The Polish Studies Center Newsletter

Indiana University • Bloomington, Indiana Spring 2010

Message from the Director By Bill Johnston

Greetings from the Polish Stud- dence Program ies Center! This has been another (see p. 6-7), and excellent year for us, as you’ll see reviving the from the rest of this newsletter. De- Executive and spite these diffcult times the Center Advisory Com- is thriving, and for this we are grate- mittees. Pad- ful to our hardworking staff, our raic deserves a generous contributors, the faculty huge dziękuję and students who collaborate on our for the enthusi- projects, and the wonderful PSC asm and energy community for their support. with which he Holiday party attendees raise a festive toast I would like to convey some addressed his her the best on her future road. Fi- heartfelt thanks and make some re- tasks. nally, we welcome Raina Polivka as lated announcements. First, a huge I’m sad to report that Gosia this academic year’s PSC Graduate thank you to Padraic Kenney (IUB- Swearingen, the Administrative As- Assistant. History), who graciously stepped sistant of the PSC, left in January The Center’s other news is into the breach and took over as 2010 to take up another position in reported thoroughly elsewhere in Acting Director while I was away International Student Services at this newsletter, so I won’t repeat it in Poland on research leave in aca- IU-Bloomington. Gosia was a val- here—please take a look! As you’ll demic year 2008–2009. Padraic did ued member of our team; we’re sor- see, we’ve had another fne and sterling service, not only guiding ry to see her go, and we wish her all busy year, and 2010 is shaping up the year’s events but also instigating the best in her new job. At the same to continue that tradition. I’ll end a number of major new initiatives, time, we’re pleased to introduce her with my usual “appeal.” As you including (with Halina Goldberg, replacement, Bethany Lister, who know, the Center’s success depends IUB-Music) the new Artist in Resi- has already done excellent work in entirely on the goodwill, ideas, f- the few months she’s been with us, nancial support, and participation IN THIS ISSUE: and is settling in as our newest team of faculty, students, and community member (a little bird tells me she’s members - all those who together Polish Symposium 2 also learning some Polish!). Holocaust Memorial 3 comprise our gifted and varied fam- Faculty Profle: Owen Johnson 4-5 I’d also like to express my ily. Please, keep up the good work! Artists in Residence 6-7 deepest thanks to Magda Sokolows- Come to our events, bring us your Polish Theatre 8 ki, who completed her time as the ideas, and help us with our plans! I Faculty & Student News 11-12 PSC Graduate Assistant at the end A Year in Photos 14-15 look forward to seeing you over the of the spring 2009 semester. Magda next months. did great work with us, and we wish 2 Polish Studies Center at Indiana University Polish Symposium Celebrates the Rebirth of Polish Democracy By Padraic Kenney The twentieth anniversary of the delivered a keynote address on the friend of the Center. Regina Smyth fall of communism in Eastern Eu- transformation of Poland’s climate. (IUB-Political Science) and Bill rope brought a furry of confer- Panelists included two Johnston, PSC Director, provided ences around the world, and much guests from Poland: Prof. Andrzej commentary on the panels. media attention. For most people, Rychard of the Polish Academy of Participants agreed that Po- the opening of the Berlin Wall on Sciences and Anna Zachorowska- land has been radically transformed November 9, 1989 is a convenient Mazurkiewicz of Jagellonian Uni- in the last two decades; much dis- shorthand for the events of that versity, Kraków. IU provided most cussion turned on the meaning and year. But the negotiations between of the expertise, including Daniel trajectory of that transformation, Solidarity and the Communist re- Cole (IUPUI Law School), Justy- and on what impact the events of gime, which led to the creation of na Beinek (IUB-Slavic), Padraic 1989 have had on those changes. the frst non-communist govern- Kenney (IUB-History), graduate All could agree that contemporary ment in the region in more than four students Mira Rosenthal (IUB- Poland is an exciting place for any decades, had a much greater impact. Comparative Literature) and Daniel scholar. As Poles continue to try to Indeed, it is impossible to imagine Bishop (IUB-Musicology), as well make sense of their postcommunist any of Poland’s neighbors undergo- as Gregory Domber of the Univer- transformations, IU will be part of ing political transformation without sity of North Florida, a longtime those conversations. the Polish example. Justyna Beinek, Daniel Bishop, Bill Johnston, Mira Rosenthal, and Anna On September 12, 1989, Zachorowska-Mazurkiewicz take questions from the audience Solidarity activist Tadeusz Mazow- iecki took offce as prime minis- ter. Almost exactly twenty years later, the PSC celebrated this event with a symposium, “The Rebirth Of Polish Democracy: A Twenty- Year Retrospective.” Special guest Prof. Marek Konarzewski, Minister Counselor for Science & Technol- ogy Affairs in the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Washington, Celebrating Over 35 Years of Scholar Exchange By Padraic Kenney Bloomington, IU, and the Polish Stud- Over the years, about 100 fac- zowski Palace on the campus of the U ies Center provide fond memories for ulty and graduate students from War- of Warsaw, was attended by about forty a lot of people in Warsaw; this sum- saw (and, more recently, Jagiellonian alumni including Prof. Franciszek Lyr; mer, we found out just how warm those University as well) have traveled to Prof. Włodzimierz Siwiński, Associ- memories are. Bloomington for stays ranging from ate Director of the PSC in the 1980s The prehistory of the Polish a few weeks to a few years. In June, and later Rector of Warsaw University; Studies Center stretches back over 35 the IU Alumni Association, the Offce Prof. Włodzimierz Lengauer, Vice- years. In the mid-1970s, faculty and of the Vice President for International Rector for Research and International administrators from IU, led by Presi- Affairs, and the U of Warsaw’s Offce Relations; Prof. Tomasz Basiuk, Direc- dent John W. Ryan, began working to of International Cooperation hosted a tor of the American Studies Center at develop programs at the University of reception for alumni of the exchange, the U of Warsaw; and Padraic Kenney, Warsaw and IU, and an exchange be- as well as all Polish friends of IU. Acting Director, PSC, Indiana Univer- tween the two universities. The reception, in the Kazimier- sity. Spring 2010 Newsletter 3

