Lenka Janiurek
Writer - non-fiction
Books
Lenka Janiurek was a winner of the Young Writer’s Competition at the Royal Court Theatre aged 17. She subsequently had 5 plays produced:
Walking, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs.
In the Blood, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, translated into German as, Paul und Julia, performed in Berlin.
In Boxes, platform play at the National Theatre.
Bows and Arrows, Royal Court Theatre.
The Teacup, Royal Shakespeare Company at the Other Place, Stratford-on Avon.
Bows and Arrows was published by the Royal Court. Several of her poems appeared in the anthology Purple and Green.
She has facilitated creative writing, theatre, art, and well-being workshops, in schools, colleges, at camps, and in a women’s prison. And worked as a baker, fundraiser, caretaker, green builder, and researcher. She lives near the sea in West Wales.
WATERMARKS, a memoir, was published in hardback by Allison and Busby in Spring 2020 with the paperback following in Spring 2021.
"An amazing piece of work" - Kate Saunders
"Freighted with memory, WATERMARKS is a treasure of lived experience" - Katharine Norbury
Non-Fiction
| Publication Details | Notes |
|---|---|
WATERMARKS 2020 Allison and Busby | Lenka Janiurek's story really begins after the death of her mother when she was a small child, and speaks of the men who came to define her life; she is the daughter of a Polish immigrant father, the sister of five brothers, the wife of one husband, the lover of several men, and the mother of two more. Her memoir speaks of identity and trying to find your place in a country that isn't your own, within a family that doesn't feel like your own. This remarkable book traces Lenka's journey from the UK to Eastern Europe, from the 1960s to the present day. However, across the years, she remains haunted by the rage, addiction and despair of the men she is closest to. Alongside these challenges, she develops a powerful connection with the natural world, particularly water, which provides her with strength and joy. |