Scattering the Dark: An Anthology of Polish Women Poets

"What a book! The tradition of women's writing that flows out of the work of Symborska and Swir."

—Robert Hass

List of contents

Contents

Introduction /

I. Lifting the Veils of History /

Wislawa Szymborska, “The End and the Beginning” /
Wislawa Szymborska, “Hitler’s First Photograph” /
Julia Hartwig, “Victoria” /
Julia Hartwig, “Some Women from Warsaw” /
Anna Swir, “I Carried Bedpans” /
Julia Hartwig, “This Is How It Will Be” /
Julia Hartwig, “In Transit” /
Bozena Keff, “Lara Croft” /
Agnieszka Wolny-Hamkalo, “Fragments of Maps” /
Agnieszka Kuciak, “Wroniecka Street Pool” /
Ewa Lipska, “Confessions of a Courtesan” /
Krystyna Milobedzka, From I Remember (Notes on Martial Law) /
Mira Kus, “Poem of the Seven Veils” /
Wioletta Grzegorzewska, “Spring, 1986” /
Agnieszka Mirahina, “All the Radio Stations of the Soviet Union” /
Ewa Lipska, “Freedom” /

II. In the Theater of Dreams

Joanna Lech, “Cuts” /
Agnieszka Wolny-Hamkalo, “Black” /
Justyna Bargielska, “In this season, at this time of day” /
Wislawa Szymborska, “In Praise of Dreams” /
Krystyna Dabrowska, “Travel Agency” /
Urszula Koziol, “Under the Cover of Night” /
Krystyna Lars, “‘I Dreamed I Collaborated’…” /
Joanna Lech, “Postscript” /
Marzanna Bogumila Kielar, “Like an oxidized breath . . .” /
Marzena Broda, “My Little Son Died” /
Joanna Lech, “The Tide Coming In” /
Julia Fiedorczuk, “Bio” /
Julia Fiedorczuk, “Lands and oceans” /

III. Reimagining the Bard

Katarzyna Borun-Jagodzinska, “Ballad on the Death of a Poet” /
Krystyna Lars, “Soiree at the Czar’s Plenipotentiary” /
Krystyna Lars, “The Military Governor Contemplates the Statue of Adam M.” /
Katarzyna Borun-Jagodzinska, “A Literary Life” /
Anna Piwkowska, “What Do Men Bring?” /
Wislawa Szymborska, “Evaluation of an Unwritten Poem” /
Joanna Mueller, “Proofreading” /
Justyna Bargielska, “Avantourism” /
Marta Podgórnik, “death becomes her” /
Krystyna Rodowska, “Old Woman Poet” /
Ewa Parma, “Old women poets” /

IV. The Ironic Art of Poetry

Wislawa Szymborska, “The Joy of Writing” /
Julia Hartwig, “The Sentence” /
Agnieszka Kuciak, “Meter” /
Agnieszka Kuciak, “Hawthorn” /
Marzanna Bogumila Kielar, “Manuscript” /
Mira Kus, “View from My Window” /
Izabela Morska, “Madame Intuita” /
Agnieszka Kuciak [Bionda], “Sure, I’ll rent out to others all my dreams” /
Wislawa Szymborska, “Stage Fright” /
Ewa Lipska, “Questions at a Poetry Reading” /
Ewa Lipska, “My Translators” /
Urszula Koziol, “To My Poem” /
Ewa Sonnenberg, “Prophecy” /
Izabela Morska, “Madame Snake” /
Marta Podgórnik, “little use” /
Urszula Koziol, “Again I Didn’t Write” /