Remembering the Holocaust through Music By Raina Polivka We would like to thank the In April 2009, the Polish Studies Cen- “Szpilman was a musician at the core ter and Congregation Beth Shalom of his heart. It’s what saved him from following people hosted a concert at Auer Hall to honor all the disaster happening during the for their generous the victims and survivors of the Holo- Holocaust. So we want to give atten- donations to the caust. Commemorating Holocaust Re- tion to his legacy through this concert, Polish Studies Center: membrance Day, the concert was con- because his power to communicate ceived in response to a cry of help from through music touches so many differ- the Children of the Holocaust, an as- ent people.” sociation of Holocaust survivors who, The concert gathered a diverse Mirka Berkvam at the outbreak of World War II, were mix of people from both the Polish and thirteen years old or younger. Now in Jewish communities to commemorate Michael L. Berkvam their seventies and older, these survi- those who lost their lives in the Holo- vors are struggling to provide aid to ag- caust and those who survived in order Judith M. Blanchard ing non-Jews who risked their lives to to help us to never forget. As Rabbi help their Jewish neighbors. Mira Wasserman wrote to Dr. Gold- James P. Czechanski Organized by Musicology Pro- berg, “With Szpilman’s help and in- fessor Halina Goldberg, the concert spiration, you helped remind me of the featured works by Władysław Szpil- way music and art awaken that which Mary Hermanowski man, who survived World War II and is most human in us.” Three hundred whose life was chronicled in Roman dollars was raised to aid those who Richard Hermanowski Polański’s 2002 Academy Award win- risked their own lives for the lives of ning flm, The Pianist. Says Goldberg, others. Margaret J. Jurkiewicz

IU to House Communist Trade Union Papers Matthew L. Lillich By Raina Polivka Maria M. Michaliczyk-Lillich Titles like “The Voice of the Sugar like “Youth in People’s Poland” that Refnery Worker” and “The Hero give tips on hygiene and manners. D. Patricia Ryan Worker’s Library” will soon be Says Dr. Kenney: “This collection available to patrons at the Wells Li- gives a favor of Stalinism in the John W. Ryan brary on the Bloomington campus. early 1950s and provides a window Thanks to Dr. Padraic Kenney’s en- into the Stalinist mind-set.” Eleanor J. Valentine thusiastic pursuit of otherwise for- Dr. Kenney sees the new gotten materials, Indiana University collection as a way to encour- will be the only place in the world age further scholarship into labor Our events and programs to house the archives and periodi- movements in Poland, a country cals of the Polish trade unions under that has a tradition of union orga- are made possible by Stalinism. nizing. He hopes to highlight no- contributions made The collection includes the table features of the collection this by the friends of the complete run of Trade Union Dai- fall with a special event dedicated Polish Studies Center. ly and Weekly News, which spans to commemorating the founding of over four years and contains stories Solidarity thirty years ago. In addi- of individual workers and policy tion, he has designed a three-week changes; stenograms of communist college course where students will party meetings; union brochures learn about the history of labor and that give advice to union activists; trade unions in Poland and demo- and workers’ brochures with titles cratic movements around the world. 4 Polish Studies Center at Indiana University

