AustLit

A poem in the form of a list of qualifications and attributes, in the style of a curriculum vitae, pertaining to someone known only as 'Dziecko Socjalizmu' (Child of Socialism). From several of the entries, such as 'miejsce zamieszkania po roku 1981: Terytorium Emigracji' (place of residence after 1981: The Territory of Emigration) (1981 being Podemska-Abt's date of emigration from Poland to Australia) and 'hobby: syzyfowa praca czyli próba asymilacji i adaptacji' (hobby: Sisyphic task or an attempt at assimilation and adaptation) it appears that the 'immigrant' in question is the author herself. A problem with this reading, however, is that the immigrant's 'date of birth' is given as '22 lipca, rok dojścia Gomułki do władzy' (22 July, the year of Gomułka's coming to power); the year that Polish Communist Party First Secretary Władysław Gomułka officially came to power was 1956, whereas Podemska-Abt's birthdate is 1952. In 1952 Gomułka was still in prison in Poland. The poem's 'immigrant' may be someone other than the poet.