V. A Gallery of Myths and Masks

Agnieszka Kuciak, “Delay” /
Agnieszka Kuciak, “Philomela” /
Anna Piwkowska, “Phaedra” /
Anna Piwkowska, “Ismene, sister of mine” /
Katarzyna Borun-Jagodzinska, “My Name is Iocasta” /
Wislawa Szymborska, “Soliloquy for Cassandra” /
Wislawa Szymborska, “Lot’s Wife”
Justyna Bargielska, “Ophelia” /
Ewa Sonnenberg, “Sign of the Times” /
Krystyna Rodowska, “Without Revenge” /
Katarzyna Ewa Zdanowicz, “Cinderella of the Cinder-Blocks” /
Katarzyna Ewa Zdanowicz, “Depths” /
Katarzyna Ewa Zdanowicz, “The Hunt” /
Izabela Morska, “Madame Intuita, Vampire-Killer, Grants an Interview” /
Julia Fiedorczuk, “Madame Midas” /

VI. Transitions, Transformations

Anna Swir, “I Banged My Head Against the Wall” /
Krystyna Lenkowska, “An Overdue Letter to a Pimply Angel” /
Anna Piwkowska, “Lying on a Lawn Chair” /
Julia Hartwig, “I Will Perform This Miracle for You” /
Agnieszka Mirahina, “To my great-great-granddaughter” /
Urszula Koziol, “For some time now...” /
Krystyna Rodowska, “Mutinous Cemetery” /
Krystyna Milobedzka, “strip yourself of Krystyna” /
Izabela Morska, “Chrysalis” /
Agnieszka Mirahina, “Perversion” /
Wislawa Szymborska, “An Unexpected Meeting” /
Izabela Morska, “Metamorphoses” /
Krystyna Milobedzka, “I ran into myself in Bologna…” /
Krystyna Dabrowska, “Where should I look from in order to see you?” /
Wislawa Szymborska, “Over Wine” /
Anna Piwkowska, “Blue Sweater” /

VII. The Domestic Arts

Urszula Koziol, “Recipe for the Meat Course” /
Justyna Bargielska, “Translation” /
Anna Swir, “A Woman Writer Does Laundry” /
Julia Hartwig, “Escaping One’s Chores” /
Agnieszka Wolny-Hamkalo, “Strange Lady” /
Ewa Parma, “A Room of One’s Own” /
Ewa Lipska, “Dishwasher” /
Ewa Lipska, “Warranty” /
Katarzyna Borun-Jagodzinska, “Tenant” /
Agnieszka Wolny-Hamkalo, “The House” /
Izabela Morska, “Kitchen and Myths” /
Agnieszka Kuciak [Mrs. K], “Parable” /
Krystyna Milobedzka, “The house” /

VIII. Curating Objects

Julia Fiedorczuk, “Drawer” /
Wislawa Szymborska, “Map” /
Julia Hartwig, “Justly” /
Julia Hartwig, “Inventory” /
Ewa Sonnenberg, “Love Poem” /
Joanna Wajs, “glove” /
Ewa Chrusciel, “Ginkgo Leaves” /
Ewa Chrusciel, “Incense” /
Krystyna Milobedzka, “Brooches once lived in the wild…” /
Mira Kus, “From the Land of Childhood” /
Joanna Wajs, “under the table” /
Joanna Mueller, “Etch a Sketch” /
Ewa Lipska, “A Door Handle” /
Wislawa Szymborska, “Negative” /

Works Cited

Works Consulted

Notes on the poets

Notes on the translators
?

About the author

Karen Kovacik: Karen Kovacik directs the creative writing program at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. She’s currently editing an anthology of Polish women poets, Calling Out to Yeti.
Also a poet, she’s the author of three collections of poems.

Summary

"What a book! The tradition of women's writing that flows out of the work of Symborska and Swir." --Robert Hass

Foreword

co-op available

Advance review copies to major media and literary journals

Special outreach to the major Polish communities in America and to Polish and Eastern European Studies programs

Book launch at AWP in LA

Product details

• Assisted by: Karen Kovacik (Editor)
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2022
• EAN: 9781935210825
• ISBN: 978-1-935210-82-5
• No. of pages: 270
• Dimensions: 151 mm x 228 mm x 20 mm
• Weight: 410 g
• Subject: Fiction > Poetry, drama