Finite Formulae and Theories of Chance
Published on 12. October 2014
Book
Hardback
128 pages
978-1-908376-92-3 (ISBN)
Description
One hundred years since the outbreak of the First World War, Wioletta Greg traces the seams of a family history through a hundred years of life, death, love and tragedy with passion and humour. From the lives of her grandparents in early twentieth-century Poland, through two world wars, life under Communism and the subsequent liberation, to her own experiences as a migrant living on a small island off the coast of Britain, this collection serves as both a fitting personal testament to a family that survived, and as a compelling document of a century of European history. Wioletta Greg has published several volumes of poetry, a collection of short prose poems and, most recently, a debut novel, Guguly (Wydawnictwo Czarne, 2014), which has already been hailed as the 'discovery of the year' by critics and readers alike. Marek Kazmierski's attentive and nuanced translation of this, her first book-length publication in the UK, gives readers of English a chance to experience this powerful work for the first time.
Reviews / Votes
"These poems are riddled with overlapping tenses, places and intentions. New life is organised into being, memories are set in order, life on something as uncertain as an 'island' is attempted, as is the writing, 'mid-flight', rather than at rest." Karol Maliszewski "The poetess moved to the UK in 2006 and settled on the Isle of Wight: 'Take me away from this paradise, where I feel as tepid / as tea with milk. Take me, before I evaporate.' She seduces the reader with her childhood memories and the glimpses of post-Communist Poland. But it's the everyday woman's experience portrayed with great maturity and tenderness that makes this book so exceptional." A. M. Bakalar, Wasafiri "These poems are riddled with overlapping tenses, places and intentions. New life is organised into being, memories are set in order, life on something as uncertain as an 'island' is attempted, as is the writing, 'mid-flight', rather than at rest." Karol Maliszewski "The poetess moved to the UK in 2006 and settled on the Isle of Wight: 'Take me away from this paradise, where I feel as tepid / as tea with milk. Take me, before I evaporate.' She seduces the reader with her childhood memories and the glimpses of post-Communist Poland. But it's the everyday woman's experience portrayed with great maturity and tenderness that makes this book so exceptional." A. M. Bakalar, WasafiriMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Lancs
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
290 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-908376-92-3 (9781908376923)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Wioletta Greg
Finite Formulae & Theories of Chance
E-Book
10/2014
Arc Publications
€9.99
Available for download
Persons
Wioletta Greg (b. 1974), poet, writer and translator from Southern Poland has been active on the Polish literary scene since her first publication in the 1990s, and despite her move to the Isle of Wight at the beginning of the new millennium, has remained so. She has published several volumes of poetry, a collection of short prose poems and, most recently, a debut novel Guguly (2014), which has already been hailed as the "discovery of the year" by critics and readers alike.
Content
Part I 10 / Dziadek na moscie, lipiec 1914 Grandfather on a bridge, July 1914 / 11 12 / Dziadek jedzie do Warszawy - Grandfather on his way to Warsaw - / 13 16 / Dziadek ucieka ze stalagu - Grandfather escapes a stalag - / 17 18 / Trzynastoletnia w gulagu Thirteen in a gulag / 19 20 / Z puchem With down / 21 22 / Wykopki The digs / 23 24 / Zabawa obreczami Rolling hoops / 25 26 / Ferie Half-term / 27 28 / W szafie babci In grandma's wardrobe / 29 30 / Wszystko o mojej babce All about my grandmother / 31 32 / Pamiec Smieny Smena's memory / 33 34 / Wiersz wielkanocny An Easter verse / 35 36 / Zaginiona Missing / 37 38 / Wiosna, 1986 Spring, 1986 / 39 40 / Ruchy Browna Brownian motion / 41 42 / Majowe fikcje, 1989 May fictions, 1989 / 43 44 / Spoznione dokarmianie pszczol The late feeding of bees / 45 46 / Wszystko o moim ojcu All about my father / 47 48 / Gwiezdne Stargate / 49 50 / Zwijanie Wrapping up / 51 52 / Polowanie na pizmaki Hunting muskrats / 53 54 / Ojciec iluzjonista My father the magician / 55 56 / Pestki Pips / 57 58 / Lekcje plywania Swimming lessons / 59 60 / Iskry Sparks / 61 62 / Bajka o smierci A fairytale about death / 63 64 / Weselne rondo A wedding party / 65 66 / Kolysanka Lullaby / 67 68 / Oczy szerzej zamkniete Eyes shut wider / 69 70 / Narzeczeni wedkuja Lovers angling / 71 72 / Zawiazki Buds / 73 74 / List do kolezanki z Chin A letter to my friend from China / 75 76 / Czasy zespolone Complex times / 77 78 / Lektorzy Readers / 79 80 / Bajka o zyciu A fairytale about life / 81 82 / Bezsennosc w Ryde Sleepless in Ryde / 83 Part II 87 / Notatnik z Wyspy Notes from an island / 87