Would I live in the United States again if I could afford it on my freelance wages? Yes. So would my boyfriend, a native New Yorker, who has worked as a jazz drummer his entire life. We miss our families. We miss our language. We miss our culture. But until a place is made for us and others like us who have fled to Europe in order to survive, that dream is a rainbow that vanishes the moment you think you’ve found it.
Thank you for this article. I also wanted to fill you in on the background of the second photo. The mural in Łódź, Poland is of my dad, Janusz Głowacki, who was a Polish-American writer. The mural was painted by a Polish artist, Andrzej Pągowski, after my dad passed away suddenly in 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/theater/janusz-glowacki-dead-polish-playwright.html. "Głowa" was his nickname, a shorted version of his last name and it also means "head" in Polish. So the closest translation I can come up with is "And how can we keep living without our heads?/without Głowacki?'
Holy cow, I feel as though I’m talking to Polish royalty! THANK YOU for taking the time to clarify that for me. I’ve spent six marvelous weeks in Lodz, and I love that city. Every day, I’d see that mural and wonder what it meant. I ran it through a translator, but that told me nothing. I Googled it, and still nothing. We even stopped someone on the street and asked, but no luck. Until you filled in the details, I simply didn’t know. Now, I do.
But I am truly grieved to hear about your father. The pain and loss must still be with you. And to lose him so suddenly...I can easily imagine your feelings when you pass by that mural.
Thanks again for the honor of your clarification. You have much to be proud of. I have a lot of empathy for Poland. The country has been through so much. I hope that Poland—and the US—can check its more authoritarian tendencies. We have the entire last century to remind us why this is so so important.
Portland is experiencing much of the same problem, with artists/writers/musicians being priced out of the market and being forced to flee to more affordable markets. Political cartoonist Matt Bors comes to mind. He ended up having to move to a small town in Ontario...and he's a fairly well-known name in his field.
I'm fortunate in that I don't have the financial pressures most creative types do, but if I was living by myself, there's no way I'd be able to do anything but work to support myself...and my writing would suffer for it. I'm no Tom Friedman or Eugene Robinson, but I think I have something to add to the public discussion.
The problem is that America is a country that loves and enjoys consuming the work of artists, musicians, and writers...it just doesn't want to pay for it. What if we all decided we want to drive cars but didn't want to pay for them? It's the same thing, yet few see anything wrong with it.
I truly believe that there is low-lying resentment of creatives. It's anti-American somehow to actually enjoy your work--or at least not to hate your work. If only more people realized that being a creative means living with massive amounts of insecurity and crippling self-doubt. It's not easy, even if it doesn't entail putting on a suit and tie, battling traffic, and answering to a corporate overlord.
I always tell people that Kurt Cobain didn't commit suicide because he was secure and well-adjusted. I've managed to get the jump on most of my insecurity and self-doubt when it comes to my writing (I know I can write; it's the only thing in my life I'm absolutely confident about). Still, throwing your work out into the world without a life vest can be a daunting task. That said, having done the corporate thing- and HATED it- for most of my adult life, I'll take the insecurity and self-doubt.
This is ME saying this (and I'm renowned for my frankness), you got NOTHING to worry about when it comes to your writer. You're a superb writer. But problem is, at this point, there are more writers than readers as the more bookish Boomers and Gen Xers make way for a generation that consumes entertainment on a screen, not a piece of paper.
Love to you, Maggie, your gorgeous daughters, and your ADORABLE grandkids. I think of you often and hope that someday in the not-too-distant future when the pandemic has truly abated, I can meet up with you guys and see you again!
Thank you for this article. I also wanted to fill you in on the background of the second photo. The mural in Łódź, Poland is of my dad, Janusz Głowacki, who was a Polish-American writer. The mural was painted by a Polish artist, Andrzej Pągowski, after my dad passed away suddenly in 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/theater/janusz-glowacki-dead-polish-playwright.html. "Głowa" was his nickname, a shorted version of his last name and it also means "head" in Polish. So the closest translation I can come up with is "And how can we keep living without our heads?/without Głowacki?'
