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Fall-Winter Edition of the Cosmopolitan Review

The Fall-Winter edition of the Cosmopolitan Review has been published. Here’s the preview:

Poland has been commemorating anniversaries all year and those of us observing from a distance have shared in the country’s happiness. True, some of those anniversaries mark events that were far from happy, but now they are not only far in the past but also signify a remarkable endurance and resilience.

To share this joy, CR’s own Justine Jablonska put together a photo essay illustrating these significant dates with selected personalities from the arts, letters and politics of this successful country. We also invited Andrew Nagorski to say a few words, which he does with elegance and affection. And we have musicians from Wawel (top left) for a rousing chorus of Sto lat!

But as faithful readers all know, CR’s Poland is wherever there are Poles, and we hope our British friends forgive us if the sun never sets on us for a change. This issue, we write about Poles in Africa from the perspective of people who cherish the memory of their enchanted childhood, complete with an escape from the clutches of a monster. They hold regular reunions in Wrocław. A refugees’ reunion, you ask? It’s a psychological and social phenomenon Amanda Chalupa feels compelled to study.

About the same time that Polish kids frolicked with boa constrictors in Africa, Polish cabaret stars entertained Polish troops serving in the Polish II Corps under General Władysław Anders. Beth Holmgren, who has made interwar cabaret her own, introduces us to some very talented people as The Cabaret Goes to War.

Whatever has been said about the long communist era, artists find a way. Justine Jablonksa reviews Eric Bednarski’s beautiful film about dreamy neon signs created in a system that never delivered the goods that were advertised. A bit surreal? Tune in to the conversation.

Still with films, Małgorzata Dzieduszycka casts a sensitive eye on Jan Komasa’s MIASTO 44 and on Warsaw Uprising. There will never be a last word on this event, nor could it be otherwise.

Ben Paloff muses on the poet laureate of the wartime generation, Krzysztof Baczyński. Is he, as Magda Romańska suggested, “Bob Dylan, William Shakespeare, Pablo Neruda and James Dean rolled into one,” or is he more like Keats, or maybe Marcel Proust?

We move on to the 2nd largest Polish city in the world, Chicago, specifically Stuart Dybek’s Chicago. Agnieszka Tworek explores this gifted writer’s perceptive and sympathetic stories about the gritty immigrant neighborhood of Chicago, and has a few questions for the award-winning author as well.

We are pleased to have another review by the young Toronto-based historian, Michał Kasprzak, whose great writing could upstage the authors under discussion. But with consummate skill, he instead seduces people to read – and maybe even buy! – the book. In this case it is the new history of modern Poland by Brian Porter-Szücs who examined Poland and came up with a startling diagnosis: Poles are normal people, just like everybody else. Some of us have long suspected as much but were waiting for a professional confirmation. Kasprzak will fill you in.

And we end with a fitting finale. Pomp, history, great plans and good feelings fill Martin Grzadka’s account of Canada’s first state visit to Poland. Yes, much business was discussed but the warm bilateral relations were the icing on the cake for a young professional proud to be a citizen of both countries.

Before we go, we invite you to look at our About Us page, where we introduce our stellar cast of Contributing Editors. We look forward to an exciting 2015.

Art, Events, , ,

One Story Summer Writer’s Workshop

This summer, One Story will again be offering a six-day fiction workshop for writers. With just two workshops of ten students each, this summer workshop is designed to help each student take the next step in their writing career in a supportive environment.

The week will include morning workshops, afternoon craft lectures, and evening panels with authors, agents, MFA faculty, and editors. The workshop will be held from July 14 – 19, 2013, at the Center for Fiction in Manhattan. Former Associate Editor Marie-Helene Bertino and Contributing Editor Will Allison will be returning as workshop leaders. Both bring their unique experience as editors and writers to the table.

Editor-in-Chief Hannah Tinti, as well as other established writers chosen for their ability to teach the craft of writing in engaging ways, will lead focused afternoon craft classes on topics like character, dialogue, and plot.

Every night, there will be a wine and cheese reception and panel discussion with industry professionals. Last year’s lecturers and panelists included Myla Goldberg, Victor LaValle, Simon Van Booy, editors from Granta, Bellevue Literary Review, Gigantic, literary agents, and MFA directors.

Applications for the One Story Workshop for Writers are being accepted now until April 30, 2013.

