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Poland - Polish - Polonia,

“This Polish restaurant is a keeper”

From Albany’s alternative newspaper, Metroland, a review of Muza’s Polish restaurant and deli in Troy, New York: Satisfaction in Polish

Jan Siemiginowski has big plans for his restaurant. Muza has been open for a year and a half at the corner of 15th and Congress streets in Troy, building up a devoted following for its low-priced and very tasty Polish food.

It’s family run—”Siemiginowski’s mother, Genowefa, runs the floor, while his wife, Alicja, is in the kitchen—”and a sense of family informs the place, welcoming first-time visitors as if they’ve been showing up all their lives. So why shouldn’t they come more often and hang out longer?

There’s a vacant storefront on the corner, sharing a wall with the restaurant. Siemiginowski would like to see that become a market, reviving one of the building’s past lives. There’s a hillside behind the buildings, and it’s already in the process of being walled and terraced for outdoor dining, with plans for entertainment.

Don’t doubt his ability to make this happen. Unless you examine old photos, you won’t realize that the three small buildings comprising the restaurant were once only two. He built the one in the middle. For now, pay a visit to content yourself with a cuisine that should have long since gained a Capital Region foothold. If you’re lucky, you’ll sample the borscht.

I’ve sampled many varieties of this very varied soup, and tried my hand at it in my own kitchen. Nothing has come close to the Muza version. The regulation beets populate a broth that’s thin but flavorful, lightly vinegared, and also sports kidney beans, carrots, onions and allspice berries.

This I enjoyed with a $7 lunch special that included a trio of pierogi, potato-filled dumplings topped with caramelized onion bits. It goes beyond being merely traditional; it’s also homemade, as the dumplings are pinched by hand. Should you have mental charts of carbs and calories in mind, you may well ask, —Why would I want to stuff potatoes in what’s essentially thick ravioli?— You would thus be revealing yourself as shamefully innocent of the satisfaction these hearty morsels deliver.

But let me tell you of an earlier meal, a dinner I enjoyed with my family. We too often end up in two cars, which proved even more problematic when I got the last parking spot in front of the restaurant and my wife had to search around a corner. With this act I may have killed chivalry once and for all.

Tension vanished, though, as we studied the menu, which offers a page headed —Polish Style— along with an even broader range of continental items. For the fan of Polish food, golombki are offered for $8, potato pancakes for $7. Kielbasa with sautéed cabbage is $10.50; add potato pancakes for another 50 cents.

How about pierogi and golombki? It’s $8.50. Add potato pancakes and it’s $10.50. But why not go all the way? The Polish Feast is only $12.50 and gets you all of the above with an order of mashed potatoes. The golombki are thin cabbage leaves wrapped around a savory blend of pork and beef with rice; the potato pancakes are crisp as a knish. And, while I’m not fussy about kielbasa, being a great fan of any flavorful sausage, I was especially impressed with this variety.

…

Muza is an easygoing place, and the service is appropriately casual. We always had the comfortable sense of being looked after, and everyone involved in the place was very eager to please us. I look forward to keeping up with the changes and improvements that are in the works; I think this Polish restaurant is a keeper.

Perspective, Poetry, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , ,

The great poets?

A great post from John Guzlowski at Everything’s Jake: Can American Poetry Be Great Again?

My friend Elizabeth Oakes, author of The Farmgirl Poems, sent me a New York Times article that she saw posted on the Women’s Poetry List about whether or not American poetry will ever be great again. It’s a good article that raises a number of important questions about poetry and reading and the audience for the written word.

He then points to the NY Times article from its On Poetry column: The Great(ness) Game

The problem is that over the course of the 20th century, greatness has turned out to be an increasingly blurry business. In part, that’s a reflection of the standard narrative of postmodernism, according to which all uppercase ideals —” Truth, Beauty, Justice —” must come in for questioning. But the difficulty with poetic greatness has to do with more than the talking points of the contemporary culture wars. Greatness is —” and indeed, has always been —” a tangle of occasionally incompatible concepts, most of which depend upon placing the burden of —greatness— on different parts of the artistic process…

What does greatness mean? What should it mean? How has poetry evolved within American culture? The article is an interesting exploration of those topics.