Faculty Profle: A Conversation with Dr. Owen Johnson By Raina Polivka

Dr. Owen V. Johnson is Adjunct As- Christmas holidays in Decem- sociate Professor in the Department ber 1968. Although the So- of History and Associate Professor viet invasion had canceled the in the School of Journalism here at Czech reform movement, there Indiana University. He also served was still a muffed excitement as the Polish Studies Center Direc- that lingered in its aftermath. tor in 1989-90 and 2004-05. Dr. Johnson has just completed a se- While you began your mester teaching two graduate class- academic career in the feld es at the Institute of East European of history, your interests Studies at the University of Warsaw soon led you to pursue in Poland. One class focused on the journalism and media, history of communist media in the especially as it pertains to East European region while the oth- East Central Europe and the er concerned contemporary mass fall of communism. Do you media in the same region. fnd ways to meld the two disciplines together? Does You are a notable scholar of so- the journalistÕs perspective ciocultural and historical devel- differ from the historianÕs Could you speak briefy about opment in East-Central Europe. perspective? this? How did media affect na- What originally led you to study tion-building and collapse in the this part of the world? It is often said that journalism is the period leading up to and directly frst draft of history. Perhaps, but following the dissolution of com- Serendipity, in a way. I studied in it’s a draft that is written on the run, munism in Central Europe? How London the second semester of my without the chance to consider the did media propel or complicate junior year. I had three weeks left longer-term factors. In a way, my revolution? after the semester was over before position at IU has allowed me to my fight returned to the States. combine my two areas of interest. The nation-building role of the me- Someone suggested to me that I I had worked part time in journal- dia in East-Central Europe was fn- attend a two-week workshop on ism for about a dozen years before ished before the end of communist “Modern Sweden” in Uppsala. So I I came to IU. Now I do most of my rule. This was accomplished by the did. The workshop drew maybe 60 journalism by teaching it, although population transfers and forced mi- people from around the world. Four I conduct about one interview a grations at the end of World War II, of them were from Czechoslovakia. month as a guest host on WFIU’s which created largely uni-national This was 1967. Reform was in the Profles. The main focus of my jour- states, and by the development of air, reform that would culminate in nalism and mass media research has compulsory education, which led to the “Prague Spring” a year later. I been history. My major project in the end of illiteracy. befriended these Czechs; one be- that area is writing a book on the re- came my frst wife. I was excited to lationship of mass media and nation The offcial media had little to do discover a part of the world I didn’t in twentieth century Slovakia. with the collapse of communism. know and where things were dra- The public’s faith in the offcial matically changing. My frst trip You have written on the role of media had been declining for some to Czechoslovakia came during the media in the fall of communism. time, as the reality portrayed in the Spring 2010 Newsletter 5

media had less and less in com- debates among politicians. Occa- What are some of the Òhot top- mon with reality itself. If anything, sionally they produce an interest- icsÓ in PolandÕs media right now? the media refected the bankruptcy ing exposé that forces the govern- Do these refect a certain national of the ruling regimes. I remember ment to take action. For instance, I Polish identity? visiting the offce of Trybuna Ludu, couldn’t help noticing the interest- the leading Polish communist party ing reporting project undertaken Like other post-communist Central paper, in April 1989. There was an by Gazeta Wyborcza in October. European states, Poland is turned air of malaise, a recognition that the The paper created a fake university inward and focused on its own af- paper’s role was over. (In fact, the as part of an investigative story on fairs. But it expects people in oth- paper lived on as Trybuna, a shadow the continuing demand for college er countries to care about Poland. of itself, until this past fall, when a diplomas. A few days later after ad- Some Poles are surprised to realize brief online note said that it would vertisements for the fake university that most outsiders could not name not publish anymore.) were placed in the paper and a web- the prime minister or the president site created, more than 500 people, of Poland. A new president will be The drugi obieg, or underground in Poland and abroad, had made in- voted in this year and the jostling press, in Poland revealed the issues quiry to the university, which was for power is all over the news. The that a post-communist government staffed by members of the paper’s mass media is praising Poland’s would have to face. But that was Poznan bureau. One of the paper’s performance over the last year or pretty much unique to Poland. Af- reporters wondered how naïve some two as the only country in the EU to ter the roundtable talks in Poland people were when they believed the post positive growth fgures. How- in 1989, the underground Tygod- fake university’s claim to offer the ever, there is concern over diffcul- nik Mazowsze metamorphosed into best teachers in the country at the ties in hosting the European football Gazeta Wyborcza, which provided lowest prices. championships in 2012. Warsaw has intellectual leadership during the a continuing campaign to persuade transition, following the West Eu- Describe the atmosphere of 21st foreigners to visit the city, and is ropean pattern of a newspaper with century university life in urban hopeful that 2010, as The Year of a view, even though its partisans in Poland. How would you charac- Chopin, will be another event that the West hailed it as a model of ob- terize this new generation of stu- will facilitate this. Poland is con- jectivity and fact. Throughout East- dents, who came of age following cerned about its international stand- Central Europe, journalism was the collapse of Communism in ing. Both because of its history and fooded by young people who had 1989? the size of its population, it wants to opinions and wanted to be a part of be recognized as a power in Europe. the political action, but who soon Today’s undergraduate students and found that day-to-day journalism even those in the frst few years of You can fnd Dr. Johnson on IU’s is hard work and doesn’t pay well. graduate study have no memory of Bloomington campus or over the As the public became disenchanted communism. They cannot imag- airwaves on WFIU’s “Profles” with the new politics, it also became ine what life was like without the where he hosts interviews once a disenchanted with the mass media. Internet, iPods, and Nasza Klasa month to “get to know a person be- (the Polish social network that at hind the persona”. Visit wfu.org for How have media and their role this point still far outnumbers Face- more information. in East-Central European society book). They cannot imagine a soci- changed since 1989? What direc- ety built on fear and a government tion are they going now? or party that could not supply the society with basic necessities. It They play an important role in seems to them like a strange con- giving public face to the political coction of science fction. 6 Polish Studies Center at Indiana University