Prior attendees have said:

“The One Story Summer Writers Workshop was the first time I’ve felt that what I do is important. For a solitary writer, the experience of meeting, connecting with, and learning from others in the field is priceless. I’m inspired.” — Adam Sturtevant, Summer Workshop Participant 2011

“I feel much more confident about pursuing a writing career after the workshop. The thing I wasn’t necessarily expecting was the thing that I’ve come to appreciate the most: an overwhelming feeling of community and camaraderie, and I absolutely believe the relationships developed at the workshop will carry on long into our careers.” — Eric Fershtman, Summer Workshop Participant 2010

“I loved spending a week with the people at One Story. The spirit and energy was infectious and encouraging. Everyone is excited to talk about writing.” — Patty Forgie, Summer Workshop Participant 2012

Art, Poetry, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , ,

Literary awards, social media

Found in Translation Award:

The Polish Book Institute, the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, and the Polish Cultural Institute in London announced that the winner of the Found in Translation Award for 2011 is Joanna Trzeciak for her translation of Tadeusz Różewicz’s “Sobbing Superpower”, published by W. W. Norton & Company (USA). This award is in recognition of exceptional translation quality, and the great importance of the text awarded. The volume, counting over 300 pages, is a selection of Różewicz’s poems covering all the periods of his work.

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Poland’s top literary award

Marek Bieńczyk was awarded the Nike Award, Poland’s most prestigious literary prize for “Książka twarzy,” which translates as ‘A Book of the Face’, the work is described by the author as ‘my Facebook’.

The book is a collection of essays which blend elements of various genres, including poetry, press articles and criticism, and merge intellectual discourse with autobiographical reflections on a wide range of subject matter, from literature and films to tennis and wine. Nike jury chairman Tadeusz Nyczek described the book as ‘Bieńczyk’s grand self-portrait’.

Mr. Bieńczyk is a graduate in French studies at the University of Warsaw. In addition to pursuing a teaching career at the Institute of Literary Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, he is a prolific writer and translator from the French. He also wrote the novels Terminal and Tworki (the latter translated into English by Benjamin Paloff) and several collections of essays and literary criticism.

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Polish Social: A new Polish Webzine

Polish Social, a new webzine, is the brainchild of two Chicago women with a commitment to community, a pulse on Chicago’s art & culture scenes, and a belief in the power of networking and organizing. It provides links to events, job opportunities, innovators in disparate fields; and provides news of interest to a new generation of Polish Chicagoans.

Being Polish in Chicago is sort of a tale of two cities – in one (the collection of Polish communities that dot this city), there is a strong culturally Polish identity, in the other (the city of Chicago as a whole), there is an opportunity for Poles from all fields to step into leadership positions and showcase the Polish community as a vibrant and essential part of this city’s fabric.

You can subscribe to the site via the home page subscription icon or by E-mail. You may also add events or items for the editorial team to cover by sending an E-mail.

Calendar of Saints, Christian Witness, Poetry,

Submissions requested – poems about saints

From Dr. John Guzlowski

Dr. Mary Ann Miller, Associate Professor of English, Caldwell College, Caldwell, NJ, is calling for submissions of poems for a proposed anthology of contemporary American poems that contain references to one or more Catholic saints (excluding Jesus and Mary).

All e-mail submissions must be Sent To Dr. Miller by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 1, 2012. The subject line should read: “saint poem(s)”

GUIDELINES:

  • Up to 3 poems per poet will be accepted for consideration.
  • Each poem must be no longer than 3 pages.
  • The poems should NOT be historical poems, i.e. “lives of the saints” in modern idiom, written in the voice of the saint speaking in the first person “I,” NOR should they be prayers addressing the saint in the second person “you.”
  • Personae SHOULD be contemporary voices, male and female, from a variety of social, regional, and occupational circumstances. Voices of poems already selected from traditional research are speaking within very specific contemporary dramatic contexts, such as: a mother trying to get her newborn to fall asleep at 3 a.m., a man returning to a depressed coal town in western Pennsylvania after abandoning it to live elsewhere, a Native American child experiencing the pains of assimilation in a Catholic school, an older brother concerned about the kind of marriage his younger sister might make, a burn victim’s compassion for a small child with whom he shares a hospital room, a woman holding the hand of her dying mother, a Hungarian Catholic woman whose marriage to a Jewish man causes her father’s rejection, a woman doing laundry, a family moving out of their home, a disillusioned nurse whose back goes out from lifting so many bodies, a medical doctor struggling to inform a patient of his terminal illness, a friend of a gay person who died of AIDS, a friend of a woman who attempted suicide, a patron of a food pantry who finds money on the floor.
  • Poems of humor and irony are welcome.
  • Published and unpublished poems may be submitted. If published, please include all original publication information in bibliographic format at the end of the poem.
  • Send submission as a single-file Word attachment to Dr. Miller. The first page should list the poet’s name, phone number, and e-mail contact information, a brief 4-line bio, and the titles of submitted poems. The poet’s name should appear on each poem.
  • The editor will respond by e-mail to all submissions within a month of the submission deadline.
  • The editor is in the process of finding a publisher for this anthology and, therefore, cannot guarantee its publication. She is proposing a collection of approximately 50 poems.
Art, Events, , ,