The author also takes a shot at the intrigue and exoticism of foreign poets living in the United States, particularly Czesław Miłosz. For all of their “greatness” a lot of their “not-so-great” gets glossed over. Using Miłosz as an example is particularly funny because Miłosz’ “greatness” occasionally exhibited itself in pseudo-class warfare, pitting him, and his ring of Polish intellectuals, against his base of support, the people who were forced to call him great, because he was one of us. For an investigation into that issue read Stanislaus A. Blejwas’ letter: Polish studies in America from the January 1995 issue of The Sarmatian Review.

Poland - Polish - Polonia, , ,

9th International Art Competition, IX Międzynarodowy Konkurs Plastyczny

The Youth Culture House of Rybnik, Poland announces its 9th Annual international Art Competition on the theme “The Great Well-Known and Unknown.”

This year’s topic focuses on “Velázquez – The King’s painter and the Painters’ Prince”

The annual competition’s aims are:

  • To present the creativity of children and teenagers;
  • To popularize art history and to familiarize participants with the great artists;
  • To share artistic and methodological experiences;
  • To develop children’s sensitivity to art.

Our journey has lasted for 9 years. Many of you have accompanied us from the beginning. Leaving Paris of the first half of XXth century behind, we move to VIIIth century Spain with presentations on Diego Velázquez, his life and creative output.

In his works, the great painter showed the wonderful, baroque, Spanish court, a society in an age full of contrast, the mysticism of religious ecstasy, the pathos of history, and the beauty of nature. This genius of art and intellect was an unequalled master of colour and the painter’s vision of reality. Loftiness alternates invariably with simplicity in his poetical paintings.

We expect that you present the places and historical epoch in which he worked, people whom he encountered and by whom he was befriended, his models, studios, teachers, patrons —“ everything he lived during his 61 years, passing from his modest beginning as a painter in Sevilla to his becoming an outstanding nobleman of Spanish court, and king’s painter.

Please do not copy the artist’s works. Rather, let them be an inspiration for your own works.

Participants aged 5 to 21 may enter in the following groupings:

  1. Up to age 7,
  2. Ages 8 —“ 11,
  3. Ages 12 —“ 15 and,
  4. Ages 16 —“ 21

Works may range from a minimum of 30 x 42 cm to a maximum of 70 x 100 cm

Works may be paintings, drawings, graphics, or mixed.

The deadline for entry is March 31st, 2009.

All works should be clearly signed on the back and should contain the following information:

  • Author’s full name and age
  • Institution’s address, telephone and E-mail address
  • Teacher’s full name
  • The title of the work

Please do not frame works!

An awards ceremony and exhibition will take place on May 25th, 2009 in Rybnik, Poland.

The organisers will inform all the authors of awarded works by E-mail or telephone.

Works should be sent to:

MŁODZIEŻOWY DOM KULTURY
UL. BRONIEWSKIEGO 23
44 —“ 217 RYBNIK POLSKA

For more information please call: (032) 42 24 088, (032) 42 15 155 or E-mail the organizers.

The competition is organised under the honorary patronage of the mayor of Rybnik.

All the works can be sent back at the request of the institution and at its own expense within 10 months from the exhibition. After this period all the works will remain at the institution of the organizer.

MŁODZIEŻOWY DOM KULTURY W RYBNIKU
Serdecznie zaprasza do udziału w
IX EDYCJI KONKURSU —žWIELCY ZNANI I NIEZNANI—

Tegorocznym tematem jest: —žVELíZQUEZ —“ MALARZ KRí“Lí“W, KSIÄ„ŻÄ˜ MALARZY—

CELE:

  • prezentacja możliwości twórczych dzieci i młodzieży,
  • popularyzacja wiedzy z zakresu historii sztuki i przybliżenie uczestnikom sylwetek wielkich artystów,
  • wymiana doświadczeń plastycznych , metodycznych, estetycznych,
  • rozwijanie wrażliwości artystycznej młodego pokolenia.

TEMATYKA PRAC:

Nasza podróż po świecie trwa już od 9 lat. Część z Was towarzyszy nam od początku. Zostawiając w tyle Paryż z początku XX-wieku przenosimy się w tym roku do XVII-wiecznej Hiszpanii. Tym razem planujemy poznać i pokazać sylwetkę, życie i dorobek artystyczny Diego Velázqueza.

Wielki sewilczyk pokazał w swojej sztuce wspaniały barokowy dwór hiszpański, społeczeństwo epoki pełnej kontrastów, mistycyzm religijnych uniesień, patos historii i piękno przyrody. Ten geniusz sztuki i intelektu, Król Malarzy był niedoścignionym mistrzem koloru i malarskiego widzenia rzeczywistości. W jego poetyckich obrazach przeplatają się niezmienni wzniosłość i prostota.

