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Polish Scholar to Present Lectures

Nov 2, 2018

Polish Scholar to Present Lectures

Nov 2, 2018

AMHERST, N.Y. – Visiting Polish scholar Dr. Grzegorz Kość will discuss two of the most prolific American poets and writers of the 20th century at lectures being held in November as part of the ˿Ƶ College History and Politics Event Series.

Both lectures, which are free and open to the public, will be held at 4 p.m. in the college’s Research and Information Commons Room 101.

The first lecture, “Allen Ginsberg’s Failed Exorcisms in Poland and the Soviet Union in 1965,” is scheduled for Nov. 5. Kość will give readings of Ginsberg’s Warsaw poems related to the poet’s tour of Warsaw, Krakow, Prague, and Moscow in an effort to combat communism.

A second lecture on Nov. 7 will address “Frost’s Vision of America’s Anxieties on the Eve of John F. Kennedy’s Presidency.” The lecture will offer an interpretation of Frost’s little-known manuscript, considered an alternative version of the dedication poem he recited at Kennedy’s inauguration.

Kość, associate professor and director of the American Studies Center at the University of Warsaw, has authored books on Robert Lowell and Robert Frost, co-edited collections of essays, and contributed essays to Robert Frost Review and Robert Frost in Context. He is past president and a member of the Robert Frost Society Executive Board.

The lectures are being co-sponsored by the ˿Ƶ Center for Polish Studies, Office of Academic Affairs, and the History and Political Science and English departments.