Holy cow, I feel as though I’m talking to Polish royalty! THANK YOU for taking the time to clarify that for me. I’ve spent six marvelous weeks in Lodz, and I love that city. Every day, I’d see that mural and wonder what it meant. I ran it through a translator, but that told me nothing. I Googled it, and still nothing. We even stopped someone on the street and asked, but no luck. Until you filled in the details, I simply didn’t know. Now, I do.
But I am truly grieved to hear about your father. The pain and loss must still be with you. And to lose him so suddenly...I can easily imagine your feelings when you pass by that mural.
Thanks again for the honor of your clarification. You have much to be proud of. I have a lot of empathy for Poland. The country has been through so much. I hope that Poland—and the US—can check its more authoritarian tendencies. We have the entire last century to remind us why this is so so important.
Miles to go before we sleep. All of us.
Thank you for your kind words! I miss my dad very much, but he's still alive in his writing, which was so important to him.
Dla mnie twórczość Pani Ojca jest rownież ważna.
Bardzo miło to usłyszeć. Pozdrawiam serdecznie.
It is absolutely true.
Poland is beautiful country❤️
Swietnie, ze wytlumaczyla Pani przenośnię “ head” w kontekście nazwiska Pani ojca. Mam wszystkie Jego ksiażki!
Pozdrawiam z Las Vegas 😊
Portland is experiencing much of the same problem, with artists/writers/musicians being priced out of the market and being forced to flee to more affordable markets. Political cartoonist Matt Bors comes to mind. He ended up having to move to a small town in Ontario...and he's a fairly well-known name in his field.
I'm fortunate in that I don't have the financial pressures most creative types do, but if I was living by myself, there's no way I'd be able to do anything but work to support myself...and my writing would suffer for it. I'm no Tom Friedman or Eugene Robinson, but I think I have something to add to the public discussion.
The problem is that America is a country that loves and enjoys consuming the work of artists, musicians, and writers...it just doesn't want to pay for it. What if we all decided we want to drive cars but didn't want to pay for them? It's the same thing, yet few see anything wrong with it.
I truly believe that there is low-lying resentment of creatives. It's anti-American somehow to actually enjoy your work--or at least not to hate your work. If only more people realized that being a creative means living with massive amounts of insecurity and crippling self-doubt. It's not easy, even if it doesn't entail putting on a suit and tie, battling traffic, and answering to a corporate overlord.
I always tell people that Kurt Cobain didn't commit suicide because he was secure and well-adjusted. I've managed to get the jump on most of my insecurity and self-doubt when it comes to my writing (I know I can write; it's the only thing in my life I'm absolutely confident about). Still, throwing your work out into the world without a life vest can be a daunting task. That said, having done the corporate thing- and HATED it- for most of my adult life, I'll take the insecurity and self-doubt.
This is ME saying this (and I'm renowned for my frankness), you got NOTHING to worry about when it comes to your writer. You're a superb writer. But problem is, at this point, there are more writers than readers as the more bookish Boomers and Gen Xers make way for a generation that consumes entertainment on a screen, not a piece of paper.
Stay there....it is just getting worse. I can't wait to leave for Costa Rica and start living again myself. The food is better there too.
Annie, I truly can’t wait for that to happen for you either. LONG overdue. Based on things I’ve heard, I think you’d love it there.
Also, THANK YOU for your super generous subscription. For as many years as I’ve known you, you’ve always been my lodestar.
How thrilling to learn who is in the mural in Łódź. I got chills reading this and can’t help but think it’s a full circle moment.
Love your work. I always learn something when I read your stories and see your beautiful photographs. 📸
Love to you, Maggie, your gorgeous daughters, and your ADORABLE grandkids. I think of you often and hope that someday in the not-too-distant future when the pandemic has truly abated, I can meet up with you guys and see you again!