Oczekujemy, że pokażecie miejsca i epokę historyczną, w której tworzył, ludzi z którymi się stykał i przyjaźnił, jego modeli, pracownie, nauczycieli, mecenasów —“ wszystko co przeżył na przestrzeni 61 lat przechodząc od skromnej pozycji sewilskiego malarza do wybitnego szlachcica hiszpańskiego dworu i nadwornego portrecisty króla.

NIE KOPIUJCIE OBRAZí“W ARTYSTY —“ niech pozostaną dla was wyłącznie inspiracją dla tworzenia własnych pięknych prac!!!

WIEK UCZESTNIKí“W: 5 —“ 21 LAT
Grupy wiekowe: (do 7 lat), (8-11 lat), (12-15 lat), (16-21 lat)

FORMAT PRAC: min. 30×42 cm – max 70×100 cm

TECHNIKA: malarstwo, rysunek, grafika, techniki mieszane (płaskie)

TERMIN DOSTARCZENIA PRAC: 31 marca 2009

Prace powinny być czytelnie opisane na odwrocie i zawierać następujące dane:

  • imię i nazwisko autora, wiek autora,
  • adres, e-mail i telefon placówki,
  • imię i nazwisko instruktora lub nauczyciela,
  • tytuł pracy

UROCZYSTE PODSUMOWANIE KONKURSU, ROZDANIE NAGRí“D WYRí“ŻNIEŁƒ I DYPLOMí“W ORAZ OTWARCIE WYSTAWY POKONKURSOWEJ ODBĘDZIE SIĘ 25 MAJA 2009

WSZYSCY LAUREACI ZOSTANÄ„ POWIADOMIENI PRZEZ ORGANIZATORA LISTOWNIE LUB TELEFONICZNIE.

Adres:

MŁODZIEŻOWY DOM KULTURY
UL. BRONIEWSKIEGO 23,
44-217 RYBNIK, Polska

tel. 0-32 4215155, fax: 0-32 4224088,
E-mail

Konkurs pod HONOROWYM PATRONATEM PREZYDENTA MIASTA RYBNIKA

Prace nadesłane na konkurs będą mogły być odebrane na wyraźne życzenie i koszt placówki w przeciągu 10 miesięcy od zakończenia wystawy. Po tym czasie wszystkie prace przechodzą na własność organizatora.

Perspective, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Political, ,

Human lives, rebuilding cities, making neighborhoods

From Model D Media: Immigrants in the 313: ‘This is Where the Future Begins’

You know it when you see it — or better yet — immerse yourself in it.

It can be charted, measured and put under statistical scrutiny, but a neighborhood that benefits from the presence of immigrants is best appreciated in real time, on its own terms, in dramatic living color.

The early voice of Detroit was French, Irish, German, Italian, Polish, Ukrainian, Spanish and Yiddish. Many of those voices have disappeared into the greater American tapestry, but others came to replace them: Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Albanian, Arabic, Urdu, Bengali and others. And to ensure urban vitality in the region, history suggests there need be a lot more to come in the future.

…

Fast forward into the 21st century and Hamtramck still relies on property and income tax revenues from the distressed automakers and their suppliers, but it is also developing an identity quite separate from its industrial and Euro-ethnic cultural past.

A place that was about 90 percent Polish-speaking in the 1940s still retains that ethnic flavor via its three Roman Catholic churches, a Polish National Catholic parish and a Ukrainian Catholic church based on principles of the Eastern Byzintine Rite, as well as assorted restaurants, meat markets, credit unions and retailers. Hamtramck now, however, shares its dense 2 square miles with newer immigrant communities originating in the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. A long decaying commercial strip on secondary main street Conant was recently designated “Bangladesh Avenue,” to signify a decade-long turnaround helped by dozens of businesses opened by Bengali-speaking newcomers. An excellent account of this development appeared in Model D in October.

Economic Development Director Jason Friedmann says the transformation of Conant is only the beginning of what he sees as more investment by immigrant entrepreneurs in the near future.

“We are getting more interest in the south end of Jos. Campau (Hamtramck's well known main drag), where there is a larger Arab community (from Yemen),” Friedmann says. “There is a bakery in the works and other businesses (quite separate) from what's going on the Bangladeshi community.”

