I’d like to see Poles preserving the wealth of our heritage

“I’d like to see Poles preserving the wealth of our heritage, with Polish children growing up in Britain retaining their Polish language. At the same time I’d like to see Poles opening out to the other cultures  in Britain, rather than closing in on themselves  or trying to secure a foothold in the pecking order by looking down on other races or cultures” – says poet Maria Jastrzębska in an interview with Maria Helena Żukowska and Brin Best.

What is your Polish heritage?
“I was born in Warsaw and came to England with my family as small child in the late 1950s.”

In what ways do you feel Polish? In what ways do you feel British?
“I feel I’m totally Polish, but I’d describe myself as ‘British-Polish’ as compared to ‘Poland Polish’.”

Does your Polish heritage influence your work?
“Yes, I think it has had a massive influence. There is for starters another language sitting on my shoulder as I speak. Right from when I was growing up I was aware of being different from the children around me – on account of my
family’s customs, food, songs, books and preoccupations, as well as the language. And I knew that I had more than one way of looking at the world.”

What are the main themes in your poetry?
“Love and war. By love I mean all kinds of relationships, but especially family and romantic love. As for war, I have written things about World War II which my parents lived through, but this has made me think about wars all over the world too. I always think I’m done with writing about my family for instance, but then writers tend to return to the same themes, maybe from different angles.”

Have you been inspired by any specific writers to pursue a career in literature?
“I’ve been inspired by countless writers, whose work thrills and nourishes me as a poet. But I don’t think anyone suggested it would be a career! I think poetry is very much the poor relation in the arts. This makes it a very tough life choice, though at the same time it gives poets a certain freedom.”

Do you have a sense of the breakdown of readers for your work?
“Since I write in English and have been published mainly in the UK, I’d say the majority of my readers are English speakers, or from English-speaking communities. British audiences have surprised me by enjoying bits of Polish, which I throw in to readings sometimes. Polish people living here have responded warmly too when they’ve come across my work, so they’re certainly in my mind. Though for non-native speakers, who have arrived more recently in the UK, there is a language barrier. Some of my work has appeared in Finnish, Slovenian and French journals or anthologies, and I’ve read at some festivals in Europe. However, very recently my selected poems have been translated into Polish and published in Poland in a dual-language collection, Cedry z Walpole Park/The Cedars of Walpole Park from K.I.T Stowarzyszenie Żywych Poetów. I hope this will make my work more widely accessible now to those who read predominantly in Polish.”

Would you recommend any other Polish-British poets for our readers?
“I’m most aware of poets who came to the UK as adults and continue to write in Polish. One obvious and inspiring such poet is Wioletta Grzegorzewska, who’s been living here for a decade now and whose Polish work has been translated into English (Finite Formulae & Theories of Chance, published by Arc Publications). She also has a new prose book, Swallowing Mercury, coming out in 2017 with Portobello Press. Other voices include Iza Smolarek, Anna-Maria Mickiewicz and Tomasz Mielcarek. There are many Polish organisations promoting Polish writing in the UK, such as KAMPe (led by Aleksy Wróbel) and Off_Press (led by Marek Kazmierski and the long-standing Union of Polish Writers in Exile).”

What place do you think Polish communities hold in the UK? Do they introduce something positive here?
“Of course. I’ve always believed that what makes Britain an exciting and good place to live is the diversity of its various communities – Afro-Caribbean, Asian, European etc. Poland has such a rich culture. I’m thinking of its artists, poets, thinkers, film and music makers, as well as the fact that we make scrumptious pierogi and proper cheesecake! Polish people have much to contribute, given their experiences and given Poland’s history within Europe, and within the world.”
What do you think the future of Poles in the UK will be? Will more continue to move over here? Will they become fully integrated into the community?
“I can tell you what I hope for. I’d like to see Poles preserving the wealth of our heritage, with Polish children growing up in Britain retaining their Polish – it’s an amazing and beautiful language. At the same time I’d like to see Poles opening out to the other cultures in Britain, rather than closing in on themselves or trying to secure a foothold in the pecking order by looking down on other races or cultures. When this happens, exciting fusions and cross-pollinations are possible! And finally I’d like to see the dominant, mainstream culture here – in turn – fully embracing, enjoying and truly appreciating Poles and other migrants, instead of fear-mongering and complaining about too many foreigners. That would be my understanding of integration.”

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This interview was carried out as part of the ‘Poles in the UK’ project, and was first published in the book Poles in the UK: A Story of Friendship and Cooperation (by Brin Best & Maria Helena Żukowska, 2016).

You can download a free eBook PDF version of the publication from www.polesintheuk.net