Marcin Malek (also writing under the pen name Martin Smallridge; born 24 February 1975) is a Polish poet, writer, playwright and publicist.
He is also a literature translator to Russian and English (both ways), including press articles in the field of international affairs and cultural releases as well as Russian and English-language poetry along with the letters of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. Published mainly in quarterlies: "Fronda", "Tygiel Kultury", "Akcent" and monthlies: "Nowe Państwo", „Stosunki Międzynarodowe", "Opcja na prawo", "Dziś", Winner of the annual award of "Poetry&Paratheatre" journal (category: Poem of the Year) for year 2012, (work: ''Bieg – Czyli list do współczesnych'' / "Run – a letter to the present").
Life
Marcin Malek (born 24 February 1975,
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
) is a Polish-Irish writer, poet, essayist, journalist, and editor. He studied International Affairs (Diplomacy) and Customs Administration Services. Since 2006, he has lived in Ireland, where he has been actively engaged in both literary and journalistic work.
In 2021, Malek founded and became editor-in-chief of The Irish Field Archery Monthly (TIFAM), a printed periodical dedicated to archery, covering historical, technical, and cultural aspects of the sport. Under his leadership, TIFAM has grown into a significant publication within the Irish and international archery communities.
Additionally, he has served in various roles as a volunteer board member of TIFAM CLG, a registered non-profit organization dedicated to promoting traditional archery in Ireland. He currently serves as the secretary of TIFAM CLG, playing a key role in organizational governance, strategic development, and advocacy efforts. Through his work with TIFAM CLG, Malek has been instrumental in organizing the TIFAM All-Ireland Archery Festival and supporting the development of the National Archery Centre, a long-term project aimed at fostering the sport’s growth in Ireland.
Beyond his contributions to archery, Malek continues to write and publish extensively on literature, history, and international affairs. His literary style, blending Gothic, Romantic, and existential themes, has earned him recognition across multiple disciplines.
Creative activity
In recent years Malek devoted himself mainly to poetry. As he says: he "finally found a
place
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government
* "Place", a type of street or road name
** Of ...
where he belongs, and all that he owns, is the
power
Power may refer to:
Common meanings
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power, a type of energy
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
Math ...
of his words, and a momentous
awareness
In philosophy and psychology, awareness is the perception or knowledge of something. The concept is often synonymous with consciousness. However, one can be aware of something without being explicitly conscious of it, such as in the case of bli ...
of
consequence
Consequence may refer to:
Philosophy, science and social sciences
* Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment''
* Consequent, in logic, the second half of a hypothetical proposition or consequences
* Consequent ...
s".
[From the introduction to the volume "Blood wafers of eyelids", Publisher. Miniatura, Kraków 2011, p. 6.] He is of the
opinion
An opinion is a judgement, viewpoint, or statement that is not conclusive, as opposed to facts, which are true statements.
Definition
A given opinion may deal with subjective matters in which there is no conclusive finding, or it may deal ...
, that "poetry is like a spurt; elusive, and not enough to say — inexplicable".
In his writing "poetry is the way into the unknown is still asks questions and never hears correct answers. And so – to be a poet is no more than wander around and ask every encountered
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
for directions."
In his opinion, poetry is "a
storage of historical curiosities, in which we keep rarely used words, and poets are workers who use these words as the raw material. The snag is that they work blindly because with such material you can never be sure, and it is difficult to predict what falls out of the assembly line." In his opinions of other poets he expresses himself very carefully saying that they live "somewhere out there, where we mere
mortals do not have access – on the other side, in the midst of
spell
Spell(s) or The Spell(s) may refer to:
Processes
* Spell (paranormal), an incantation
* Spell (ritual), a magical ritual
* Spelling, the writing of words
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Spell'' (1977 film), an American t ...
s,
myth
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
s and
legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
s."
[From the introduction to the volume "Among the things", Publisher. Miniatura, Kraków 2012, p. 8.] He explains that "poets have something in common with the unfortunate
Icarus
In Greek mythology, Icarus (; , ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of King Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, Minos suspected that Icarus and Daedalu ...