Polish Studies Center Artists in Residence By Raina Polivka

This year kicks off the Polish Studies Center Artists in Residence Program for student musicians at Indiana University. The Artists in Residence initiative, generously underwritten by the Offce of the Vice President for International Affairs, developed from a need to recognize and highlight the Polish musical tradition. Poland’s rich musical history dates as far back as the Middle Ages and laid the foundation for musical greats in the nineteenth century, such as Karol Łapiński, a violin virtuoso, and the innovative and lasting compositions of Fryderyk Chopin. Indeed, this legacy of musical expression and composition has extended into the present, making the twentieth century perhaps the most prolifc in Polish musical history, Pianist Alexandre Tsomaia plays from SzymanowskiÕs with such masters as Witold Lutosławski, Krzysztof Preludes Op. 1 Penderecki, and Henryk Górecki. The Polish Studies Center awarded $500 to one for vocal performance, is a native of Chicago and a frst artist each in voice, piano, and viola to serve as Artists year master’s student at the Indiana University Jacobs in Residence for 2009-10. As ambassadors of Polish School of Music, where she recently completed her music, these students are asked to participate in two undergraduate degree. Waters became heavily involved events per semester in Bloomington or elsewhere in the in musical theater and operetta in high school and region as representatives of the Polish Studies Center. continued to broaden her repertoire, fnding a niche in Laura Waters, soprano and recipient of the award opera. She made her operatic debut in 2007 as Musetta in Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème and has continued her stage career with small roles and ensemble work in Cendrillon, Manon, Arabella, and various other opera workshop performances. She is a student of vocal studies under Teresa Kubiak. Alexandre Tsomaia, who received the award for piano performance, was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and began his music studies with his mother. At a young age he appeared as soloist with several orchestras in Georgia, as well as in student recitals and concerts. At fourteen, he was accepted at the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he studied with Stephen Perry. During his time in the United States, he has appeared as a featured soloist at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC and on NPR’s “From The Top”. Tsomaia premiered twenty-four preludes of the Georgian composer Sulkhan Tsintsadze at the 2002 Newport Music Festival, and has performed at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre with the members of the Toradze piano studio, receiving high acclaim from The New York Times and The Wall Soprano Laura Waters sings MoniuszkoÕs aria ÒOn tu przybywaÓ Street Journal. Tsomaia entered Indiana University in Spring 2010 Newsletter 7 fall 2003 as a student of Evelyne Brancart, continuing musicians. They further showcased their talents in Feb- his studies with professor Edward Auer. In March 2006 ruary in a concert entitled “Chopin and Beyond”, fea- he won the Indianapolis Matinee Musical competition. turing the music of Chopin, Moniuszko, Lutosławski, Rafał Zyskowski, recipient of the award for Szymanowski, Bacewicz, and Karłowicz. The perfor- viola performance, will be completing his Master’s mance, sponsored by the Polish Studies Center, the Of- program at the Jacob School of Music this spring. Zys- fce of the Vice President for International Affairs, and kowski heralds from Monki, a small Polish town in the the Jacobs School of Music, took place at Auer Hall. Podlaskie province. While in high school, he studied Waters, Tsomaia, and Zyskowski will be performing at music in Białystok and in 2002 received 3rd prize in the Chopin Theatre in Chicago on March 20, 2010. the All-Polish Viola Competition in Duszniki Zdrój. In 2004 he began his undergraduate studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where he studied with Prof. Jerzy Kosmala and Matthew Daline. He received The Joys of Teaching his BM in Viola Performance in 2008. Over the last By Iwona Dembowska-Wosik few years he has attended music festivals in Poland and abroad, including the International Music Festival I come from Łódź, a big city in the middle of Poland. in Głuchołazy, the Summer Music Academy in Żagań, I have spent all my life there - I have never been and the Euro Music Festival in Leipzig. Zyskowski away from home for more than a few weeks. I never has taken lessons and master classes with known viola thought I would come to the U.S. It seemed too far players Claude Lelong, Jesse Levine, Adam Smyla, and away, too expensive, impossible. So, when it turned Steve Wyrczynski. He is currently studying with Pro- out I could get a Kosciuszko Foundation fellowship fessor Alan de Veritch. and actually go, I was amazed. The Artists in Residence gave an inaugural per- I wanted to come to IU because I love to teach formance at the annual Polish Studies Center holiday Polish. It was my dream job from the day when I party, according the audience a glimpse into the rich- realized there were people in the world who want ness of Polish classical music and of their own talents as to learn it. And at IU I have the opportunity to teach students at 4 different levels - from elementary to advanced. My students are amazing people. Dedicated, hard-working, enthusiastic. In addition to fulflling their classroom duties, they are eager to engage in other activities. They did a terrifc job learning to dance a polonaise for the Slavic Department talent show in December. Many show up every week at The Runcible Spoon to take part in the Polish Table hosted by Professor Justyna Beinek and me, and they take part in almost every event organized by the PSC. Honestly, I don’t think I could live without teaching. Being with my students, guiding them, and especially answering their questions about the Polish language and about Poland is the most fascinating thing. They make me redefne my national identity every single day. Nothing I do, nothing I used to take for granted before I started to teach, is obvious anymore. Violist Rafał Zyskowski performs Bacewicz’s ÒPolish CapriceÓ 8 Polish Studies Center at Indiana University

