Welcome to CR's Fall 2011 Issue!
The second half of 2011 has been an exciting time, as Poland assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Among the many events organized to mark the six-month Presidency was the celebration of one of Poland’s most popular and versatile prewar artists, Stefan Norblin. It was a dramatic homecoming, attended by the Maharaja of Jodphur and the artist’s American son, both visiting Poland for the event that brought to the artist’s homeland the largest single collection of Polish art, from India. CR brings you this fascinating story.
This issue contains work from writers representing several different generations. The youngest, Isabelle Sokolnicka, extends her exuberant congratulations to Poland. The optimism is just what the world needs now and it just might be contagious. So read on.
Stefan Norblin: An Artist Comes Home
The largest single collection of Polish art is not in Poland, but in India. A special exhibit brings it home,
at least for a visit, attracting thousands of visitors
to a visual feast.
Agnieszka Holland’s “In Darkness” – A Promise Fulfilled
Agnieszka Holland's latest film is dedicated to Marek Edleman, the legendary leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and evokes passages of his book: "And there was love, too, in the ghetto..."
The Second Generation: Harnessing the Power of Memory in the “Virtual” Age
The children of post-war Polish exiles, scattered across the world, are forming virtual communities. Together they are telling their history, refusing to leave it in the hands of those who don't know... or don't want to know.
(*President Poland, of course.)
Isabelle Sokolnicka's optimism may be contagious... all the more reason to read on.
Children in Exile: Recollections of Children Deported to the Soviet Gulag
Exquisitely graceful prose and a powerful story make Edward Herzbaum's journals read like a novel, a timeless telling of the years 1939-1945.
It’s only been since my father’s generation has begun to pass away that I’ve come to recognize that their stories are the richest part of my inheritance… – Andrew J. Borkowski
Passage from England: A Memoir
Frank Zajaczkowski's memoir about growing up in a dysfunctional family and eventually learning his father's story and coming to understand it.
Krysia Jopek's story of a gentle family uprooted by people who rearrange borders without hearing the gunshots or seeing the victims.
The Labyrinth:
The Testimony of Marian Kołodziej
Recovery following a near fatal stroke unlocks memories buried for more than 50 years, which Marian Kołodziej renders into pen and ink drawings covering several rooms of his Labyrinth in the town of Harmęże, Poland. Ron Schmidt's brilliant film allows you to enter that labyrinth, alone and in silence.
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:
Susannah Magers presents
"Irena Sendler:
In the Name of Their Mothers"
Polish Movie Nite:
Arden Sherman presents
Roman Polanski's "Knife in the Water"
The Best Five Places for Kissing in Warsaw
– Karen Kovacik
Mrs. Noah
– Oriana
Metropolis Burning
– Karen Kovacik's book of poems reviewed by Ewa Chrusciel.
ReJoyce:
Rehabilitation Joystick for Computerized Exercise
Alex Storozynski,
Tadeusz Kosciuszko
and Thaddeus Kosciuszko Park
Irena Sendler and Fatima Frutos:
The 2011 Kutxa Ciudad de Irun Poetry Prize
