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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski

@g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social

130 followers 180 following 300 posts

poet and musician www.grzegorzkwiatkowski.com

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · Jul 18

This is Yale Artist in Residence alert! I’m excited to share that I have been invited to spend 2025 as an artist in residence at Yale's Fortunoff Video Archive, conducting research for an upcoming artistic project based on testimonies.

Photo: Alicja Mongird

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 1d

I’ve arrived at Yale and will soon present the results of my year-long residency so far. But this project will continue, because in 2026 the literary part will be joined by musical and exhibition components. The premiere will take place in New Haven, London, and Gdańsk. More to come.

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 2d

Bye bye Washington D.C. Now it's time for Yale, New Haven and New York 🖤

Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 2d

3/ Antonia Tricarico, Melina Afzal, and I could go on and on.

A heartfelt thank-you to Henry McGroggan for this next miracle, and a big thank-you to Brian Lowit for his care, company, and friendship.

Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 2d

2/ A short while later, I received a ticket and a backstage pass, and I was at another amazing Iggy concert, followed by a meeting with the whole team and some wonderful guests: the bassist from Fugazi, the two drummers from Fugazi,

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 2d

1/ This stay in Washington has been, in many ways, surprising for me, and the mix of the worlds of literature, universities, and music is simply wonderful. I already wrote about meeting Ian MacKaye, but, as it happened, Iggy Pop came to Washington.

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 3d

2/ Miłosz lived in Washington from 1946 to 1950 and wrote deeply political poems there. In one of them, from the collection "The Light of Day", he writes: "We know that he who wants to rule the world will pass away." And somehow that brings a measure of comfort.

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 3d

1/ In every concert, university, or literary tour across America I’m always accompanied by Czesław Miłosz’s Collected Poems, barely holding together, the cover long gone, yet still serving their purpose, especially in a place like this (right behind me) and at a time like this.

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 3d

3/ P.S. You can’t see it in this photo, but every corner of the house was filled with wonderful people, and even Jim McGuinn and his amazing wife Christina came all the way from Philadelphia!

Photo / Insta story: Brittany Kerfoot

Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 3d

2/ The event marked the opening of the Cheuse Center’s anniversary celebrations, and the next guest will be Colm Tóibín, who will give a lecture on Thomas Mann.

Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 3d

1/ This photo was taken at yesterday’s Cheuse Salon at the home of the amazing Kris O’Shee, widow of Alan Cheuse, the distinguished professor and NPR literary critic.

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 4d

4/ And today, I’m inviting you to another literary event in Washington - the Cheuse Salon, starting at 5:00 PM (registration required, and only five spots left!).

Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 4d

3/ That same day, I had the pleasure of speaking with the wonderful writer Randi Ward on the panel “A Matter of Record.”

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 4d

2/ After my lecture, Professor LaNitra Berger and her students showed me a place where the university has bravely and honestly confronted the history of its namesake, George Mason, who was a slave owner.

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 5d

1/ In this photo, I’m on my way to a class in African and African American Studies at George Mason University.

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 6d

4/ On the left side of the photo you can barely see him, but he is there. Freedom fighter Lech Wałęsa came with me straight from Gdańsk to the Dischord House, and I hope he will stay there forever.

Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 6d

3/ I love two bands more than anything in the world: The Beatles and Fugazi. And I truly believe there have never been better lineups. So this visit was simply a dream come true.

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 6d

2/ Photo: the wonderful and amazing Brian Lowit (who also took me to my very first hockey game yesterday).

Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 6d

1/ Aaaaa! Huge thanks to Ian MacKaye for the hospitality at Dischord House, for showing me every corner, for a hundred stories, for sharing unreleased songs and demos, and simply for all the kindness from A to Z.

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 6d

This is what my temporary Washington street looks like. This is what my temporary Washington home looks like. And everything would be beautiful if not for the National Guard on the streets.

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 7d

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 7d

George Saunders sent me to the beautiful Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, where the action of his wonderful book Lincoln in the Bardo takes place, and where Lincoln’s beloved son Willie rested for three years.

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 8d

Yesterday’s performance at the legendary Busboys & Poets 🖤

#WashingtonDC

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 10d

Today my literary residency begins at The Alan Cheuse International Writers Center, and next week I invite you to New Haven at Yale 🖤

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Grzegorz Kwiatkowski @g-kwiatkowski.bsky.social · 11d

Hooray! Silver Lions in Gdynia for FRANZ KAFKA 🖤

#polishfilmfestival