| A Pronunciation Guide to Some Things Polish, a sixty page poetry manuscript, uses family history to explore topics ranging from emigration and ethnic discrimination to the practice and loss of traditions. Presented chronologically, poems span one hundred years of my family migration from Poland. Emigrants faced hardships, including language barriers causing stereotyping, and people turned away from their cultures. Blending Polish foods such as pierogi and golabki with references to family members, my poems become symbolic of Polish emigrants. I explore my role as a Polish-American woman whose brother is serving in Afghanistan, striving to create connections that speak to universal human experience. |