, whose flight and fall are widespread
symbol
A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...
s of the human thoughtful pursuit of unattainable objectives against the natural
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
...
of the world. We want to see them as those who are in pursuit of reality, those fully aware of their tremendous responsibility, always faithful to a supreme
idea
In philosophy and in common usage, an idea (from the Greek word: ἰδέα (idea), meaning 'a form, or a pattern') is the results of thought. Also in philosophy, ideas can also be mental representational images of some object. Many philosophe ...
, entering boldly where none seemingly normal would dare to enter – mainly because our "me" bothers us more than anything else. Poet (who lives inside us) has thousands of them – continues in perpetual flight to fall and to rise, and so it goes, he passes from one
dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coo ...
to another becoming his own multiplication. Sometimes Malek calls himself an invented
character
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to Theoph ...
, once he admitted that he associates with the ghosts, and that "under the pressure of certain words", he simply "does not know how to be himself."
Books
* ''Fabryka słów w stu jeden wierszach'', Wyd. Wydawnictwo Miniatura,
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
2010. ''Words factory in a hundred and one poems, Publisher. Miniatura, Kraków 2010.''
* ''My wszyscy z wierszy'' Wyd. Wydawnictwo Miniatura, Kraków 2011. ''We are all of the poems, Publisher. Miniatura, Kraków 2011.''
* ''Z powiek opłatki krwi''. Wyd. Wydawnictwo Miniatura, Kraków 2011. '' Blood wafers of eyelids, Publisher. Miniatura, Kraków 2011.''
* ''Spomiędzy rzeczy''. Wyd. Wydawnictwo Miniatura, Kraków 2012. ''Among the things, Publisher. Miniatura, Kraków 2012.'' (Bilingual book Polish/English)
* ''Pamiętnik z niedokończonej wyprawy''. Wyd. Miniatura, Kraków 2012. ''Diary of an unfinished journey, Publisher. Miniatura, Kraków 2012.''(Bilingual book Polish/English)
* ''Nazwijcie mnie idiotą''. Wyd. Wydawnictwo Miniatura, Kraków 2012. ''Call me an idiot, Publisher. Miniatura, Kraków 2012.''
* ''Jedną nogą''. Wyd. Wydawnictwo Miniatura, Kraków 2013. ''By one leg, Publisher. Miniatura, Kraków 2013.'' (Bilingual book Polish/English)
* ''For life and death of a poet''. Publisher Lyrics, Lublin 2015. ASIN B014B7L66Y (English)
* ''Na życie i śmierć poety''. Publisher Lyrics, Lublin 2015. "For life and death of a poet. Lyrics, 2015". ASIN B014CCFOCK
* ''Znaki żywego alfabetu''. Publisher Lyrics, Lublin 2015. " The characters of live alphabet. Lyrics, 2015". ASIN B014N3KQCG
* ''Facies Hippocratica''. Publisher Lyrics, 2015.
* "Najgorsze jest pierwsze sto lat". Publisher Lyrics, 2015. "The worst part is a firs hundred years, Lyrics 2015"
* ''Ponad miarę ludzkiej materii''. Publisher Lyrics, 2015. "Beyond the measure of human matter, Lyrics 2015"
* ''Anthology of slavic poetry''. by Piotr Kasjas Lulu.com, 16 Oct 2016. , poems on pages 161-165.
