WOJNA, IMIGRACJA I POLSKA DIASPORA W TORONTO W OPOWIADANIACH ANDREW J. BORKOWSKIEGO

The article focuses on Andrew J. Borkowski’s collection of short-stories Copernicus Avenue published in 2011 and awarded the 2012 Toronto Book Award. Written by the son of a Polish war veteran, Copernicus Avenue shows how deeply the trauma of the Second World War has affected the Polish diaspora in Canada. The article begins with an analysis of the stories located in Poland, illustrating the ambivalent moral choices of the protagonists during the war. The traumatic memories of war haunt the protagonists in their New World homes and influence the lives of their descendants as well. On the example of three characters, I illustrate the different approaches to diaspora and homeland in the Polish post-war community in Toronto. I also trace the complex itineraries of the characters, showing that the concept of roots shapes their identity as much as the complicated routes of migrations. As a result, the Polish diaspora in Copernicus Avenue appears a heterogeneous space of community and antagonism, solidarity and exclusion.