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.
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.”
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.
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.
Polish cinema, viewed and reviewed by Americans, leads them to a better understanding of “the complexities of contemporary Poland.”
Polish cinema, viewed and reviewed by Americans, leads them to a better understanding of “the complexities of contemporary Poland.”
• 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, PA – Writing Competition
Pushing the boundaries for the past six decades, Bogusław Schaeffer was still blazing the way at the Edinburgh Fringe last year with “one of the best productions since the festival was launched several dozen years ago.” Magda Romanska profiles a Renaissance man.
The director of In Darkness speaks about films, music, identity, and the challenge of making a complex story simple, but not simplistic.
A harrowing 20-thousand kilometer odyssey ended with an unforgettable welcome in Mexico. Piotr Piwowarczyk, who is making a film about it, tells the story.
Polish Happy Hour in DC has a community-building aspect to it but it’s an event without speeches. Co-founder Marcin Zmudzki, who also started the Polish Global Village mailing list, stresses the spontaneity and inclusiveness. Justine Jablonska attended on assignment – but is going back for the sheer pleasure of it.
College graduates look back on their freshman year and know this: Wouldn’t it have been great to have a network right from the start? A spark. An idea, A conversation. Action. A new initiative in Canada’s Hamilton-Toronto area – and it’s spreading.
Stories are like literary genetics, essential to one’s identity. But how does a storyteller rise above competing voices, break through non-stop background noise, and seduce an audience? Justine Jablonska looks at the issues and offers some possibilities.
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