Helena Modjeska: A Retrospective By Raina Polivka Internationally renowned in her time as the leading fe- an infux of Polish actors to the United States. No lon- male performer of Shakespeare’s plays, Helena Modrze- ger needing to adhere to Czarist censors, Polish-Amer- jewska, or Modjeska to her American patrons, captured ican actors were credited with propelling the mode of audiences around the world with her interpretations of realism onto the American stage, where it has since Ophelia, Juliet, Desdemona, Queen Anne, and others. Emigrating to the fertile terrain of Anaheim, Califor- nia in 1876 and debuting on the American stage in San Francisco in 1877, Modjeska became an example of the growing presence of foreign actors in American theatre. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the actress’s death, occasioning a special performance of playwright and director Kazimierz Braun’s one-woman play, “Helena – Rzecz o Modrzejewskiej”. The play, performed in October 2009 at the Indianapolis Latvian Kazimierz Braun and Maria Nowotarska answer Community Center, featured a bravura solo perfor- questions from the audience mance by Canadian-Polish actress Maria Nowotarska as Helena, who shuttled the spectators from the streets of Kraków and San Francisco to the actress’s private remained the prevailing style of American theatre. In- suite of her twilight years, where she meditated on the deed, Polish actors have made lasting contributions to circumstances of her life. This event, sponsored by The the performing arts including the Method Acting of Polish Cultural Society of Indiana, Inc. in collaboration Stanislavski. with the Polish Studies Center, also included a special appearance by Kazimierz Braun himself, who joined in Kazimierz Braun is an exceptional fgure in the feld of a Q & A with Nowotarska following the performance. international theatre and drama. One of Poland’s best- Mr. Braun continued his tour in Indiana with a known and most accomplished theatre directors at the talk given at the Indiana University Memorial Union in time of his departure from Poland in 1985, since com- Bloomington where he addressed the rather extensive ing to the United States he has established himself here and signifcant presence of Polish actors in the history as a major director, playwright, scholar, and teacher. and development of American theatre. Braun high- He is currently a professor of theatre and drama at lighted the late nineteenth century as a period that saw SUNY – Buffalo. Słowacki Play Premieres in the United States By Raina Polivka At the end of December, at a special event of the an- sociation (MLA) conference taking place at the same nual conference of American Association of Teachers time. The direction and performances were excellent. of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL) The event was coordinated by Jessie Labov of Ohio in Philadelphia, Pig Iron Theatre Company presented a State University, a good friend of the PSC. In Novem- staged reading of Balladina, the verse drama by Juliusz ber, to help Johnston prepare an effective shorter ver- Słowacki (1809-1849), in the newly published transla- sion of the play, friends of the Polish Studies Center tion by PSC director Bill Johnston. This event marked gathered for an informal but very enjoyable reading of the 200th anniversary of Słowacki’s birth. The reading, the script. (We note in particular that should the history complete with music and a reception (featuring rasp- business ever founder, Padraic Kenney would seem to berries!), was well attended by conference goers from have a second career in the theater beckoning.) Pictures AATSEEL and the much larger Modern Language As- can be seen on p. 15. Spring 2010 Newsletter 9

