Unfolding the Memory of World War II: Refugee Experience in John Z. Guzlowski's Echoes of Tattered Tongues: Memory Unfolded and Who I Am: Lives Told in Kitchen Polish

This article offers an analysis of two publications by John Guzlowski: a poetry and prose collection titled Echoes of Tattered Tongues: Memory Unfolded (2016) and the recently published Who I Am: Lives Told in Kitchen Polish (2024), a selection of columns that originally appeared in Chicago's Polish-language newspaper Dziennik Związkowy. The concepts of memory studies will be implemented throughout to draw attention to the role of Guzlowski's parents’ wartime and refugee experiences as a driving force behind their son's creative work, which impacts heavily on both the content and form of his texts. The discussion will also address the function of black-and-white family photographs included in both publications. Finally, the reiterative character of Guzlowski's work will be pointed out as a reflection of the workings of intergenerational memory, whereby pivotal events from the poet's and his family's life recur repeatedly in his works as a leitmotif of sorts.