New poems

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Allotment

Enough! Come out of those yellow eyes of fear!
The greedy day grabs you and me by the hands.
Have you been wronged, with your rosary of tears?
Look, our dreams hit the wall in equal shares.

Here’s a tree and rain. How can we divide them?
On my way home today, I’ve got soaking wet.
Do you think I could trade the rain for a tree,
when it’s pouring outside and the trees stand bare?

Don’t fall asleep so quickly—the night is young.
Twigs of sadness clank at my window and yours.
The morning divides the world into two halves…
a thread of air binds us; we need nothing more.

more new poems


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“Concise Delight”

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concise-delightHow delightful! The Editor of Concise Delight, Mr. Denis M. Garrison, has made the Summer 2009 issue available online. The original print-issue is a beautifully edited collection of very short poetry. There are plenty of pearls to fish for in this publication!

For me the issue has a very special significance, as one of my earliest poetry publications in English. Several of the poems included in Concise Delight (pp. 88-9) were in fact my first, shy attempts of writing in the new language. I sketched those poems on the margins of the books I was reading back then—hence their brevity!

I want to use this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to Mr. Denis M. Garrison, for including my work in this charming publication. Thank you so much!

Having my poems accepted in Concise Delight in 2009 gave me the courage to pursue writing poetry in my second language, English (which I had learned in my 30s). Since then, I have published five books of poetry in English.

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Stained Glass reviewed

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SG Front coverPlease, take a moment to read Mary Harwell Sayler’s insightful review of Stained Glass, just published on her blog The Poetry Editor.

Thank you so much, Mary!

 

Buy

     more info

 

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An Invitation

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You are invited to the following event:

THE BLESSING OF THE ORDINARY: AN AFTERNOON OF POETRY

with Ken Hada, Joanna Kurowska, and Steven Schroeder

 

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Sunday, July 31, 2016

from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM (CDT)

 

Conrad Sulzer Regional Library

4455 N. Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625

View Map

(click the image to view the poster)

 

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Places and Times…

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A Conversation with Arthur Turfa in The Column

Places & TimesOriginally from Pennsylvania, Arthur Turfa has now lived over a decade in the Midlands of South Carolina. In between these two places are many others, stretching from California to Germany. Turfa hold degrees in German, a BA from Penn State, MA from UC-Irvine, Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, MA in History from Binghamton University, and a doctorate in Literature from Drew University. Since 1981 he has been a Lutheran pastor, and served as a chaplain in the United States Army until his retirement, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Turfa’s first book of poetry, Places and Times, was released in 2015 by eLectio Publishing. His poems have also appeared in Altpoetics, Metaphor, SC English Teacher, the Munyori Literary Journal, and Afflatus.

Read the interview with Arthur Turfa

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Newsletter 04/2016

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Poezja:poetry

Newsletter 04/2016: in Englishin Polish

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Inclusions reviewed

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INCLReaders may remember Ivaana Muse‘s composition “Snow” which employed my poem for the lyrics. Today Ivaana posted her review of Inclusions—the book the poem comes from.  She writes:

Like nobody else Joanna conceives her poems in a manner that never ceases to astonish. The poems are like soulful scrolls of the ordinary world depicted with brilliant intensity. I completely related to all the poems in this collection in spirit, content and temperament. A powerful message underlines the seeming simplicity and that is what makes her poetry so special.

Thank you so much, Ivaana!

Link to Ivaana’s review on Amazon

 

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Post by eLectio Publishing

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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!

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Stained Glass reviewed

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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!

 

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Press release

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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

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Pilsen Snow

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418Kolin_Philip_COVIn 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.”

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To read the conversation with Philip C. Kolin, about Pilsen Snow, click here or on the book’s cover

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Stained Glass

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A new poetry collection by Joanna Kurowska, coming March 15/2016

SG Front cover

eLectio Publishing 2016

more info

 

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“The Appraisal”

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The Appraisal

 

In a one-store warehouse, burly
Latino boys in Chicago Cubs
T-shirts, toss around
storage cartons

A thin-lipped city clerk talks about
poetry—a welcome break in his
daily routine. Poets
are harmless

but for one who has just finished
his earthly task. His corpse
lay seven days before
it was found.

The clerk has a problem…

 

Read the whole poem

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The Day I Became An American

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TBCSince I am a bi-lingual poet, the topic of language, especially of writing in two languages, recurs during my poetry readings and following discussions. Here is the link to a poem that addresses this particular theme: “The Day I Became An American”—first published in my poetry collection The Butterfly’s Choice, Broadstone Books 2015 (click the book cover to learn more about this collection).

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Poetry reading at PMA

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Reading and reflections about poetry, emigration, and switching languages.

May 9, 2015, 3:00 PM

Poetry reading and book signing 

by Joanna Kurowska

Polish Museum of America Library (1st floor)
984 N Milwaukee, Chicago

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a bi-lingual event; free admission

Facebook listing (PMA)
CEERES listing (the University of Chicago)
Poetry Foundation listing

 

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Episteme

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Five poems published in Episteme (India).

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SPD recommendation

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TBC.The Butterfly’s Choice ranked among special recommendations from Small Press Distribution.

 

 

 

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Inclusions reviewed

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INCLAndrzej Gałowicz‘s review of Inclusions in Przegląd Polski* (January 2015; print) is currently available online

The review is in Polish; click for an English translation of this review.

*Przegląd Polski [Polish Review] is a monthly publication about cultural affairs; affiliated with Nowy Dziennik (New York), the oldest Polish language newspaper in the USA.

 

 

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Poetry

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Poetry is the one thing I can never lie to.

J.K.

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Posted in Musings. Tags: . Leave a Comment »

Creative plans…

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With The Wall & Beyond published in 2013, Inclusions published in 2014, and The Butterfly Choice coming out of the chrysalis to fly into the World in a couple of weeks; with one chapbook and two full-length poetry collections submitted to publishers (who like to sit on manuscripts for long months, even years); and my father’s memoirs typed and edited, I’ve decided to put Poetry onto the back burner (for a while) and try to finish my novel. Wish me a lot of inspiration, please!

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