Fiction Workshop for Writers – Summer 2012

This summer, One Story will again be offering an intimate 6-day fiction workshop for writers. The week will include morning workshops, afternoon craft lectures, and evening panels with authors, agents, MFA faculty, and editors. The workshop will be held July 22 – 27, 2012, in the One Story office at The Old American Can Factory in Brooklyn, New York.

This unique experience, both practical and creative, is for writers looking to take the next step in their careers. Former Associate Editor Marie-Helene Bertino and Contributing Editor Will Allison will be returning as workshop leaders. Editor-in-Chief Hannah Tinti, as well as other established writers chosen for their ability to teach the craft of writing in engaging ways, will teach afternoon craft classes. Every night, there will be a wine and cheese reception and panel discussion with industry professionals. Last year’s lecturers and panelists included Myla Goldberg, Darin Strauss, Jenny Offill, Simon Van Booy, editors from Granta, Electric Literature, A Public Space, Gigantic, literary agents, and MFA directors.

Please join One Story at the Old American Can Factory on Thursday, May 17th for a free craft lecture from Hannah Tinti on the art and skill of creating character.The event will begin with a reception at 6:30 pm. This is a rare chance to sample a craft lecture like the ones offered during the workshop, and an opportunity to meet some of the faces behind One Story.

Applications for the One Story Workshop for Writers are being accepted now until May 31, 2012.

Art, Events, , ,

Celebrate 10 Years of One Story at the Literary Debutante Ball

Tickets are now on sale for the One Story Literary Debutante Ball. The One Story Literary Debutante Ball is a benefit celebrating One Story’s 10th anniversary and seven writers who have published their first books in the past year. The ball will feature cocktails, music, dancing, and a silent art auction.

One Story will also be honoring best-selling author Ann Patchett at the ball for her exceptional support of other writers.

All proceeds will benefit One Story, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and aid it in its mission to support the art form of the short story and the authors who write them. Tickets for the ball start at $75 each.

The One Story Literary Debutante Ball will be held on Friday, April 20th from 7-11 pm at the The Invisible Dog Art Center, 51 Bergen St. (between Court St. & Smith St.), Brooklyn, NY. You may purchase your tickets on-line at One Story.

Art, Perspective, Poetry,

Poetry — Literature — Boston

From Somerville News: Poet Kathleen Spivack: Boston as a Literary City

Boston is a historically literary city. The beauty of Boston for writers today is that it is manageable, friendly, diverse, and non-hierarchical. I am sure the reverse is equally true, of course.

Whether you are a young aspiring student or an established writer it is easy to meet and speak, read your work and share ideas. Boston is non-intimidating and, despite its variety of poets, very democratic actually. There are numerous presses and as well as many writing centers that encourage our work. Our long winters help: we huddle together around the metaphoric campfires and warm our hands on writing.

In 1959 I came to Boston on a fellowship to study with poet Robert Lowell, both in his famous workshop and in private tutorial. He introduced me to other poets. They included Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Adrienne Rich, Elizabeth Bishop, Stanley Kunitz, Basil Bunting, Jonathan Griffin, and others. Later, writers Frank Bidart, Andrew Wylie, Robert Pinsky, Jonathan Galassi, Lloyd Schwartz, Fanny Howe, Gail Mazur and James Atlas; to name only a few, gravitated to Lowell as well. Lowell championed his writers, and the experience of working with him changed lives.

The Grolier Poetry Bookshop has always been a historic center for poetry, and survives today under its new owner, Ifeanyi Menkiti. Founded by Gordon Cairney, it was a home for the young T.S Eliot, E.E. Cummings, Archibald MacLeish, Richard Wilbur, and later for Margaret Atwood, Robert Creeley, Gerard Malanga, James Alan McPherson and many others. Its roster of patrons mirrors aspects of our literary heritage. It is lined with photographs.

