Leszek Zbigniew Chudziński

Leszek Chudziński (1950-) is a Polish-American poet who lives in Seattle, WA. He studied at the Academy of Physical Education in Poznan, where he worked at the Polish Radio Free Dormitory. During his university years, he did radio broadcasting at the Technical University of Szczecin and delved into poetry writing. Upon immigration to the United States, he continued his writing and cofounded the Polskie Radio Internetowe Wisła, an internet radio station that takes its name from the Vistula River, the longest river in Poland. Inspired by the flow of the river, the station is dedicated to programming for the Polish diaspora. 

Chudziński writes in both Polish and English. He has authored two books of poetry: Niedzielni Poeci (Sunday Poets, 2018) and Podlesie (2022). His writing has appeared in various literary journals and anthologies, including No Longer Strangers: Haiku Northwest Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Anthology (2014) And his work has circulated in other languages and in innovative public contexts. For instance, he has written a haiku that has been translated from English into Japanese. His poem, “I Am a Homeless Man,” was selected to be part of Seattle’s Poetry on Buses Cultural Program.

Chudziński cares deeply about people and tries to empower youth by conducting and organizing poetry workshops, serving as the master of ceremony at various cultural events, and actively participating in the cultural life of Seattle. For more than two decades, he has worked with the Polish Home Association of Seattle on the Polish Concert Festival. His most recent contribution was the 2023 concert of recitations of his poetry to the accompaniment of piano music by Chopin, Debussy, and Mozart. Since retiring from the World Language Department of the Seattle Public Library, Leszek Chudziński has dedicated himself to writing poetry.