To add more multicultural flavor to this urban stew, there is a Bosnian American Cultural Center and mosque in the city, which serves a Muslim population that fled its war-torn country in the late 1990s, a Zen Buddhist center, in a former Polish social hall tucked away in a northend residential neighborhood, and a newly-relocated Hindu temple on Conant.

Debashish Das, who runs a business on Conant and is a member of comparatively small Bangladeshi Hindu community, lives within walking distance of his work and the temple.

“Some of my customers who moved to the suburbs say I should move there, too,” Das says. “But I disagree. I have everything I need right here: business, community, religion. I tell them, 'You should join me, my life is a full as life can be in this neighborhood.' ”

Models for the D

What Southwest Detroit and Hamtramck have to teach us is that by concentrating our most valuable resource —“ people, people, people —“ into densely populated neighborhoods, real social building results. Then even more people are attracted to this growing human core of energy, creating exciting cultural hybrids.

It's no surprise then that these two districts within the 313 are also attractive to young adult artists and professionals who favor the snap, crackle and pop of city life over the generally dull and unremarkable suburban experience favored by their parents. Imagine Corktown, Midtown and Woodbridge infused with a recombined immigrant business and neighborhood buzz (let's use Brooklyn's North Williamsburg and Greenpoint as prime examples), and the mind boggles.

The article’s author, Walter Wasacz, describes himself as “a pierogi-eating, techno/punk-rockin’ Hamtramck native son and resident.”

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, these efforts at rebuilding cities and neighborhoods through adaptive reuse, re-invigoration, and re-investment are not doomed to failure. I applaud the idea people and the workers who see value in human lives, their ability to transform lives by working with life. Another important point, churches and religious centers are of necessity, the heart of the community. Fancy that…

Poland - Polish - Polonia, , ,

Events at the Albany Polish Community Center

Friday, Jan. 9 – Polish-American buffet, 4-8 pm
Sunday, Jan. 11 – Polka Dance with the Eddie Forman Orchestra, 3-7 pm
Sunday, Jan. 18 – Ballroom dance
Sunday, Jan. 25 – Ballroom Dance
Sunday, Feb. 1st – Super bowl Sunday Party! Doors open at 4 pm
Saturday, Feb. 14th – Valentine’s Day Dinner & Dance, 6-12 midnight

For more information please visit the Center’s website or call 518-456-3995. The Center is located at 225 Washington Ave Ext, Albany NY 12205.

Perspective, Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Arts, the tour, and understanding

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.

Perspective, Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Poland: Living up to its multicultural past

From Russia Today: Muslims prosper in Catholic Poland

Poland’s Muslim community makes up only a tiny fraction of the country’s population. But with immigration from places like Turkey and Pakistan on the rise, the numbers can only grow. And Muslims are intent on gaining understanding and respect, whether they’ve been there for centuries or just a few years.

An estimated 30,000 Muslims live in Poland —“ that’s less than 0.1 per cent of a population that is 96 per cent Catholic. But the Islamic community is a thriving religious minority in Poland.

The first Muslim settlements date back to the 14th century when Tatars settled in the eastern villages of Bohoniki and Kruszyniany.

Their communities once numbered about 17,000 people, and they were able to practice Islam freely in exchange for military service. But now only a few families remain.

A visitors’ book in Kruszyniany’s mosque – the oldest of the three in the country – contains messages from Israel, Bosnia and Afghanistan. But while Muslims from abroad are welcome there, there are some slight differences in the way Tatars and Muslims practice Islam.

Usuf, a Muslim Tatar, says there are —very strong religious connections between the Tatars and other Muslims living in Poland, but as for the ethnical issues – the attitude is quite different, because we have different traditions.—

In relation to gender, Usuf says —Muslim Tatar women do not have to wear the hijab, while Arab Muslim women cannot go outside unless they put a hijab on.—

Also it seems that the Tatars are the most active in terms of presenting Islam to the Polish Christians —“ and a traditional Tatar hotel and restaurant in Kruszyniany is a vivid example. It has been open for five years, offering villagers and tourists a taste of Tatar life.

Hotel owner Dzenneta Bogdanowicz said that when he moved to Poland he thought it was —such a pity that there was nothing to display the Tatar traditions. So I wanted to give people an opportunity to experience Tatar life,— she said.

And it proved successful, with the restaurant gaining national recognition for its service to Polish tourism.

