The University of Gdańsk's highest honorary dignity was awarded to the Nobel Prize winner in literature Olga Tokarczuk. The awarding of the title of doctor honoris causa to the writer took place on March 18 in Artus Court and it was attended by members of the UG academic community and representatives of the most important institutions in Pomerania. The Nobel laureate joined a group of eminent artists and scientists including Günter Grass, Andrzej Wajda, and Tadeusz Różewicz.

‘We invite you to become a part of our community, a part of our university. We do so because we feel close to what you express in your work, to the ideas you hold dear, and to the way you tell us about the world,' the Rector, prof. Piotr Stepnowski addressed the Nobel Prize winner. ‘It is no coincidence that we are meeting here, in Artus Court. This place is a symbol not only of the historical richness of our city, but also contains a strong message full of chivalrous values.’

Speech by the Rector (available in Polish)

The laureate's numerous international contributions were mentioned by the Minister of Science and Higher Education, Dariusz Wieczorek, in his congratulatory letter. Olga Tokarczuk was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2018, the same year her novel Flights received the International Booker Prize. In Poland, the author has twice received the Nike Literary Award - the first time in 2008 for her book Flights and the second time in 2015 for The Books of Jacob.

In addition to her many international achievements, the ceremony also highlighted the writer's rich ties to the Pomeranian region. Prof. Małgorzata Książek-Czerminska mentioned, for example, the common motifs contained in her work and the works of prominent Gdańsk artists such as Paweł Huelle and Stefan Chwin.

‘The narrator's point of view and her location allow her to play with half-autobiographical and half-fictional allusions, just as in the writings of Huelle and Chwin, who use the social realities of Gdańsk and the material of their own experiences,’ said prof. Czermińska about the novel House of Day, House of Night.  ‘With time, it becomes increasingly clear what significance the seemingly trivial use of pre-war German names of towns, streets, squares and institutions had. (...) It was not until the generation of Chwin and Huelle in Gdańsk, and Olga Tokarczuk in Silesia, that the past of German names was tamed and reached for without fear, rather with curiosity, providing factual dictionary explanations.’

At the end of her laudation, prof. Małgorzata Książek-Czermińska emphasised the most important and indisputable link of the laureate to Gdańsk, namely the influence of the work of prof. Maria Janion.

 ‘When, in my late teenage years, the first volume of 'Transgressions' came into my hands, Maria Janion entered my life and remained in it forever,’ wrote the Nobel Prize winner in her farewell letter for prof. Maria Janion in 2020. ‘In a sense, then, like many, very many readers who were not fortunate enough to have met her, I too was a student of Maria Janion and also took part in your seminar. Although a long way from Gdańsk, although after the fact and passively, very intensively. [...] I think her books shaped me; maybe even changed my life.’

Prof. Małgorzata Książek-Czermińska noted that this was not a one-sided relationship. Prof. Maria Janion held Olga Tokarczuk's works in high esteem, especially The Books of Jacob. Her fascination with the writer's work can be read, for example, in Prof. Maria Janion's letter to the opening of the 2016 Culture Congress.

The laudation was followed by the awarding of Olga Tokarczuk with an honorary doctorate from the University of Gdańsk, led by prof. Piotr Stepnowski, prof. Urszula Patocka-Sigłowy, and prof. Małgorzata Książek-Czermińska.

The newly appointed honorary doctor gave a lecture in which she provided a brilliant analysis of contemporary society from a feminist perspective. The Nobel laureate also went back to great works of literature, such as Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, and described them in the context of gender representation. There were also autobiographical themes in the speech, in which the author talked about her journey through the male-created canon of literature.

The new honorary doctor was welcomed by representatives of the most important institutions in Pomerania, including the Mayor of Gdańsk Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, the Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Mieczysław Struk and the Pomeranian Voivode Beata Rutkiewicz, as well as MPs and MEPs elected from the Pomeranian region. Olga Tokarczuk's joining to the University of Gdańsk academic community was honoured by a recital by the University of Gdańsk Academic Choir.

The event was officially closed by prof. Piotr Stepnowski, who expressed his hope that this would not be the last visit of the Nobel Prize winner to the UG. The UG Rector suggested that further meetings could be held as part of Olga Tokarczuk's assumption of the Named Chair of Honour of Prof. Maria Janion.