Selected Poetry

Abstract

Selected Poetry1 Grzegorz Kwiatkowski (bio) crops our real work is farm worknot killingalthough I will admit:the massacres in the swamps have the rhythm of our seasonal laborand when the rains were heavy we did not go out for crops Ranger Danz during the war we laid out bodies like woodbut after the war we laid out wood in the forestlike bodies freshly felled world I went with my child to the forest and cried helplessly with himtears dripped from my eyes and the child wiped them away with his handand I so regretted that I had brought him into the world [End Page 170] Grzegorz Kwiatkowski Grzegorz Kwiatkowski is a Polish poet and musician, and an author of several books of poetry revolving around the subjects of history, remembrance, and ethics. He is a member of the psychedelic rock band Trupa Trupa. He has been a beneficiary of numerous international literary programs such as "Artist in Residence" in Vienna and "Styria Artist in Residence" in Graz. Kwiatkowski cohosts the workshop "Virus of Hate" at the University of Oxford. Together with UCLA professor Vinay Lal he began the series "Sangam and Agora: A Forum of Poets, Philosophers, Scholars, and Autodidacts." He is a member of PEN America and Versopolis, and has appeared at festivals such as Oslo Internasjonale Poesifestival and Lahti International Writers Reunion. His music and literary works have been published and reviewed in The Guardian, New York Times, Genocide Studies and Prevention, Modern Poetry in Translation, New Poetry in Translation, CBC, Pitchfork, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Billboard, Spin, Chicago Tribune, Times, NPR, BBC, and KEXP. As a musician, he has performed with his band at such events as Desert Daze Festival, Rockaway Beach Festival, SXSW, Primavera Sound, and Iceland Airwaves, as well as an NPR Tiny Desk session and BBC Radio 6 music session. Footnotes 1. Translated from the Polish by Peter Constantine. Copyright © 2022 Purdue University