The month of June has been wonderfully busy for us here at Copernicana and crowned with a splendid, historic event, celebrating Polish Poetry and the unveiling of Jan Kochanowski’s statue in Ann Hathaway’s Gardens in Stratford upon Avon.
On Saturday 26th June 2022 the statue, Shakespeare's near-contemporary, the greatest Polish and Slavic Renaissance poet, Jan Kochanowski, had been put on permanent display in the sculpture gardens of Ann Hathaway’s ‘s Cottage.
This project has been the brainchild of the former Polish Ambassador to the UK, Arkady Rzegocki and his wife Jolanta, who understood the importance of highliting the strong links between Kochanowski, the father of the Polish language and William Shakespeare. They also wished for this special statue to serve as a lasting symbol of the warm relationship between England and Warwickshire's largerst ethnic minority.
The event of unveiling was attended by the Chair of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Peter Kyle, Mayor of Stratford, Gill Cleeve, His Excellency Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, Piotr Wilczek, Director of the Polish Cultural Institute in London, Marta de Zuniga and other esteemed members of local community and guests from afar.
Copernicana would like to thank the speakers for their kind words and appreciation of our involvement in the project of bringing Jan Kochanowski’s statue to the Shakespeare Country. We have greatly enjoyed collaborating on the project with Karolina Gorazda from the Polish Cultural Institute, Jan Brzechwa Polish Saturday School and our friends from Stratford community.
To celebrate the occasion, Copernicana's friends, Graham Tyrer and Anita Debska have planned a splendid ‘Grand Tour’ of Renaissance world poetry. A meeting of the literary giants of Renaissance period: Francesco Petrarch, Luis de Camoes, Jan Kochanowski, Pierre de Ronsard, and William Shakespeare! Jan Kochanowski could not have wished for a more cordial welcome.
Regarded as the father of father of Polish literature, Kochanowski, much like Shakespeare in England, started a profound linguistic revolution in Polish history. He is the giant on whose shoulders stand the greatest Polish and many Slavic poets. After his career as a courtier and secretary at the royal court of Sigismund-August, he retired into a quiet family estate of Czarnolas (Black Forest) where he composed his finest works. The picturesque Ann Hathaway’s gardens mirror the beauty of Kochanowski’s Czarnolas and are a perfect environment to enjoy poetry and conversations with Kochanowski’s statute.
Jan Kochanowski’ s works are a vivid image of the customs and lifestyle of Renaissance Poland. They are also a rare poetic depiction of him dealing with a loss of his beloved 2-year-old daughter Ursula – something that has not been attempted by any other writer prior to Kochanowski. His works convey affirmation of nature and wildlife, encourage and prise integrity, ability to sustain friendship, need for moderation in all walks of life, lack of unhealthy ambition and genuine care for the welfare of all.
We think these values are very much in tune with Shakespeare’s and so very universal to many of us. We hope that Jan Kochanowski’s statue will be a lasting reminder of the cultural and historical ties between Poland and England, creating opportunities for cultural dialogue and friendship in our community.
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