The young Louisa Solano who had worked at the Grolier took over the store when Gordon died. She brought it into the 21st century. One of the legendary dedicated great booksellers in America, Louisa’s knowledge, taste, passion, width of book buying, and her reading series reflected the whole span of American poetry. She also sponsored prizes for young poets.

Seamus Heaney was in Boston during that time and often at the Grolier. He inspired us with his poetry and also with his open generous nature. The Woodberry Poetry Room, at Lamont Library, Harvard University grew under the directorship of Straits Haviarias. The Woodberry Poetry Room opened to all members of the writing community and had a vast collection of recordings, books and little magazines. The Voices and Visions series was one of their projects. Christina Thompson, Don Share, Christina Davis and others continued with the Woodberry Poetry Room to make its archival material available. The Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House in conjunction with the New England Poetry Club, sponsors readings on its patrician grounds. The Boston Public Library hosts several festivals for writing.

And on the grassroots level, the Bagel Bards as well as many other community writing groups welcome local writers, editors, and publishers to weekly networking sessions. There are similar groups in other parts of Boston. Our city is small and multicultural and there are many opportunities for writers of diversity to come together. First Night, a city wide New Year’s celebration, began in Boston in 1976 under Clara Wainwright and Zaren Earles. It opened its doors to literary readings from writers from every community.Later Patricia Smith was instrumental in bringing the Poetry Slam here, which helped youth of all backgrounds to hone skills in writing and performance. Poets in the Schools started in the 70’s as well, and linked writers working in schools with each other, and with the diversity of Boston’s school population. Sam Cornish, Boston’s current Poet Laureate, a writer and scholar teacher and former bookstore owner, has been tireless in his efforts to encourage poetry. We’ve seen many Boston area literary festivals blossom.

Under its recent ownership of the Grolier, the warm and wonderful Ifeanyi and Carol Menkiti have brought a specifically multicultural approach to the store and it is once again a lively magnet for the poetic community, with its own ambiance. Theirs is a labor of love indeed and we love them for keeping this historic bookstore alive. We also cite the presses of Steve Glines, Doug Holder, J. Kates, and others. The work of Harris Gardner and Jack Powers. Sajed Kamal at the Fenway. There are many links between the writing circles in Boston. We are lucky to have the resources, the dedicated bookstore owners and teachers and administrators, the open heartedness of our poetic institutions, the diversity of community, and the manageable size of greater Boston’s literary landscape to support our writing life. Generosity is the word that best describes Boston’s literary scene.

The writer, Kathleen Spivack is the author of A History of Yearning, Winner of the Sows Ear International Poetry Prize 2010, first runner up in the New England Book Festival, and winner of the London Book Festival; Moments of Past Happiness (Earthwinds/Grolier Editions 2007); The Beds We Lie In (Scarecrow 1986), nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; The Honeymoon (Graywolf 1986); Swimmer in the Spreading Dawn (Applewood 1981); The Jane Poems (Doubleday 1973); Flying Inland (Doubleday 1971); Robert Lowell, A Personal Memoir; (forthcoming 2011) and a novel, Unspeakable Things. She is a recipient of the Allen Ginsberg Poetry Award 2010, the 2010 Erica Mumford Award, and the 2010 Paumanok Award. She has also won several International Solas Prizes for “Best Essays.”

Events, ,

Sirenland 2012

One Story is accepting applications for Sirenland 2012 from September 15th to October 31st.

Join writers Dani Shapiro, Jim Shepard, and Susan Orlean, along with One Story magazine March 25-31, 2012 for the Sirenland Writers Conference. Experience advanced fiction and memoir workshops in an intimate, supportive environment at one of the most beautiful five star luxury hotels in the world – Le Sirenuse – in Positano, Italy.

Participation in this conference is limited to ensure individual attention and create a close, friendly community. Each day features an intensive, small group workshop with acclaimed writers Dani Shapiro, Jim Shepard, and Susan Orlean, as well as private time for writing, and excursions to nearby Pompeii and the Isle of Capri. Evenings will include talks about publishing and living the writer’s life, with Dani Shapiro, Jim Shepard, Karen Shepard, Susan Orlean, screenwriter Michael Maren, and Hannah Tinti (co-founder and editor-in-chief of One Story), distinguished visiting authors, student and instructor readings, and fantastic meals overlooking the Islands of Li Galli, formerly called the “Island of the Sirens.”

