From The Brooklyn Rail: Poland here, and Poland now

While it may be possible to view Poland strictly in its current, robust guise, it’s perhaps more instructive and accurate to see it through the layers and ambiguities that resonate everywhere in a nation where such an important portion of its history was annihilated so recently…

The author, Alan Lockwood, is invited to tour Poland and attend the concerts and recitals of the Warsaw Autumn Festival. He comments on interpersonal and cultural understanding, complexity, and history over the course of his tour. The article is lengthy, and well worth the time.