Olga Tokarczuk studied clinical psychology at Warsaw University. She got the MA degree in 1987 and after that, she started working as a psychotherapist. Here and there she published her poems and reviews in the press, to later publish a collection of poems in 1989. She then decided to quit psychology and become a full-time writer.
Her writing career became a pass of success. Her novels were well-received (as proven by the 5 Nike Audience Choice Award) and critically acclaimed. She got the most prestigious Polish literary prize – Nike twice, for novels “Flights” (original title: “Bieguni”) and “The Books of Jacob” (“Księgi Jakubowe”). “Flights” brought her the Man Booker Prize in 2018. All of her hard work paid off when she won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature. Continuing to be on the crest of a wave, she also became the doctor honoris causa of three Polish universities – in Warsaw, Wrocław and Jagiellonian University in Cracow.
Doctor honoris causa is an honourable title given to those who had an immense impact on the world of science and culture. The faculties of Artes Liberales and Polish Studies put forward an application for Olga Tokarczuk to receive the title, and a positive decision was made on December 16th 2020 by the Senate of the Warsaw University. The decoration was postponed until the pandemic situation got safer.
The official decoration will take place tomorrow (February 23rd) at 11 A.M. CET. You can watch it online here.