Wednesday, December 26, 2007

What My Father Believed

Garrison Keillor's reading of my poem "What My Father Believed" from my book Lightning and Ashes is now available at the following link:

http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/programs/2007/12/24/#friday

The poem talks about my father's faith, how he learned about God in Poland as a child, and how his faith sustained him in the concentration camps in Nazi Germany.
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13 comments:

  1. D GoskaDecember 27, 2007 at 5:15 AM

    So, John. Will Keillor be pronouncing your name "guz lau ski" or will he be pronouncing it properly, "guz LOFF ski"?

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  2. John GuzlowskiDecember 27, 2007 at 6:07 AM

    Danusha, that guy Garrison is like a native Pole!

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  3. D GoskaDecember 27, 2007 at 9:09 AM

    John wrote:

    "Danusha, that guy Garrison is like a native Pole!"

    Hmmm... I've long suspected that Garrison Keillor is a Polak merely *passing* as a WASP ...

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  4. D GoskaDecember 27, 2007 at 9:24 AM

    All kidding aside ... John, I'm really proud of you and very happy for you.

    Niech zyje!

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  5. AnonymousDecember 27, 2007 at 3:56 PM

    Very touching poem, John. The last lines should be used as a signature. More people need to hear them.

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  6. AnonymousDecember 28, 2007 at 2:57 AM

    John "What My Father Believed", is a wonderful, thought evoking, soul searching poem. Not many modern poets hold my interest long enough to read their writings through to the end and feel what they have written. This one however, kept me reading. It made me think. It made me wonder how people could think the prison camps and there horror could have never happened. It made me sad that todays children know little about this if anything, and it made me ask myself...IF...I were in your parents shoes, or yours, would I be able to forgive?
    The answer...I do not know.

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  7. wmillerDecember 28, 2007 at 5:58 PM

    I heard GK reading What My Father Believed while driving to work this morning. Usually I miss the Writer's Almanac but I was running late and am glad for that. Last month I quit my book discussion group because no one but me thought it odd that Suite Francaise a novel by Irene Nemirovsky, a Russian Jew, had no Jews in it. More as I get older, I have less patience, for fascist or racist thought, however subtle. This poem is a brilliant piece of light in the world; I just requested Lightning and Ashes through interlibrary loan. Looking forward to this and your other books...

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  8. wmillerDecember 28, 2007 at 6:33 PM

    I should have mentioned that Suite Francaise is set in 1939-41 France before and during the evacuation of Paris, the occupation,and the early days of Vichy France...

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  9. UrkatDecember 30, 2007 at 7:05 AM

    I thought Keillor did a passing fair job.

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  10. SteveJanuary 4, 2008 at 6:53 PM

    I havent heard keillor reading it yet, but John, your words floor me. I had been contemplating buying your book, but now it is a certainty. you are truly gifted.

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  11. grackyfroggJanuary 5, 2008 at 10:44 PM

    i get the writer's almanac in my inbox every day, and i just wanted to let you know how much i liked your poem. the last three stanzas, and especially the last line... beautiful.

    thank you.

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  12. AnonymousJanuary 17, 2008 at 4:17 PM

    This is now my favorite poem, I look forward to reading your book.

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  13. ChristinaMay 8, 2009 at 12:58 PM

    Came upon an old article about survivors facing final years in nursing homes and thought again about our discussions. There are poems to be mined here, I think.

    http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/aug/24/na-nursing-homes-stir-ghosts-for-holocaust-survivo/

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