To apply writers must submit a brief statement of purpose (about 250 words) and a writing sample (no more than 7,000 words). All applications will be taken online. Because this workshop will be limited, One-Story encourages writers to apply right away.

Poetry, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , , , , , , ,

Around the Polish-American writing community

The activity at the Polish American Writers & Editors Facebook page has been wonderful. There are links to book and poetry reviews and blogs, opportunities for writers, excellent analysis and recommendations. I highly recommend that anyone who writes or loves to read, or who has an interest in writing become a member of this group.

Some recent/not-so-recent material:

Andy Golebiowski notes Rita Cosby’s book about her father’s participation in the Polish Underground during WWII is now in paperback and close to becoming a bestseller.

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Linda Ciulik Wisniewski recommends Off Kilter: A Woman’s Journey to Peace With Scoliosis, Her Mother, and Her Polish Heritage by Linda C. Wisniewski.

Even before she was diagnosed with scoliosis at thirteen, Linda C. Wisniewski felt off kilter. Born to an emotionally abusive father and long-suffering mother in the Polish Catholic community of upstate New York, Linda twisted herself into someone always trying to please. Balance would elude her until she learned to stretch her Self as well as her spine. Only by accepting her physical deformity, her emotionally unavailable mother, and her heritage would she finally find a life that fit.

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Krysia Styrna points to Polish Writing which features Polish literature in translation. Recently linked translations include Kordian by Juliusz Słowacki as translated by Gerard T. Kapolka and available on-line through Scribd, and Primeval and Other Times by Olga Tokarczuk as translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones.

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Dr. John Guzlowski discusses the New England Review’s article by Ellen Hinsey on the plane crash that killed President Lech Kaczynski and others last year in the Katyn Forest. The article talks extensively and sympathetically about the effect of the crash on Poland. See Hinsey – Death in the Forest.

He notes Polish American writer Danusha Goska is travelling in Poland and posting Facebook and blog updates about her travels at Bieganski the Blog.

Also noted, Daiva Markelis powerful book White Field, Black Sheep: A Lithuanian-American Life published by the Univ of Chicago Press about growing up Lithuanian-American. Her experiences in many ways parallel those of people who grew up Polish-American and the children of DPs. Read her recent interview at The Smoking Poet, Talking to Daiva Markelis

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Danuta Hinc provides a preview of her newest work, a short story entitled In the Forest of Angels. The story is inspired by real events and all the characters in the story are based on real people — her grandparents, mother, and herself.

Pol-Am writer Oriana Ivy continues her writing (absolutely fantastic and a regular read — an inspired and inquisitive poet) with Persephone and Aphrodite. There are many levels, but in short, the process of leaving Poland and coming to America, trauma, finding, and rebirth. She begins with her poem Eurydice In Milwaukee and concludes with Persephone’s Kitchen.

This poem is not about my loss of Warsaw so much as about my loss of America. I mean the idealized, imaginary America in my mind after I arrived in real America. I was seventeen. That combination – loss of both Poland and America – was to be the first in the series of my “Persephone experiences.” (Eurydice can be seen as a version of Persephone.)

In my early teens, in Warsaw, I fell in love with Greek mythology. I thought it was possible to choose your own special goddess. A fierce young intellectual, I longed for Athena at my side – Athena the super-intelligent, with her brilliant strategies and unfailing guidance and protection of heroes. Now and then I also longed for Aphrodite to lend me her charms and help me in matters of love, but with the understanding that this was a secondary goddess. As my personal goddess, I chose Athena.

Soon enough I learned that you do not choose your god or goddess. Life (or call it fate, or circumstances), in combination with your deep self, chooses for you. Past the age of seventeen and a half, the only goddess I identified with was Persephone…

There is tons more of course… all carrying you into a world of writing set apart, yet reflecting who we are in all its rootedness, shadows, and splendor.

Events, Poetry, , , ,

A Weekend with The Sun in Massachusetts

Into the Fire: The Sun Celebrates Personal Writing: Join Sun authors Michelle Cacho-Negrete, Doug Crandell, Gillian Kendall, and Sparrow, along with editor and publisher Sy Safransky, for a lively weekend of writing, reflection, and inspiration, June 3–5, 2011. The gathering will be held at Rowe, a retreat center situated on fifty acres of lush woodland in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts.

A large enrollment is expected, and spaces are limited. You may register by contacting Rowe at (413) 339-4954, or online.

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