The Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award (Polish: Międzynarodowa Nagroda Literacka im. Zbigniewa Herberta) is a Polish international literature prize created in 2013 in Warsaw. It is named after Zbigniew Herbert, a Polish poet, essayist, and moralist who lived from 1924 to 1998. The award is given every year by the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation. Its goal is to honor outstanding literary works that have a connection to important values that Zbigniew Herbert’s writing focused on.

History

In 2010, the Zbigniew Herbert Foundation was created to protect and share Herbert's work and ideas as an important part of Poland's, Europe's, and the world's literary and cultural history. The foundation also helps teach and learn about literature and the humanities, especially modern literature, writing, poetry, and journalism, with a focus on programs for young people. His wife, Katarzyna Dzieduszycka-Herbert, suggested the idea of starting the foundation. The group that chooses award winners includes many well-known experts and writers, such as Edward Hirsch, Jaume Vallcorba Plana, Tomas Venclova, Yurii Andrukhovych, Agneta Pleijel, Michael Krüger, Lidija Dimkovska, and Jarosław Mikołajewski.