21st-Century Cinema Showcased in East-Central European Film Series This spring, the PSC with the Russian and East Europe- Mar 4 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamâni an Institute launched its inaugural flm series highlight- si 2 zile) (Romania, dir. Cristian Mungiu, 2007). A vis- ing some of the fnest examples of 21st-century cinema ceral, detailed recreation of late communism in Roma- from East-Central Europe. In the immediate aftermath nia. Otilia’s friend Gabriela is pregnant, and Otilia fnds of 1989, most Central European cinema grappled with herself arranging an illegal abortion in a Bucharest ho- a new sense of freedom. The last decade, however, has tel. seen a phenomenal output of creative energy in the re- gion. Showcased in the series are established directors Mar 25 Little Moscow (Mała Moskwa) (Poland, dir. like Andrzej Wajda exploring new themes and styles; Waldemar Krzystek, 2008). This flm explores Poland’s a talented middle generation of flmmakers like Petr communist past and tells of a romance between a Pole Zelenka; and some emerging talents including Xawery and the wife of a Russian offcer stationed in Legnica in Żuławski. Films revisit the region’s communist past, western Poland in the 1960’s. examine 21st-century life in the region, and meditate on the processes of acting and cinema. The series is also Apr 8 The Karamazovs (Karamazovi) (Czech Repub- marked by stylistic originality, including the bleached lic, dir. Petr Zelenka, 2008). A troupe of Czech actors neon lighting of the Budapest subway in Kontroll, and theatrically adapt Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers the frenetic cartoonish comedy of The Polish-Russian Karamazov” in an abandoned steel mill in Poland. Dur- War. All in all, this series offers spectacular evidence ing a rehearsal of their play, real-life events are woven that Central European cinematography is undergoing into the drama. one of its strongest and most impressive periods in his- tory. All flms are shown on Thursday evenings at 7:30 Apr 22 12:08 East of Bucharest (A fost sau n-a fost?) pm in room 150 of the Student Building. (Romania, dir. Corneliu Porumboiu, 2006). A small group of 1989 “veterans” gather in a run-down provin- Jan 21 Sweet Rush (Tatarak) (Poland, dir. Andrzej cial TV studio to discuss the burning question: What Wajda, 2009). In a fascinating meta-cinematic creation, was their true contribution to the revolution? director Wajda melds a pre-war story of passion and loss with Porumboiu offers a hilarious yet profoundly thought- the real-life grief of Krystyna Janda, the lead actor in ful look at the memory and remembrance in relation to the flm-within-a-flm, who movingly describes the re- the end of communism. Winner of the Caméra d’Or for cent death of her cinematographer husband. best frst flm at the Cannes Film Festival.

Feb 4 Kontroll (Hungary, dir. Nimród Antal, 2003). Antal’s hilarious, brilliantly crafted movie takes place entirely in the Budapest subway, and describes the fraught lives of an oddball assemblage of ticket inspec- tors in their effort to carry out their job under less than ideal conditions.

Feb 18 The Polish-Russian War (Wojna polsko-ruska) (Poland, dir. Xawery Żuławski, 2009). Based on Dor- ota Masłowska’s astonishingly successful 2002 novel “Snow White and Russian Red,” this flm fnds a new cinematic language to match Masłowska’s extraordi- nary, drug-addled vision of youth in the new Poland. 10 Polish Studies Center at Indiana University Polish Poetry Now By Raina Polivka At the beginning of November, Polish Studies Center Forgotten Keys (Zephyr Press, 2007), and is currently director and leading Polish translator Bill Johnston working on his volume entitled Colonies (Kolonie), a took part in Polish Poetry Now, a series of events in project for which she has received a PEN Translation New York and Cambridge, MA to promote contem- Award and an National Endowment for the Arts Fel- porary Polish poetry. Together with fellow translators lowship. Benjamin Paloff of the University of Michigan and An- The picture of contemporary Polish poetry that tonia Lloyd-Jones, Johnston took part in a panel discus- emerged from the discussions and readings was fasci- sion and a reading at Poets House in New York, and a nating. The sheer variety and quality of Polish writing reading at Harvard University. Four Polish poets were today is astounding. It was also very reassuring to see visiting the U.S. especially to take part in these events: excellent turnouts, especially at the New York events; Tomasz Różycki, Marzanna Kielar, Bożena Keff, and this, and the fact that so much Polish poetry is presently Tadeusz Dąbrowski. The readings and discussions being published in English translation, it’s evident that were co-sponsored by the Polish Studies Center, Po- the new poetry is beginning to resonate with American ets House, the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, readers. Harvard University, and Zephyr Press, which publishes Mira Rosenthal’s translation of “Scorched the work of these poets. Johnston is working on a trans- Maps” from Tomasz Różycki’s Colonies appears below. lation of Tomasz Różycki’s mock epic poem Twelve To view the poet’s commentary, visit http://penamerica. Stations (Dwanaście stacji), while advanced doctoral blogspot.com/2009/07/guest-post-tomasz-rozycki-on- student Mira Rosenthal (IUB - Comparative Literature) scorched.html. published Różycki’s debut volume in English, The

Scorched Maps

I took a trip to Ukraine. It was June. I waded in the felds, all full of dust and pollen in the air. I searched, but those I loved had disappeared below the ground, deeper than decades of ants. I asked about them everywhere, but grass and leaves have been growing, bees swarming. So I lay down, face to the ground, and said this incantation— you can come out, it’s over. And the ground, and moles and earthworms in it, shifted, shook, kingdoms of ants came crawling, bees began to fy from everywhere. I said come out,

I spoke directly to the ground and felt the feld grow vast and wild around my head.

