*** From [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Miroslaw J. Wiechowski) Otrzymane od X. W. Wrobla. mjw > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re "Polish Joke", - Letter by David Ives to Consul in L.A. > Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 18:49:44 -0700 Dear Chris, One of the people on our mailing list contacted the European American Issues Forum (EAIF) located in San Bruno in Northern California re the offensive "Polish Joke" issue. A man named Lou Calabro, from EAIF, telephoned me with the intention of being helpful. Prior to calling me, he spoke with Gordon Edelstein, Artistic Director at ACT. Edelstein told him that David Ives is a Polish-American. Lou was not at all convinced, and his primary reason to call me was to find out whether I am sure DAvid Ives is Jewish. He felt that most people around Ives are Jewish and that the play is a deliberate affront to the Poles. I said that I can not be 100% sure, but the name David Ives indicates that he is Jewish. I also said that in the scheme of this matter it is not of prime importance whether David Ives is Jewish or not. He then told me that he has DAvid Ives' response letter to the Polish Consul General in Los Angeles explaining himself and defending his play. He faxed the letter to me. I must add, that this is the first time ever, that I know of, that the L.A. Consulate wrote an objection to slander. Please note that D. Ives admits that he knows "the cruelty, and the idiocy, of Polish jokes", yet he titles his play with these offensive words. Here is Ives' letter, please comment: "Mr. Krzysztof W. Kasprzyk Consul General Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Los Angeles, Fax: 310-442-8515 Dear Mr. Kasprzyk, I am the author of the play "Polish Joke" and I was dismayed to read theletter your directed to ACT, which is presenting the play in Seattle. I gather from your letter that you have not seen or read "Polish Joke" and believe that somehow you've been misinformed about the play's nature and point. I had not intention of insulting or denigrating Poland, the Polish people, or Polish-Americans - indeed, quite the opposite, as the Polish-Americans who've already seen and enjoyed the show would tell you. This play is a comedy directed at the ignorance behind prejudice; it was not meant to add to prejudice. In fact, no one who's seen the show -- Polish, Polish-American or otherwise -- has protested it as racist or biased in any way. I'm well positioned to speak against the insidiousness of anti-Polish prejudice because I am myself a second-generation Polish-American. I was born David Roszkowski in Chicago, at a time when Chicago was the second largest Polish city in the world outside of Warsaw. My parents spoke Polish at home and our family followed all the Polish cultural customs, from our foods (homemade kielbasa, pierogi, czarnina, and golubki) to celebrating our holidays at the local Catholic parish. At Christmas we broke oplatki -- and still do to this day. I drew on that upbringing in writing the play and portrayed, with affection, the life I knew among the steel mills where my father and uncles worked. I am indeed familiar with the artists and Polish figures you mention -- Milosz * is a great favorite of mine, both for his extraordinary poetry and his muscular prose. Most important: no one can know like a Pole -- and I speak to you as a fellow Pole -- the cruelty, and the idiocity, of Polish jokes. But one must explode such cliche's with well-placed dynamite. My dynamite happens to be comedy. Without any reservation, I invite you to come to Seattle and see the play for yourself. I don't doubt you'll find yourself championing rather that condemning it and hope that, given your position, you'll help to dispel mistaken perceptions about the piece. I'm delighted to know that the Polish Consul General is vigilant in the battle against prejudice but in this case your were speaking out against the wrong side. Look around and you'll find me standing next to you on the front lines: I just carry a different weapon. Sincerely, David Ives" * His "Campo di Fiori" has been hurled at us as an example of Polish antiSemitism. When he came to Los Angeles several years ago, he spoke at the Jewish Federation. He entered the packed hall, his head lowered in apology and sadness for all the wrongs that Poles did to the Jews. He informed that he had a Jewish uncle. In spite of his "kissing up" to the Jewish audience, his speech was repeatedly interrupted by either the mike dying or calls on the loud-speaker from the parking garage about car lights being left on or the like. I attended other talks at the Federation on several occasions, none were ever interrupted. Regards, Dana =============================================================== Lista 'Forum Zagraniczne' Administrator: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archiwum: http://www.mail-archive.com/forum.zagraniczne@3w3.net
