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 also a symbol of Poland’s blossoming capital city – and of the resilience of Polish intellectual life.

Why Speak Polish?

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.

Scotland and Poland: for Auld Lang Syne

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.”

A Polish Book of Monsters: Five Dark Tales from Contemporary Poland

A new translation of eerie stories by contemporary Polish writers. From PIASA Books.

Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, a Tale of Love and Fallout

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 Skłodowska-Curie

The greatest scientist of the last century is celebrated on the 100th anniversary of her second Nobel Prize.

The Katyń Order – A Novel of WWII Reviewed

American novelist Doug Jacobson weaves a fictional tale against the background of the great crime.

CR talks to… Doug Jacobson, author of The Katyń Order

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 presents Julian Myers & Chris Fitzpatrick: Wajda’s The Promised Land

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 presents Erica Levin: Kieslowski’s Camera Buff

Polish Movie Nite: Polish cinema, viewed and reviewed by Americans, leads them to a better understanding of “the complexities of contemporary Poland.”

Inside a Community College: A General Psychology Class’ Analyses of Krystyna Wituska

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.