and more local authorities across Poland are choosing to proclaim themselves as “LGBT-free” zones. How does this whole upheaval impact literature and writers? What is writers’ involvement and response, if any?
With Jacek Dehnel, acclaimed poet and novelist from Poland, now based in Berlin, as well as UK-based poets and translators Maria Jastrzębska and Anna Blasiak. Chaired by Dr Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz from the UCL and LSE.