Welcome to CR's Summer 2011 Issue!
Poland is commemorating two important anniversaries this year and the country’s calendar is full of very interesting lectures, readings, symposia and other related events. 2011 is the 100th anniversary of Marie Skłodowska-Curie’s second Nobel Prize as well as the 100th anniversary of Czesław Miłosz’s birth. Science and literature, celebrated all year. So it follows that both Curie Skłodowska and Miłosz should also be celebrated in this issue of CR.
We also bring you news of three extraordinary books, published in Edinburgh on Polish-Scottish themes; discussions about Polish films by art historians, curators and academics from the San Francisco area; a photo essay about the University of Warsaw’s library – and more. continue
A library, a garden, and a reunion: Warsaw in May
The rooftop garden of this stunning University of Warsaw library is not only beautiful but is also a symbol of Poland's blossoming capital city – and of the resilience of Polish intellectual life.
It’s easy to say which nation has the fastest trains (France) or the largest number of prime ministers who’ve probably been eaten by sharks (Australia), but it’s impossible to know which country has the best writers, let alone the best poets. Even so, if cash money were on the line, you’d find few critics willing to bet against Poland.
- David Orr,
The New York Times,
July 29, 2007
Isabelle Sokolnicka concurs, and thinks the language may have something to do with it.
An Invisible Rope: Portraits of Czesław Miłosz
Friends, colleagues, students, translators, celebrate the life of the great poet, a man defined by his language. Joanna Szupinska reviews An Invisible Rope: Portraits of Czeslaw Miłosz
Scotland and Poland:
Historical Encounters,
1500-2010
A 16th century mayor of Warsaw was a Scottish immigrant. In the 1940s, and again this century, Scotland has welcomed Poles. Time to renew this “auld acquaintance… for auld lang syne.”
Radioactive:
Marie & Pierre Curie
Lauren Redniss’s poetic biography glows in the dark, not with the garish light of fluorescence but with the mysterious, deep inner light of radium.
2011:
The Year of Marie Sklodowska-Curie
The greatest scientist of the last century is celebrated on the 100th anniversary of her second Nobel Prize.
A Polish Book of Monsters:
Five Dark Tales from Contemporary Poland
A new translation of eerie stories by contemporary Polish writers. From PIASA Books.
American novelist Doug Jacobson weaves a fictional tale against the background of the great crime.
A Conversation with Doug Jacobson
CR talks to to the author of The Katyń Order about the use of fiction to tell a historical tale.
This Way: Covering/Uncovering Tadeusz Borowski’s
This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen
Artists from Europe, America, Australia and Asia try to capture the essence of Tadeusz Borowski’s stories from Auschwitz published in 1948. But can art capture the essence of Auschwitz?
Polish Movie Nite: Polish cinema, viewed and reviewed by Americans, leads them to a better understanding of “the complexities of contemporary Poland.”
Polish Movie Nite:
Julian Myers and Chris Fitzpatrick discuss Wajda’s "The Promised Land"
Polish Movie Nite:
Media historian Erica Levin presents and discusses Krzysztof Kieslowski
A drama based on the letters of a young Polish resistance fighter, Krystyna Wituska, is discussed by students in a psychology class at Luzerne Community College in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. Vince Chesney reports.
What Paderewski Taught Me About Being
Poet Kath Abela Wilson once wrote about “How I Fell In Love with Chopin.” This poem was written for the Paderewski-Chopin conference at Loyola University, Nov. 12, 2010 and read while accompanied by mathematician and flutist, Rick Wilson.
Publisher Aquila Polonica Sponsors Prize for Best Article in Polish Studies
Aquila Polonica Publishing has announced that it will sponsor a biennial prize to be awarded under the auspices of the Polish Studies Association to the author of the best article published in English dealing with any aspect of Polish studies.
Civic Academy - Call for Applications
Applications are now being accepted for the Lech Walesa Institute’s project – Civic Academy, to be held Sept. 28 - Oct. 2, 2011 in Gdańsk, Poland.
The Ronald D. Asmus Freedom Journalism Contest
