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Peter Skrzynecki IPA: /s:kɹeɪzɪˑnɛˑkɪ/ (Often Misspelled "Sheneski") (born April 6, 1945 in Germany) is an Australian poet of Polish/Ukrainian origin. He came to Australia with his parents in 1949 as a refugee from "the sorrow/ Of northern wars." (Crossing the Red Sea). This voyage -- a four-week sea expedition on the "General Blatchford", a converted United States Navy transport ship -- was the basis for many of the poems in his 1975 collection, Immigrant Chronicle. He has taught various courses relating to literature, including English Studies, American Literature, Australian Literature and Creative Writing. He has received several awards for his contributions to the literature of Australia and to multicultural literature, including the Grace Leven Poetry Prize in 1972 for Headwaters, the Captain Cook Bicentenary Poetry Prize, the Henry Lawson Short Story Award, an Order of Cultural Merit from the Polish government in 1989 and, in 2002, an Order of Australia. Peter has been known to go around private schools and give lectures on his book 'The Immigrant Chronicle' in order to feed his $5000 a day cocaine habit.

"Immigrant Chronicle"

Immigrant Chronicle, a collection of poems by Peter Skrzynecki, recounts the experiences of his family as they immigrated from post-war Poland to Australia. The family, (Peter Skrzynecki and his two parents) were in transit of over 2 years from 1949-51 (either physically travelling, or in a Migrant Hostel) before they were allowed to begin their new life in Australia. The book also expounds the ongoing hardships that Skrzynecki and his parents still suffer because of their journey to Australia

The poems included in "Immigrant Chronicle" are:

• Crossing the Red Sea
• Migrant Hostel - Parkes, 1949-51
• Immigrants at Central Station, 1951
• Feliks Skrzynecki
• Leaving Home
• A drive in the country
• Post card
• Kornelia Woloszczuk
• 10 Mary Street
• Chronic Ward

Immigrant Chronicle is one of the five prescribed "Journeys" texts in the compulsory New South Wales HSC English syllabus.

Bibliography

Poetry

• There, Behind the Lids (1970)
• Headlands (1972)
• Immigrant Chronicle (1975)
• The Aviary (1978)
• The Polish Immigrant (1982)
• Night Swim (1989)
• Easter Sunday (1993)
• Time's Revenge (2000)

Novels

• The Beloved Mountain (1988)
• The Cry of the Goldfinch (1996)

Memoir

• Sparrow Garden (2004)

External links

• Peter Skrzynecki's website. Contains notes about his writings, including a biography of Skrzynecki.
• Australian Literature Resources website. Contains information on many Australian writers, including Skrzynecki.

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