Metropolis Burning

Karen Kovacik in Metropolis Burning interweaves the minute particulars of people’s lives.

Why Speak Polish?

It’s easy to say which nation has the fastest trains (France) or the largest number of prime ministers who’ve probably been eaten by sharks (Australia), but it’s impossible to know which country has the best writers, let alone the best poets. Even so, if cash money were on the line, you’d find few critics willing to bet against Poland.
– David Orr,
The New York Times,
July 29, 2007

Isabelle Sokolnicka concurs, and thinks the language may have something to do with it.

A Polish Book of Monsters: Five Dark Tales from Contemporary Poland

A new translation of eerie stories by contemporary Polish writers. From PIASA Books.

2011 – The Year of Marie Skłodowska-Curie

The greatest scientist of the last century is celebrated on the 100th anniversary of her second Nobel Prize.

Polish Movie Nite presents Julian Myers & Chris Fitzpatrick: Wajda’s The Promised Land

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 Erica Levin: Kieślowski’s Camera Buff

Polish Movie Nite: Polish cinema, viewed and reviewed by Americans, leads them to a better understanding of “the complexities of contemporary Poland.”

Inside a Community College: A General Psychology Class’ Analyses of Krystyna Wituska

A drama based on the letters of a young Polish resistance fighter, Krystyna Wituska, is discussed by students in a psychology class at Luzerne Community College in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. Vince Chesney reports.

What Paderewski Taught Me about Being

Poet Kath Abela Wilson once wrote about “How I Fell In Love with Chopin.” This poem was written for the Paderewski-Chopin conference at Loyola University, Nov. 12, 2010 and read while accompanied by mathematician and flutist, Rick Wilson.

Spelling or Pronunciation?

If you can’t say it, and you can’t spell it, can you remember it?

King Coal, Big Oil and the Dangerous Allure of Shale

There are many motives behind this race to the center of the Earth: money; energy independence; and even the fame that comes with pushing technological limits further. In themselves they are not evil, but where do these pursuits end – and where does the threshold of Inferno begin?

The Pope of Hope, the Holy Pope

This May, Pope John Paul II will be beatified, following the recognition of his first miracle. The month of May also marks the 14th anniversary of the pastoral visit of the Pope to Lebanon – a country whose religious diversity dragged it into a bloody and destructive civil war that lasted fifteen years.

Hollywood’s War with Poland, 1939-1945: A Review

While Poland fought a war with both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Hollywood launched its own propaganda war – on the side of Stalin. Piotr Wrobel reviews a remarkable study of some very nasty realpolitik.

Three Dity Dailies Finally Learn Some Basic History – and Geography

Yes, those WWII death camps really were Germany’s camps, whether in Germany itself or in countries Nazi Germany occupied. If there were a “Teacher of the Year” award, it would certainly go to KF’s president, Alex Storozynski.