(poet, Poland; born in Torun, 1943) is a major Polish poet and a reviewer for the monthly Przeglad Powszechny. She is a graduate of the Nicolaus Copernicus University. Following her literary debut in 1969 with the collection Everyday Skies, she published six books of poetry; the most recent, Kamien przydrozny ('A Roadside Stone', 1993) came out of a publishing house that produced only two books of poetry that year: hers and Zbiegniew Herbert's. It was given the Booksellers' Association prize that year and the prestigious Sep Szarzynski award in 1994. Her work has been translated into eight languages; English translations are forthcoming in the Paris Review and Literary TriQuarterly. She is also the author of two books for children and a novel. Herbert has described her poetry as "superb, mature, rich and bitter fruit, poetry that is both kind and cruel." Ms. Szymanska's participation in the IWP is provided by the Kosciuszko Foundation, which also supported her residency in Berkeley this spring.