POLISH STUDIES ENDOWMENT COMMITTEE

Fr. Jan of the Ladybug: A story of Fr. Jan Twardowski

Fr. Jan of the Ladybug: A story of Fr. Jan Twardowski

Anna Cholewinska, March 24, 2021 at 7:30 PM (PT) on ZOOM

ABOUT THE LECTURE: Jan Twardowski (1915-2006) was a Roman Catholic priest and a poet. Even though he first published his poems in the 1930s, he became widely known only in the 1990s. His work was addressed to adults and to children.  The opening line from one of his poems  “Śpieszmy się kochać ludzi – tak szybko odchodzą” (“Let us hurry to love people – they depart so quickly”) is one of the most frequently quoted fragments of contemporary Polish poetry. While his poems have very deep meaning, they are simple enough to be understood by the general public. In her talk, Anna Cholewinska will share some stories about Fr. Twardowski – a priest, a poet, and a person.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Anna Cholewinska is a sociologist, working as an associate professor and undergraduate program director at City University of Seattle. In 2005 she founded Fr. Twardowski Polish School in Bellevue that offers Polish language classes for children primarily from Polish families. Since then, she runs the school and teaches children in grades 5-8.