The wayside shrines of Poland and Polonia
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Loading... - Watson Krisztina
- 15 Mar 2023
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The Spirit of Place
Sophie Hodorowicz Knab
Reviewed by Robert Strybel,
Warsaw Correspondent
With her latest book, Spirit of Place, Sophie Hodorowicz Knab has made yet another significant contribution to the treasure trove of Polish-American literature. One of Buffalo Polonia’s leading cultural activists, authors and lecturers, this time Sophie has highlighted the relatively little-known realm of roadside shrines that dot Poland's landscape and can also be encountered across Polish America.
Far from being merely local landmarks, the author regards these small architectural forms as symbols of Poland’s abiding Catholic faith which she describes as “their armor against all calamities and enemies.” She explains how it helped them survive the 17th-century Islamic onslaught, 123 years of foreign occupation by three aggressive neighbors as well as the horrors of Nazi German enslavement and four-and-a-half decades of communist domination.
In her richly illustrated 178-page Spirit of Place, the author showcases various types of shrines which include crossroads crosses, religious figures mounted atop columns or posts, encased in miniature chapels or set into the niches of building facades as well as home altars and paintings. Sophie also points out the different techniques used by shrine-builders such as sculpting, wood-carving and decorative ironwork.
One of the book’s six chapters, titled Roadside Shrines in Polish-American Communities, takes the reader on a tour of chapels and backyard shrines in such places as Baltimore, MD, Turners Falls, MA, Cheektowaga, NY and Wilno, Ontario, Canada.
This fantastic little book will make a great gift for anyone interested in things Polish and Polonian. This reporter is hopefully looking forward to a follow-up work from Sophie with photos of Polish shrines, statues and memorials in Chicagoland, Michigan’s Orchard Lake Schools, American Częstochowa in Doylestown, PA and elsewhere across America. Read More…
