Poland
Republic of Poland Rzeczpospolita Polska Central Europe AREA 121K mi2; 313K km2 [71st largest of 257 countries] ARABLE 36% POP 38M(315/mi2; 122/km2) [39th highest of 237 countries] GOV’T Parliamentary republic CAPITAL Warsaw (1.8M) GDP/CAPITA $34,900 UNEMPLOYMENT 3% IN POVERTY 15% LIFE EXP 76 years MEDIAN AGE 42 yrs INFANT MORT 5/1K live births (175th) LITERACY 100% LANGUAGES Polish (official), Silesian, other RELIGIONS Catholic 85%, Orthodox 1% (mainly Polish Autocephalous Orthodox), Protestant 1%, other <1%, unspecified 13% HEALTH 7% of GDP EDUCATION 5% of GDP (69th) MILITARY 4% of GDP (16th) LABOR FORCE Agriculture 24%, industry 40%, services 57% PCVs 1990–2001 CURRENT: 0; TTD: 955 |  Poland Castle Square, at the entrance to Warsaw’s Old Town, is a longtime Warsaw gathering place. The royal palace overlooking the square was the home of Polish monarchs during the 16th to 18th centuries. Completely rebuilt after World War II, the castle is now a state museum and national historical monument. The square is a popular meeting place for both locals and tourists, attracting a lively collection of street entertainers. It has been the stage of many dramatic and tragic scenes in Polish history, offering a sobering reminder of the struggles that nations overcome to survive and prosper.
Jim Schumaker © 2022 PCV Sierra Leone, 1970–1972 Education |
Adult Books
By Olga Tokarczuk, tran Jennifer Croft
Published: August 14, 2018 by Riverhead Books
First published: September 1, 2007
Format: 416 pages, HC
Language: English
ISBN-10:0525534199
ISBN-13: 978-0525534198
Summary:
From the incomparably original Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk, Flights interweaves reflections on travel with an in-depth exploration of the human body, broaching life, death, motion, and migration. Chopin’s heart is carried back to Warsaw in secret by his adoring sister. A woman must return to her native Poland in order to poison her terminally ill high school sweetheart, and a young man slowly descends into madness when his wife and child mysteriously vanish during a vacation and just as suddenly reappear. Through these brilliantly imagined characters and stories, interwoven with haunting, playful, and revelatory meditations, Flights explores what it means to be a traveler, a wanderer, a body in motion not only through space but through time. Where are you from? Where are you coming in from? Where are you going? we call to the traveler. Enchanting, unsettling, and wholly original, Flights is a master storyteller’s answer.
Literary awards:
Nike Literary Award (Nagroda Literacka Nike) (2008),
BTBA Best Translated Book Award Nominee for Fiction Longlist (2019),
Angelus Nominee (2008),
National Book Award Finalist for Translated Literature (2018),
Mikael Agricola -palkinto (2013),
Warwick Prize for Women in Translation Nominee (2018), International Booker Prize (2018)
Kids' Books
Retold by: David Walser; illustrated by Jan Pienkowski.
Publisher: Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2014.
Format: 104 pp ; col illus.
ISBN: 978-0-76367-320-8
Age Range: 7-11 yrs.
Summary:
A collection of magical Polish fairy tales celebrating honesty, loyalty, and creativity.
Films
Film: Zimna wojna (Cold War)
Director:Pawel Pawlikowski
Release Date: 2018
