(poet, essayist, literary historian, Poland; born 1962, Ostrow) is assistant professor of Polish philology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, and a literary critic and commentator for the most prestigious Polish cultural magazines. He also provides regular commentary over the Polish national radio and television. Mr. Sliwinski was a founder and editor-in-chief of the literary monthly Format. He has written numerous essays and monographs on Polish contemporary literature; his critical collections include the books Tadeusz Dolega Mostowicz (1994) and Counterpoint: Talks on Books (1999); in process of publication is a book co-authored by Agata Legezynska, Polish Poetry After 1968. He edited Reading Zbigniew Herbert (1995) and Boredom in Culture (1999). He has taken part in many conferences in Europe; this is his first visit to the United States. He holds the MA in Polish literature and has taken doctoral studies in sociology; he is currently interested in the sociology of literature, particularly the relationship between literature and the Internet. The U.S. Department of State is subsidizing his participation in the IWP.