By Tomasz Różycki Poet Tomasz Różycki Translated by Mira Rosenthal Spring 2010 Newsletter 11

FACULTY NEWS STUDENT NEWS

Justyna Beinek (Slavic) gave Owen Johnson (History & Journal- Daniel Bishop (Musicology) pre- several talks this year including a ism) see p. 4-5. sented a paper: “Invisible Politics lecture on Romantic albums and and Private Unifcations in memory at UNC-Chapel Hill and Bill Johnston (Comparative Lit- Kieślowski’s Three Colors: Blue” the University of Illinois, Urbana- erature & Second Language Stud- at the Polish Studies Symposium: Champaign, as well as a presenta- ies) published three new transla- “Rebirth of Polish Democracy: A tion on Polish animated flm at the tions in 2009: Jerzy Pilch’s novel Twenty-Year Retrospective” at In- World Language Festival. Her ar- The Mighty Angel (Pod mocnym diana University, September, 2009. ticle “Making Literature in Albums: aniołem), which was longlisted for Strategies of Authorship in Push- the Best Translated Book Award Natalie Misteravich (Slavic Lan- kin’s Day” is forthcoming in Toron- for 2010; Andrzej Stasiuk’s col- guages) is a new student in the de- to Slavic Quarterly. Beinek became lection of essays Fado (Dalkey partment of Slavic Languages and Director of Graduate Studies for lit- Archive); and Juliusz Słowacki’s Literatures with a focus on Polish erature majors in the Department of 1834 verse play Balladina, which Studies. Her interests include Pol- Slavic Languages and Literatures in was published (in rhyming verse) in ish language, literature, and culture. Fall 2009. Poland’s Angry Romantic: Two Po- She holds a diploma in Polish folk ems and a Play by Juliusz Słowacki and national dance from the 4-Let- Jack Bielasiak (Political Science) (Cambridge Scholars Publishing); nie Polonijne Studium Choreo- presented professional papers on see p. 8 for news of a staged reading grafczne in Rzeszów, Poland. Last Polish social movements, post-com- of Balladina in this translation. For semester she was asked to create munist reform and the political leg- the frst half of the year Johnston and teach a polonaise for the Slavic acy of Solidarity at conferences in was living in Poland, completing department talent show, which was New Zealand, Kansas, Lisbon, and data collection for an ethnographic a great success! Because of that suc- Jerusalem. He also gave lectures in study of an evangelical Christian cess, there is now talk of forming a Philadelphia and Warsaw on Demo- language school. He is currently Polish folk dance group at Indiana cratic movements in the Soviet Bloc fnishing work on a translation of University. and global responses to Darfur. Wiesław Myśliwski’s 1984 novel Stone Upon Stone (Kamień na ka- Mira Rosenthal (Comparative Halina Goldberg (Musicology) mieniu) for Archipelago Books. Literature) received a 2009 NEA was awarded an REEI Course De- Fellowship to translate Tomasz velopment Grant for “Music and Padraic Kenney (History), when Różycki’s book Colonies. Her 20th-Century Poland,” which she not developing the communist labor translations have appeared recently will teach in fall 2010, and a New union collection (see p. 3) or orga- in PEN America, Poetry Daily, A Frontiers grant shared with Edward nizing symposiums (see p. 2), has Public Space, Six Polish Poets, and Auer for a Chopin Bicentennial been working on his book, 1989: elsewhere. She is now conduct- event at Indiana University in July Democratic Revolutions at the Cold ing research for her dissertation on 2010. In February 2009 she pre- War’s End, published by Bedford/ the poetry translations of Czesław sented and led an ethnomusicology St. Martin’s, 2010. Miłosz, for which she received a workshop at the Jewish Music Fo- 2010 REEI/Mellon Endowment rum in Chicago and has been on the Grant-in-Aid of Research. In June, Editorial Board of the Polish jour- her daughter Matilda was born at nal De musica/Muzykalia/Judaica. home in Jacksonville, FL, where Goldberg has also published prolif- Rosenthal now lives with her hus- cally on Chopin and fantasy pieces band, historian Greg Domber. of nineteenth-century Poland. 12 Polish Studies Center at Indiana University

STUDENT NEWS (continued) ideas, political theory, and sociology of knowledge. As a visiting scholar at IU he was affliated with the De- David Sadlier (Voice) prepared and defended a study partment of Political Science. During his stay from of Karol Szymanowski’s songs set to the poems of February until June 2009 he completed a part of his James Joyce. dissertation dedicated to republican concepts in the work of Alexis de Tocqueville. He also presented a talk Lisa Cooper Vest (Musicology) received a Fulbright- within the framework of Political Theory Spring 2009 Hays fellowship for twelve months of study in Poland Luncheon Series. for her dissertation “Critical Discourse, Political Ne- gotiation and the Polish Musical Avant-garde, 1956- Paulina Pietrowska is a Doctoral student in Classics 1970”. She was also awarded a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Warsaw with a particular interest and an American Council of Learned Societies Disser- in translating and analyzing notions of the neoplatonic tation Fellowship in East European Studies (declined). philosophers while taking their viewpoint into consid- eration. She visited IU - Bloomington during the fall VISITING SCHOLARS 2009 semester with a Renaissance Studies grant through the Department of History to complete her dissertation on the writings of Marsilio Ficino. Michał Bitner is Assistant Professor in the School of Law at the University of Warsaw, where he lectures on Anna Zachorowska-Mazurkiewicz is an Assistant fnancial law and public-private partnerships. He is also Professor at the Institute of Economics and Manage- the Director of the Management of Projects Post-Grad- ment at Jagiellonian University. She visited IU and the uate Program funded by the EU. Dr. Bitner will be visit- Polish Studies Center in August and September 2009. ing IU - Bloomington from spring through the summer As an affliate of the Economics Department, she is in- of 2010 to conduct research at SPEA. terested in heterodox economic theories, especially in institutional and feminist economics. While in Bloom- Michał Marciak is affliated with the Department of ington she conducted research on care and economics. Jewish Studies at Krakow University and has published extensively on biblical history in German, Polish, and Jakub Zajączkowski is Assistant Professor at the In- English journals. He is a visiting scholar in the Depart- stitute of International Relations, which is part of the ment of Religious Studies at IU - Bloomington for the Department of Journalism and Political Science at the spring 2010 semester. University of Warsaw. His research interests include the foreign and security policy of India, India-US rela- Pawel Marczewski is a Doctoral student at the Depart- tions, and major-power status. He studied with faculty ment of Philosophy and Sociology, University of War- from the Department of Political Science during the saw. His research interests are focused on history of summer of 2009. Polish Studies Center Executive Committee and Advisory Board