* ''We'll go asleep. Poems and ballads''. Publisher Lyrics, 2020 Portlaoise. , ASIN : B08NF32F8N Lyrics 2020"
* ''Breaking through the inky night: On trivial yet deadly serious matters''. Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, May 13, 2021, Portlaoise. , ASIN : B094TG1P6W Lyrics 2021". Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''The mills kept grinding''. Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, August 25, 2021, Portlaoise. , ASIN : B09DMXTHMR Lyrics Editorial House 2021". Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''A lifetime of questions In Thirty and One Literature Lectures'' . Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, November 11, 2024, Portlaoise. , ASIN : B0DMSZLY75 Lyrics Editorial House 2024". Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''A Drawer Full of Wonders''. Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, November 12, 2024, Portlaoise. , ASIN : B0DMW8X2PH Lyrics Editorial House 2024". Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''An T-ocras''. Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, March 1, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN: B0CW1FHZ8V Lyrics Editorial House 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''The Peculiar Incidents of Zacharie Blanchard: Book I – Crooked Hill's Dern ''. Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN: B0FB9GDNBM Lyrics Editorial House 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''Where the Maps Ends: A Life Threaded Through Forty Literary Lectures ''. Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN:B0FCSKTQSK Lyrics Editorial House 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''The Ring, the Cat, and Paddy’s Missing Digit: A dark comedy in four acts''. Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN: B0FCMQW8W9 Lyrics Editorial House 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''No Rest for the Dead in Portlaoise: Dark Comedy in five Acts''. Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN: B0FCN1MLJ7 Lyrics Editorial House 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''Hauntings of Dún na nGall: An Irish Gothic Play in Five Acts''. Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN: B0FCZYK1L8 Lyrics Editorial House 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''The Mourner's Wake: Irish Folklore Dark Comedy in four Acts''. Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN: B0FCSQZ882 Lyrics Editorial House 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''Facies Hippocratica: A Grim Tragedy in Four Acts''. Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN: B0FD8VBRW6, english Edition, Lyrics Editorial House 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''The Creed of the Loosed Arrow in Flight''. Publisher : TIFAM Publishing, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN: B0F2ZKW6HD, TIFAM Publishing 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''Irish Archery An Ecology in Motion''. Publisher : TIFAM Publishing, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN: B0F893LZ2L, Publisher : TIFAM Publishing 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''The last "foes of humanity" ''. Publisher : Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN: B0DPDQ4SHR, Lyrics Editorial House 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
* ''The Fall of Jeremiah Grant: An Irish Tragedy in Five Acts " ''. Publisher : Publisher Lyrics Editorial House, 2025, Portlaoise. , ASIN: B0FD858XN4, Lyrics Editorial House 2025. Published under pen name Martin Smallridge
Journals
* "Fronda" nr 29, wiosna 2003
''Chcemy znać ostatnią wersję prawdy''
* "Fronda" nr 31, Boże Narodzenie 2003
''Kto nie widział, ten nie zrozumie''
* Kwartalnik "Akcent" nr 4 (94) 2003
''Od Puszkina do Czuchraja. Literackie szkice o Rosji''
* "Stosunki Międzynarodowe":
''Terroryzm medialny – Nowa forma komunikacji międzyludzkiej'', wrzesień 2004
''Trzy maski na jedną twarz'', październik 2004
''Kłopotliwy Karzeł w Cieniu Giganta'', październik 2004
''Kto się boi Sharona?'', listopad 2004
''Zaolzie i Spisz'', kwiecień 2005
''Rosyjskie a priori'', maj 2005
* "Tygiel Kultury" nr 10-12/2004
''Apokalipsa po rosyjsku''
* "Fronda" nr 35, wiosna 2005
''Rosyjski übermensch''
* "Opcja na prawo" nr 10/46, październik 2005
''Rosja jak "dzika Bela"''
* "Opcja na prawo" nr 11/47, listopad 2005
''Gwiazdozbiór smoka''
* "Tygiel Kultury" nr 10-12/2005
''Gwiazdozbiór smoka''
* "Nowe Państwo" nr 1 (361), zima 2006
''Wiek Smoka''
* "Opcja na prawo" nr 1/49, styczeń 2006
''Brunatny wiatr odnowy''
* "Tygiel Kultury" nr 1-3/2006
''Rosja jak "dzika Bela"''
* "Worldpress.org" August 3, 2016
''The Jedwabne Massacre of 1941: An Interview with Marcin Malek "''
by Teri Schure
* "Worldpress.org" March 12, 2018
''"Polish Death Camps" Controversy''
* "Leinster Express" May 17, 2020
''"Portlaoise story in a time of Covid lockdown''
* "The Irish Field Archery Monthly" multiple articles of different genres (since December 2021)
References
External links
National Library of PolandNational Library of IrelandGoogle BooksGoodreads (Martin Smallridge)Fronda 29Fronda 31Fronda 35Kultura i Historia nr 8„Poetry&Paratheatre” Awards 2012Martin Smallridge amazon author pageTIFAM magazinepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malek, Marcin
1975 births
Living people
Polish male poets
Polish male writers
Writers from Warsaw