TRANSCENDENCE—a poetry reading, together with the award-winning poet Terry Loncaric and other artists.
Thursday, April 7, 7:00 PM
Grassroots Store
211 Park Avenue
Barrington, IL 60010
“Transcendence”
April 6, 2016 — Joanna KurowskaStained Glass reviewed
March 24, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
A new review of Stained Glass, by Ivaana Muse:
A visual delight.
It is usually difficult to see the unspeakable. Joanna does that masterfully in most of her poems. It is far more arduous to speak what cannot be seen, Joanna does this even better. Stained Glass is my favorite of all of Joanna’s poetry collections. Visually enterprising, this anthology is rich in emotions that one can connect with easily. Family bonding, memories unfolding, the quest for in-transient beauty, appreciation of light and acceptance of the dark are all translucently painted like impeccably textured stained glass panels. Loved that she chose the stained glass as a medium for her personal and artistic identity. The rhythmic coloristic interplay of words and feelings has the sweeping magic of a half lighted chapel in France or Belgium. Extraordinary!!!
Thank you so much, Ivaana!
Post by eLectio Publishing
March 18, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
eLectio Publishing’s post on Facebook (March 15):
“NEW RELEASE TODAY:
Our first book of poetry was published in Fall 2012*, and was by a wonderful poet named Joanna Kurowska : Poet. Over the years, we have come to truly appreciate Joanna’s charisma and enthusiasm for poetry, for other authors, and for eLectio as a company. We are truly honored to have her as our “elder stateswoman” of poetry (not elderly, mind you).
Her new collection is Stained Glass, and we encourage you to go and get your copy right away. These poems will stick with you and invite you to read them over and over again, and we promise you will find something new every time you read them. We are constantly in awe of how much meaning Kurowska can pack into so few words.”
*eLectio Publishing published my first poetry collection in the USA, The Wall & Beyond (paperback 2013; Kindle 2012).
Thank you so much, eLectio Publishing!
A Thank you note
March 17, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
I am very grateful to Poet Gina McKnight for posting the promotional info about Stained Glass. To read my 2013 interview on her blog, click here.
Stained Glass reviewed
March 16, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
Stained Glass has received its first five-star review on Amazon!
In it, Arthur W. Turfa says:
“Having read and enjoyed three books of poetry by Joanna Kurowska, I can say without reservation that Stained Glass is the best. Her style is more robust, and there is a deeper examination of familiar themes: Poland, God, immigration, and life in general. . . .Stained Glass is an excellent volume of poetry that cries out to be read.”
Thank you so much, Arthur!
Press release
March 15, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
Stained Glass by Joanna Kurowska
Published by eLectio Publishing, March 15, 2016
$10.99, 72 pages, paper (Kindle version available)
ISBN 978-1-63213-222-2
***
What makes this a stand-out collection is Kurowska’s imagery in her second, adopted language—it is fresh, pulsating, provocative, and at times beautifully sacramental. —Philip C. Kolin, University Distinguished Professor, University of Southern Mississippi
Stained Glass is a must-have collection of poetry for the soul starved searching for a tall glass of camaraderie and peace. —Amber Koneval, Poet and Author of Drunk Dialing the Divine
***
To order* or for more info, click here
Pilsen Snow
March 5, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
In mid-2015 Philip C. Kolin, the editor of the Southern Quarterly and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern Mississippi, published his seventh collection of poems Pilsen Snow: Poems (Finishing Line Press, 2015). Kolin’s poems emerge “from a personal and collective history” of Pilsen, a large Czech neighborhood on the near west side of Chicago which in the early part of the 20th Century “boasted having the second largest Czech population in the world.” In The Column, Kolin talks about the complexities of maintaining a Czech identity in America, evoking the people, places, and historical events, and even the language of his childhood. These Czech immigrants and their descendants had to “live in two worlds at once.”
To read the conversation with Philip C. Kolin, about Pilsen Snow, click here or on the book’s cover
Stained Glass
February 26, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
“Romeo & Juliet”
February 12, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
In response to the many enthusiastic comments I have received regarding the cover of Intricacies, I would like to disclose that the cover art is a reproduction of the oil canvas Romeo and Juliet (1959) by Stefan Papp, who has dedicated the painting to the memory of my father Bohdan Kurowski. The cover was designed by my son Paweł Młynarczyk, who also have restored, in Photoshop, the image’s original color.