Executive Committee Members: Advisory Board: Bill Johnston, Director, Associate Professor of John Brian O’Donnell, MD Comparative Literature and of Second Marian Krajewska Bates Language Studies Mirka Berkvam Justyna Beinek, Assistant Professor, Slavic Monika Stepień Steven Franks, Professor and Chair, Slavic Zygmunt Pizło Halina Goldberg, Associate Professor of Musicology Padraic Kenney, Professor of History The Polish Studies Center now benefts from the ad- Jeffrey Veidlinger, Professor of History and Associate vice of our friends in the Polish community in Bloom- Director, Borns Jewish Studies Program ington and around Indiana. Spring 2010 Newsletter 13

Upcoming Events

March 20 - Polish Studies Center Artists in Residence to give a concert in Chicago at the Chopin Theatre

March 25 - Little Moscow (Mała Moskwa) (Poland, dir. Waldemar Krzystek, 2008), 7:30 pm in SB 150

April 8 - The Karamazovs (Karamazovi) (Czech Republic, dir. Petr Zelenka, 2008), 7:30 pm in SB 150

April 22 - 12:08 East of Bucharest (A fost sau n-a fost?) (Romania, dir. Corneliu Porumboiu, 2006), 7:30 pm in SB 150

April 26 - Andrzej Stasiuk, internationally acclaimed writer, with publisher Monika Sznajderman to deliver a reading and talk at Indiana University, Bloomington

September 11 - Polish Studies Center Annual Picnic at Bryan Park, Woodlawn Shelter, from noon - 3:00pm

October - To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Solidarity’s pivotal role in the dissolution of communism, Witold Łuczywo, journalist and inventor of underground printing techniques used by activists to avoid communist censors, will teach an IU class with Padraic Kenney entitled “The Technology of Revolution”. This course will be supplemented by a special exhibit of trade union literature at the Wells Library and an international symposium.

October 22 - International symposium exploring the origins and legacies of trade union activism

Donate to the Polish Studies Center

The PSC is greatly in need of fnancial contributions To donate to the Polish Studies Center, please make for its scholarly, cultural, and social activities. Dona- checks payable to the “IU Foundation” and be sure to tions to the Center are crucial in allowing us to build write “Polish Studies Center” in the memo portion of our programs. As you know, the Center arranges a the check. Checks should be sent to: wide variety of scholarly events including confer- ences, talks, and symposia; cultural events such as IU Foundation concerts, theatrical performances, readings, and Polish Studies Center exhibitions; and informal gatherings. Your help is Post Offce Box 500 vital in pursuing the Center’s mission to promote the Bloomington, IN 47402 study of Polish culture, history, and society at Indiana University and beyond. Or donate online by visiting our website at www.indiana.edu/~polishst/donate.shtml

We thank you for thinking of us in these diffcult economic times. 14 Polish Studies Center at Indiana University

Photo Review of the Year

Bill Johnston welcoming everyone to the 2009- Gosia shares a taste of Polish culture at Foster 2010 Polish Studies picnic Residence Hall’s Cultural Fair.

Polish favorites Iza and friends were enjoyed by enjoying the picnic guests picnic

Bill Johnston and Kazimierz Braun Kazimierz Braun sign his new book Spring 2010 Newsletter 15

Dr. Padraic Kenney reads the part of Kirkor Urszula Paleczek and Iwona Dembowska- during the Balladina reading at IU Wosik participating in the Balladina reading

Halina Goldberg Stan Garus with Artists and guests at the in Residence, Polish Studies Bill Johnston, Center holiday and Vice- party Pres. of Int’l. Affairs, Patrick O’Meara at the PSC holiday party

Keynote speaker Marek Lively Konarzewski conversations from the Polish at the Embassy in PSC holiday Washington party during the September symposium Director Phone: 812-855-1507 Bill Johnston Fax: 812-855-0207 Administrative Assistant Bethany Lister Visit our website: www.indiana.edu/~polishst Graduate Assistant

Raina Polivka

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