WHAT SOME POLISH DIASPORA WRITERS AND ARTISTS ARE UP TO--AND A POLONIA POETRY COMPETITION

Here's some news about the activities of Polish and Polish-American writers and artists.


I received a note from poet Sarah Luczaj. She writes that her friend recently completed work on a cabin in Poland that's perfect as a writer's retreat or for holidays. The cabin is beautifully restored in a traditional style and set in 20 acres of private woodland and mountain pasture. If you want more information about the cabin, please click here for the webpage. By the way, Sarah's book An Urgent Request is now available from Amazon.

Poet Sharon Chmielarz has a new book out called The Sky is Great The Sky is Blue.

Maja Trochimczyk's anthology of poems in honor of Chopin (Chopin with Cherries) was recently reviewed by Christopher Woods in Contemporary World Literature. She also has been blogging about her experiences with this anthology. You can read about them at her blog.

Poet Leonard Kress, scholar Roman Koropeckyj, and actress Beata Pozniak Daniels will be participating in a celebration of the poetry of the great Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855) at the Modjeska Club in Los Angeles this Saturday, February 19. For more information, please check out the Modjeska Club site. To read Leonard's translation of Mickiewicz'z Pan Tadeusz, click here.

Grzegorz Wroblewski has had a great year so far. His fine poems have appeared in Exquisite Corpse, Shampoo, and Words Without Borders. His recent book of poems, The Marzipan Factory, was reviewed by Gilbert Wesley Purdy in Eclectica.

Thad Rutkowski's recent novel Haywire was reviewed in the National Book Critics Circle blog Critical Mass and in Kirkus. To read a section of the novel posted at Writing the Polish Diaspora, click here.

Andrena Zawinski, the features editor of Poetrymagazine.com, tells me that Karen Kovacik is one of the featured poets in the current issue.



Janusz Zalewski writes that the journal Poets and Writers now provides a list of subscribers who self-identify as Polish Americans. You can check out the list by clicking here.

Christina Pacosz's poem "Another Version of the Goings-on at the Solstice Christmas Village" was published at New Verse News.

I'd like to recommend three blogs that I follow: one is by the poet Oriana Ivy and the other is by fiction writer Danuta Hinc and the third is by essayist Danusha Goska. All are excellent.

The Anglo-Polish poets are planning an event in London. Here's a youtube about it: YouTube - PoEzja Londyn

Finally, here's news about a poetry contest in Poland that encourages submissions from Polonia:

7th Annual Poetry Contest Invites Polonia Participants

Mielec, a town best known in Poland for its aircraft industry, now exports airplanes and aircraft components to customers around the world. It is also home to an international poetry competition, held each year at the Pedagogical Library. There are three categories: Adult, Juvenile, and Polonia.

The top prize for the first two categories is the Silver Quill of the Mayor of Mielec; the grand prize in the Polonia category is the Eagle of the Senate of the Polish Republic. Senator Wladyslaw Ortyl, who represents the region in Parliament, and the Mayor of Mielec are honorary patrons of the event. For runner-ups there are lesser prizes and a number of honorable mention awards. All poems that clear the hurdle into the finals are published in a commemorative chapbook.

Entries are being accepted now for the judging which will take place at the end of May 2011 (deadline for submission is March 25, 2011). Entrants are permitted one poem of up to 30 lines. Submission is anonymous, a code word is used to identify the poem and poet. (Apparently poetry in translation is acceptable if you meet the other criteria.)

Experienced and aspiring poets who would like to submit entries to the 7th Tourney of the All-Poland and Polonia Poetry Competition should check the website of the Pedagogical Library where the official rules are posted.