Gustav Herling-Grudziński, Inmate No. 1872, wrote his powerful indictment of the Soviet system of penal camps, the GULAG, not as a description of nations at war, but as a conflict between barbarism and civilization. First published in 1951, this book was quietly but intentionally suppressed for decades.
Patrice Dabrowski’s new history, written with her usual elegant style, refers to Poland with the pronoun “she” – but the Soviet-imposed regime as “it,” notes Nathan Wood, perhaps with a touch of disapproval. Now there’s a great discussion starter.
A much loved, gifted and extraordinarily talented activist and translator, his translations of Polish poetry to English are a joy, and those from English to Polish are a monumental achievement, ranging from almost all of Shakespeare to Dr. Seuss.
Too many for bridge, too few for an insurrection. The only option left was to have fun… at a very high cultural level, of course. Meet The Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club of Los Angeles.
Beautiful, wise, accomplished, serene and very strong, Halina Babinska is as admired as she is modest. She credits the sensitive care she got in the Polish orphanage after World War II for her recovery to a normal and useful life.
Justine Jablonska catches Greg Archer in a serious moment, and the conversation ranges from Cyndi Lauper and Ewan McGregor to his indomitable family and the after-effects of war.
Fast-paced, sometimes self-indulgent but at times furiously funny, Greg Archer looks at his family’s traumatic experience in the Soviet gulag after years of running away from it.
Modjeska Monteith Simkins; Polin, Warsaw’s Museum of the History of Polish Jews; 11 Must-See Modern Museums in Poland; Sir Andrzej Panufnik; Mariusz Trelinski directs two operas at New York’s Met; the Witcher 3; and the centrality of Eastern European studies.
Professor Anna Cienciala, an internationally recognized authority on wartime relations in the 20th century, died on Christmas Eve, 2014. She was a gracious supporter of CR and also a speaker at the first Poland in the Rockies in 2004. We will miss her very much.
Wawel’s musicians are ready for a party. Poland has much to celebrate.
When Beth Holmgren writes about Poland’s interwar cabaret, you can almost hear the champagne corks flying. This time, the cabaret goes to war. Isn’t that when you need it most?
It’s a big year for commemorations in Poland this year. We illuminate them with a photo essay, focusing mainly on the people behind the anniversary.
It’s a year of anniversaries, all of them commemorated not only by the Republic, but Poles everywhere. Andrew Nagorski has had a front row seat observing Poland’s successes, and shares his personal reflections.
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