Echoes of Tattered Tongues: Memory Unfolded

Echoes of Tattered Tongues: Memory Unfolded

Winner 2017 Benjamin Franklin GOLD AWARD for POETRY.
Winner 2017 MONTAIGNE MEDAL for most thought-provoking books.

"A searing memoir." â€• Shelf Awareness

"Powerful...Deserves attention and high regard." â€• Kevin Stein, Poet Laureate of Illinois

"Devastating, one-of-a-kind collection." â€• Foreword Reviews

"Gut-wrenching narrative lyric poems." â€• Publishers Weekly

"Taut...beautifully realized." â€• World Literature Today

In this major tour de force, John Guzlowski traces the arc of one of the millions of immigrant families of America, in this case, survivors of the maelstrom of World War II. Watch the book trailer at www.polww2.com/EchoesTrailer

Raw, eloquent, nuanced, intimateâ€•Guzlowski illuminates the many faces of war, the toll it takes on innocent civilians, and the ways in which the trauma echoes down through generations.

His narrative structure mirrors the fractured dislocation experienced by war refugees. Through a haunting collage of jagged fragmentsâ€•poems, prose and prose poems, frozen moments of time, sometimes dreamlike and surreal, other times realistic and graphicâ€•Guzlowski weaves a powerful story with impacts at levels both obvious and subtle. The result is a deeper, more visceral understanding than could have been achieved through descriptive narrative alone.

This is the story of Guzlowski's family: his mother and father, survivors of the war, taken as slave laborers by the Germans; his sister and himself, born soon after the war in Displaced Persons camps in Germany; the family's first days in America, and later their neighbors in America, some dysfunctional and lost, some mean, some caring and kind; and the relationships between and among them all.

As Guzlowski unfolds the story backwards through time, he seduces us into taking the journey with him. Along the way, the transformative power of the creative process becomes apparent. Guzlowski's writing helps him uncouple from the trauma of the past, and at the same time provides a pathway for acceptance and reconciliation with his parents.

Ultimately, then, this is a story of healing.

Because America is a land of immigrants with myriad and varied pasts, Guzlowski's story may reflect pieces of your own family's history, though details will of course differ. Something similar may also be the hidden story of one of your friends, or a colleague at work, or the sales clerk or waiter who serves you one dayâ€¦or even, like Guzlowski, your professor of English literature.
Country USA
Brand Aquila Polonica
Manufacturer Aquila Polonica
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber 6 black & white halftones
ReleaseDate 2016-03-07
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781607720218

Country	USA
Brand	Aquila Polonica
Manufacturer	Aquila Polonica
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	6 black & white halftones
ReleaseDate	2016-03-07
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781607720218

Echoes of Tattered Tongues: Memory Unfolded

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