2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer

Poppies in Górecko, Poland
PHOTO by CR's favorite photographer, Sławomir Nowosad.
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer

Welcome To Our Summer 2014 Issue!

The arts, in all their variety, are mirrors that reflect a people. We owe so much to artists. They make us laugh, cry, think, and see ourselves in our infinite variety, so no wonder we admire those talented people who create images, words and music that enrich our lives.

Hollywood.PL: Beyond the Dream: Personal Roads to the Silver Screen
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Features / Films

Hollywood.PL: Beyond the Dream: Personal Roads to the Silver Screen

Talented, gutsy and successful – and each one with a story that rates a movie of its own. This is a book you won’t be able to put down.

Krystyna Wituska: Her Life and Literary Afterlife
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Books

Krystyna Wituska: Her Life and Literary Afterlife

The memorial Centre in the German city of Halle Saale will unveil a monument to Krystyna Wituska, a young Polish prisoner executed on June 26, 1944, and two German authors will launch their book, Zelle Nr. 18: Eine Geschichte von Mut und Freundschaft (Cell No. 18: a History of bravery and friendship) to mark the 70th anniversary of her death.

Pola Negri: Hollywood’s First Femme Fatale
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Books / Films

Pola Negri: Hollywood’s First Femme Fatale

Hollywood has been a talent magnet for a long time and one of the first superstars was Poland’s Pola Negri. Justine Jablonska reviews her story, written by Mariusz Kotowski.

A Warsaw Star in Tel Aviv: Fryderyk Járosy at “Li-La-Lo,” 1947-1948
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Features

A Warsaw Star in Tel Aviv: Fryderyk Járosy at “Li-La-Lo,” 1947-1948

Want an evening at a Polish cabaret? Go with Beth Holmgren. She knows everybody who is anybody – both in Warsaw and Tel Aviv – and will introduce you. Try the “Li-La-Lo” with that charming Hungarian Pole, Fryderyk Járosy, and beautiful Yemenite singer Shoshana Damari.

A Conversation with Joanna Trzeciak on Translating Wisława Szymborska + Tadeusz Różewicz
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Interviews

A Conversation with Joanna Trzeciak on Translating
Wisława Szymborska + Tadeusz Różewicz

When she was eleven, Joanna Trzeciak sent Szymborska a poem, beginning a lifelong correspondence. To meet Różewicz, she plotted an accidental meeting in a park. A true lover of poetry obviously doesn’t just leave things to chance.

Between Art and Science: A Conversation with Roald Hoffmann
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Interviews

Between Art and Science: A Conversation with Roald Hoffmann

“I don’t worry about science redefining the value of a human being, but I am concerned about technology and the market place doing that,” says Nobel Prize-winner Roald Hoffmann – scientist, playwright and poet.

Summer 2014 Bulletin Board
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Bulletin Board

Summer 2014 Bulletin Board

Eric Bednarski’s documentary, Neon, traces the history of neon illumination in Warsaw; a Polish documentary about the 1944 Warsaw Uprising has been made entirely from colourised archival film footage; Bill Johnston wins the Transatlantyk Prize for 2014; the Jagiellonian University celebrates its 650th jubilee with a year-long celebration – and more.

Diary: Witold Gombrowicz
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Books

Diary: Witold Gombrowicz

A thinker, a genius, a cultural demonologist, Gombrowicz engages manipulates his reader in a game. Łukasz Wodzyński would welcome another round.

(A)pollonia: Twenty-First-Century Polish Drama and Texts for the Stage
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Books

(A)pollonia: Twenty-First-Century Polish Drama and Texts for the Stage

This anthology of new Polish plays was published in English with an ambitious goal: to connect with the universal “everyman.” Will Harrington casts an American eye on the proceedings and says, “Yes, they resonate.”

Between Fire and Sleep: Essays On Modern Polish Poetry and Prose
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Books / Poetry

Between Fire and Sleep: Essays On Modern Polish Poetry and Prose

Jaroslaw Anders’ book is at once a “farewell…to a certain way of reading” and “one of the best introductions to twentieth-century Polish literature.” Łukasz Wodzyński reviews.

The Korwin Letters: Send Books!
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Features

The Korwin Letters: Send Books!

That Falstaffian model for Sienkiewicz’s Zagłoba – patriot, soldier, miner, merchant, California’s Commissioner of Immigration and, according to Miłosz, a liar, braggart and drunkard (a remarkable CV) – left a colorful unpublished epistolary record at the Jagiellonian library. Discovered by Maureen Mroczek Morris with Lynn Ludlow and Roman Włodek, here they are.

A Conversation with Eva Stachniak
2014 Vol. 6 No. 2 — Summer / Books / Interviews

A Conversation with Eva Stachniak

Whether Empress Catherine was “Great” or not is debatable, but she was definitely pragmatic, as are all imperial rulers. Justine Jablonska talks to Eva Stachniak about her latest book and how she chooses her subjects.