Czubaszek-Karolak Maria, *9 August 1939 in Warsaw, †12 May 2016 in Warsaw, Polish journalist, satirist, and songwriter. She studied journalism and English philology at the University of Warsaw. From 1960, she collaborated with the radio: in 1960–65, she was associated with the Radio Reklama program, in 1966 she wrote for Polish Radio Three, and her satirical texts appeared in the programs Ilustrowany Tygodnik Rozrywkowy, Ilustrowany Magazyn Autorów, 60 Minut na Godzinę, and Powtórka z Rozrywki. Her most popular satirical radio plays were the series Na wyspach Hula-Gula, Z wizytą u Kazia, Marie jego życia, and Serwus – jestem nerwus, created for a regular group of performers: I. Kwiatkowska, B. Wrzesińska, B. Łazuka, and W. Pokora. From 1961, Czubaszek-Karolak wrote entertaining and satirical stories for the weekly magazine “Szpilki”. In 1965, she made her debut as a songwriter (Kochać można byle jak). Her harmonious lyrics are distinguished by their original imagery and surprising word combinations. Czubaszek-Karolak wrote mainly for compositions by Polish jazz musicians: Z. Jaremka (Tylko dni), W. Karolak (Każdy as bierze raz), H. Majewski (Bądź mężczyzną), Z. Namysłowski (Tak mało chcę), and J.P. Wróblewski (Odkładana miłość). Songs with her lyrics have been performed by E. Bem (Wyszłam za mąż, zaraz wracam, Miłość jest jak niedziela), A. Dąbrowski (Za spełnione wszystkie sny), R. Rynkowski (Rycz, mała, rycz), Trubadurzy ‘85 (Rokoko rock) and Vox (Nie martw się). She is also the author of the plays Kwadrat, Roxy, Włącz kolor, Żona pana ministra and scripts for radio and television programs. She has published books including: Na wyspach Hula-Gula (Warsaw 1980, 2nd edition Katowice 1994), Dziewczyny na ścianę i na życie (Warsaw 1991), Każdy szczyt ma swój Czubaszek (Warsaw 2012), and Dzień dobry, jestem z kobry (Warsaw 2015). Czubaszek-Karolak’s work has been recognized with the President’s Award of the RiTV Committee (1971), the Golden Microphone (1975), and the Gloria Artis Gold Medal for Cultural Merit (2009).