Press release
February 9, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
Intricacies by Joanna Kurowska
Published on February 3, 2016, by Finishing Line Press
ISBN-10: 1944251634 • ISBN-13: 978-1944251635
Paperback: 38 pages • $14.49
NOTE:
Many thanks to Gina McKnight for posting the book promo on her blog.
New reviews on Amazon*
February 4, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
*Click the book covers to read the reviews
Pushcart nomination
January 31, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
Broadstone Books has nominated the poem “The Fear Parable” from the volume The Butterfly’s Choice, for Pushcart.
Interview in “Writers in Conversation”
January 25, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
Sunil Sharma‘s interview with Joanna Kurowska, in Writers In Conversation (Journal of Flinders University, Australia).
“Snow” sung by Ivaana Muse
January 8, 2016 — Joanna Kurowska
Ivaana Muse
I felt very happy and honored when, several months ago, artist Ivaana Muse asked me whether she could use one of my poems as the lyrics for a song she intended to compose. Ivaana chose “Snow”—the very first poem from the series Conversations With The Ashes I wrote after my father Bohdan Kurowski passed away. Ivaana and I corresponded about the sounds I would associate with the poem; about our fathers, and our memories of them… It has been such an enriching exchange.
Even though “Snow” was not written as a song lyrics, somehow I anticipated Ivaana would create a SONG—that is, a “traditional” piece that has rhythm, melody… So when Ivaana sent me her composition, I was quite surprised. Ivaana describes this piece as “sung poetry composed aleatorically.” Singing poetry has a very strong tradition in my native Poland, and of course a poem sung differs significantly from a song. It seems to me, Ivaana’s composition both draws from the tradition and stands out of it. I felt I needed to calm down to listen to her piece, in order to hear it fully, to let it speak to me—for it touches much more than just the surface-perception; it demands a response much deeper than the one a “regular” song would be likely to induce.
There is such a richness of sound in Ivaana’s rendition of “Snow”… the crying of the cello that, somehow, reminds me of the compositions of the great Karol Szymanowski… and silence… and the pulse like that of a heart… and human voices. Listening to this piece I feel like the past I have let go too quickly, catches up with me to tell me something important… All the same, this past is timeless—an ever-altering present that “breathes” in Ivaana’s music, with its amazing richness and complexity… I can listen to Ivaana’s piece over and over, always finding something new in it. It is so much more than the “song” I had anticipated! I am deeply grateful to Ivaana Muse for creating this beautiful piece.
Click to hear “Snow” in Sound Cloud
Click to learn more about the creation of “Snow” as the poem and the music
Click to read the poem: • in English • in Polish
☙
Additional links:
• Inclusions (Cervena Barva Press, 2014)—poetry collection including the poem “Snow”
• Selections from Conversations With The Ashes (bi-lingual)
• Biography of Bohdan Kurowski (text in Polish)
Bohdan Wrocławski’s poem in Olentangy Review
December 22, 2015 — Joanna Kurowska
Bohdan Wrocławski‘s poem “What matters no more“ (in Joanna Kurowska’s translation) has been published in Olentangy Review (Winter 2015).
Poems translated
December 3, 2015 — Joanna Kurowska
Poems “tsunami” and “an encounter”, in Saeed Yousef‘s translation, have been published by the Iranian Writers Association in Exile.
read the poems in Persian:
“tsunami” • “an encounter”
Poems choose the language
November 30, 2015 — Joanna Kurowska
In my recent interview for the Polish Daily Dziennik Związkowy, I talk about my beginnings in the USA, and about writing poetry in two languages.
Many thanks to Krystyna Cygielska, who has conducted the interview.
(The interview is in Polish. An English language-version is available here.)
New poems
November 22, 2015 — Joanna KurowskaPoems translated
November 13, 2015 — Joanna Kurowska
Poems “panta rhei” and “Poems: A Description of the Species”, in Saeed Yousef’s translation, have been published by the Iranian Writers Association in Exile, on their website. Both poems are from the collection Inclusions (Cervena Barva Press, 2014).
Inclusions reviewed
October 31, 2015 — Joanna Kurowska
In his review of Inclusions, published in Olentangy Review, Darryl Price states:
All in all these are poems that live inside the everyday real world, but are called forth like a sweet warning bell from a place of genuine care and concern from the heart of a very good poet indeed.
JOANNA KUROWSKA 