cosmopolitan review

The peaks of the Himalayas are the top of the world, but cold and forbidding, despite being closest to the sun. For many Poles during the 1970s and 1980s, reaching those peaks symbolized freedom, but all too often at a price. The urge to conquer those heights dropped off after 1989 as a world of opportunity opened up. Read on.

How I Survived Socialism:
a self-help guide for worried Americans
The regime was harsh, the system absurd but rules made up in Moscow were no match for the individualistic Poles. Magda Romanska’s delightful piece shows us how it was done. Elegantly, of course.

Quo Vadis, Wisława?
Where is Szymborska going?
Benjamin Paloff suggests that she is, in fact, staying;
she has a lasting place in our literature,
her poems have that special quality that enables them
to unfold into variations of themselves.

A Great American
with a Polish Heart:
General Edward L. Rowny
General Edward Rowny, at 96, continues his life of service to his own country while honoring the life and legacy of a great Pole, Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

Europe, bicycles and me
She learned a lot while studying in Europe,
says Kinia Adamczyk, one of the most important
being the mastery of urban cycling skills.

The Death of Captain Pilecki
and Dealing with the Communist Past
Poland’s magnificent non-violent revolution
altered the course of history.
Justice demands that this history be not forgotten.

Pilecki, Poland and Hollywood:
A Conversation with Marek Probosz
In a conversation with
Justine Jablonska,
the multi-talented actor/writer/director speaks of the honor
and responsibility
of playing Witold Pilecki,
a hero whose story could not be suppressed.

Freedom Climbers
Patrice Dabrowski reviews Bernadette McDonald’s gripping and heart-wrenching chronicle of the greatest Himalayan climbers of the 20th century. Winner of the American Alpine Association’s Literary Award, the Grand Prize at the Banff  Mountain Book Festival, and Britain’s Boardman Tasker Prize.

Kukuczka
Jerzy Kukuczka climbed the Himalayan crown –
all 14 of the 8000-meter peaks – discovering new routes and ascents along the way, because as he said:
“I like very much taking the undiscovered paths.”

The Idea of Galicia:
History and Fantasy in Habsburg Political Culture
Larry Wolff’s rich and engaging tale about Galicia and its four ethnic groups – Poles, Austrian Germans, Ruthenians and Jews – all of whom assigned a different meaning to the “idea” of Galicia. Reviewed by Lukasz Wodzynski.

Chopin, Prince of the Romantics
Historian Adam Zamoyski has updated his biography of Chopin, giving us a comprehensive portrait of the composer, the man, the patriot, and the lover. At once scholarly and sensitive. Reviewed by Bożena Zaremba.

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 Marcella Faustini:
Introduction to
The Theatre of Tadeusz Kantor

Polish Movie Nite
presents Julian Myers:
Introduction to Possession

• Polish-German Relations
• "Ice Warriors" – Poland's Adam Mickiewicz Institute publishes its first comic book
• Quo Vadis 2012 in Calgary, Canada
• "Freedom Climbers" author Bernadette McDonald in Montreal + Ottawa
• The Slavic Performing Arts Heritage Festival at Luzerne County Community College in Shamokin, Pennsylvania – Writing Competition