…

Warsaw’s only mosque is a converted family home and attracts up to 300 people for Friday prayers.

The President of the Muslim League in Poland, Samir Ismail, says most of Warsaw’s 5,000 Muslims are academics who came to study in the 1980s and stayed.

And although they are a minority religion in the country, they ensure there is no conflict by working alongside Polish Catholics.

—We’re trying to explain to people that stereotypes about women, Islam and terrorism. We’re trying to do what we can and people need time and more information,— Samir Ismail says.

History teaches that Poland was heterogeneous for most of its history. It was home to Muslim Tartars, Jews, Armenian merchants, Scots, Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants. It encompassed an enormous land mass and was, in principal, a republic of three or more states. Poland did not become largely homogeneous until its borders were decided following the Second World War.

Poland’s multicultural tradition remains alive and well — and this article points to a manifestation of that tradition. Pluralism is as much a part of Polish tradition as the pierogi.

It has been said that a Pole will forsake his own customs to adopt the customs and usages of other cultures. This “borrowing,” in everything from dress, to food, to the arts, has significantly enriched Poland, and the world is all the better for it.

Everything Else, , ,

Dr. Felipe Korzenny joins the Captura Group

From Lee Vann the Founder and CEO of the Captura Group in regard to Dr. Felipe Korzenny, who I admire for his insight into culture, business’ response to culture and ethnicity, and with whom I have corresponded in the past:

When a 30 year veteran of Hispanic marketing joins forces with the leading provider of Hispanic online solutions, the result is added value for companies looking to reach Hispanics online.

I am excited to announce that Captura Group, the leading provider of Hispanic in-language and in-culture online solutions, has named Hispanic marketing expert Felipe Korzenny, Ph. D., Senior Strategy Consultant to the company. The collaboration between Dr. Korzenny and Captura Group will expand on Captura Group’s strategic Hispanic online solutions by providing marketers with actionable insights to inform Hispanic online strategies.

You can also check out their blog, Hispanic Online Marketing.

Media, Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Polonian events in Portland Oregon

St Stanislaus Choir at The Grotto — Sunday, December 7th at 6pm

Once again, the St. Stanislaus choir will sing Polish carols at the Grotto. This is a great opportunity to hear Polish carols in the beautiful scenery of the Grotto’s Festival of Lights. The Festival, featuring over 150 choral concerts, it is the largest music festival of its kind in the world. Tickets: $7.50 ($3 children), The Grotto, NE 85th and Sandy Blvd, Portland, Oregon, More information:

The following is a recording of the St. Stanislaus Choir at the Grotto in 2006:

New Owner of the Koffeehouse Kraków

Longtime Polish Festival volunteer Mark Ziaja Kirchmeier has now become the sole owner of Krakow Koffeehouse & Deli, immediately north of the St. Stanislaus rectory. Mark looks forward to offering Krakow as a resource for any Polonia groups needing meeting space, or to borrow kitchen equipment chairs or tables. “I am happy to say that 95% of our hours, will compliment our good neighborhood, Grandpa’s Cafe’s schedule, and not overlap with them,” Mark says. Krakow’s hours are Mon-Fri, 6:45am to 6:30pm; Sat 8am to 6:30pm, and Sunday 9am to 6:30pm.

Mark and his wife, Jane, are also interested in organizing a meeting with interested Polonia, and East Indian, Afro-American and Polish-American-owned eateries such as Fire on the Mountain on Interstate Avenue, to better market and improve the historic Interstate area. For more information, contact Mark.

Polish cellist Asia Grzesik will play at Krakow Koffeehouse

Noon, Thursday, Dec. 11
Noon, Thursday, Dec. 18
Noon, Sunday, Dec. 21

Grzesik performed last year with the touring Cirque du Soleil. Krakow admission is free.

Polish Library Association New Year Eve Party

The Polish Library Association would like to invite you to the New year Eve Party. The theme of this year party is “The Phantom of the Opera”. Tickets: $75.00 ($65.00, for PLBA members) available in the Polish Library every Sunday, 12:00-1:00pm (ask for Grzegorz Traczyk).

Looking forward to 2009

Some of the events which have already been scheduled for next year include:

  • Dance Party at Polish Hall – Saturday, Jan 31, 2009
  • Valentine’s evening with Cabaret “Vivat Amore!” – Saturday, February 14, 2009
  • Film Festival featuring the films of Andrzej Wajda – March, 2009

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