Photo by Emilia Citko
Urszula Winiarska (born April 6, 1964, Zawiercie, Poland), certified teacher and mediator, coordinator of educational and artistic projects, writer, and haikai poet. She is the author of two ebooks on school and peer mediation as well as a book, Poszukując swojej pasji. Ikigai jako klucz do radości (2023; Searching for Your Passion: Ikigai as the Key to Joy), about the Japanese concept of ikigai (finding what gives one’s life purpose) and including her haiku. A member of the Polish Haiku Association, she has lectured on classical haiku and coauthored several poetry anthologies. She participated in the 3rd International Haiku Conference (2024) in Kraków. Her work in Polish and English has appeared in Papierowy Żuraw (Paper Crane) and the Ptaki wędrowne (Migratory Birds) almanacs, Daily Haiga, and in Japanese in the Warsaw-based monthly Kuzu. Winiarska’s photo haiga are regularly published on her IkigaiDay website and were on display at the 2023 “Zachwyt” (Delight) exhibition at the Wozownia Art Gallery in Toruń, the city where she resides.
Note: This is an abstract of a longer biographical article to come.