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SPRING 2010
CR is celebrating spring with a new look because, as you will see, it's time for a party.
There's much to celebrate, starting with the 200th birthday of Poland's most famous exile, Frederic Chopin, born in Żelazowa Wola, just outside of Warsaw. We join the festivities bearing gifts of poetry, prose and a guide to Chopin events worldwide. In CR's first fiction, Eva Stachniak transforms her readers into aristocratic guests at a salon in Paris in the company of Polish exiles, among them, Chopin himself. (Photo: Liberté 1 by "Mon Oeil" from creativecommons.org)
Were the composer alive today, would he accept an invitation to give a concert at Warsaw's Soviet-built Palace of Culture and Science? Would he dance in the Palace's hip club Kafe Kulturalna? Or would he side with Minister of Foreign Affairs Radek Sikorski, who is suggesting Poland "demolish its own symbol of communist misrule," as Poland in the Rockies alumnus Christian Davies points out in his article Reconciling Past and Present in the Shadow of the Palace of Culture.
Former Financial Times correspondent Krzysztof Bobiński joins the conversation: "Up till now, each generation of Poles has had to conspire and fight for the right to exist. The generation born in 1989 is the first generation for hundreds of years which doesn't have to do anything extraordinarily brave for their country - all they have to do is to just live there. But... can we really free ourselves from the past and think creatively about the future?"
Our reply would be that we surely hope so! Not by forgetting Poland's (often tragic) history which we think is a sacred trust, but we do celebrate her remarkable resilience and great successes. Overcoming the destruction caused by Nazi and Soviet occupations; Solidarity's leadership in defeating Communism, joining NATO and the European Union, and finally its solid economic performance as it alone bucks the financial meldown and registers economic growth in 2009 (1.2%).
Speaking of success, CR proudly congratulates Alberta-based Poland in the Rockies alumnus Dr. Jan Kowalczewski, who recently introduced ReJoyce, a joystick for computerized rehabilitation exercises for paraplegics. "It's amazing what you can accomplish with exercise," he said, "if you have fun doing it." Another PitR alumnus, artist Ian Wojtowicz, will have a solo exhibition at the Centre des arts actuel SKOL in Montreal in April.
Many of CR's contributors are PitR alumni as well. Vince Chesney chronicles Pennsylvania's coalmine region's Slavic roots, while Justine Jablonska has attracted quite a following with her many portraits of Polish immigrants. In this issue, she profiles Wesley Adamczyk, a Gulag survivor and author of "When God Looked the Other Way." Justine also treats us to an interview with the director of a documentary about Peter Raina, a historian from Kashmir who fell in love with Poland and a Polish woman.
Dominic Roszak and Christian Davies have ventured into politics in Canada and Poland (respectively). Nina Jankowicz is studying in Saint Petersburg and sent us a humorous dispatch from the land of the Tsars. And I could not quite leave Istanbul completely behind. Did you know that there's a little Poland in Turkey, where Poland's other great exile, Mickiewicz, found refuge for a while?
At CR, we wondered what the conversation would be about if we were all to join Countess Potocka's salon. Chopin would entertain us and then, glancing at young Lisiecki, he would ask him to play. We listen and watch, as the music transcends the generations. Prince Czartoryski would point out that "we are all wanderers looking for a home," wondering if Poland would ever reappear on Europe's map. We would reassure him that although we would go through some difficult times, in the end, his beloved Poland would survive and her exiles would jump on a plane and return to a free, democratic and vibrant homeland in a matter of hours.
Or, alternatively, to the Canadian West, where Poland in the Rockies will host its fourth biennial symposium, July 21-31, 2010. But better hurry. To join that sleepless blend of fun and education, get your application in by March 31.
Actually, CR is a global Polish party, open to all. So bring your friends. We'll introduce you to both emerging and seasoned writers from around the world. All you have to bring is your ideas and an attentive eye.
Happy spring, happy reading!
Kinia Adamczyk, on behalf of CR's editorial board
