Peter Skrzynecki Poems Analysis

Belonging + Alienation
By Hameeda

“Skrzynecki’s poetry explores the question of alienation just as much as it does the issue of belonging”

Alienation is a universal human emotion which can only be addressed from an individual perspective and thus Peter Skrzynecki’s collection of highly personal poetry serves as a much more effective medium for exploring isolation that belonging. His anthology Immigrant Chronicles collates his exploration of belonging on cultural, familial and ideological levels as formed by his personal experiences; yet the central focus of these poems lies in the aspect of alienation and isolation more than it does belonging. When a sense of community is built up through his expertly virtuosic command of high powered
literary techniques, as can only be achieved by a master of the English language, it is always undercut such that the anthology lends itself more as a lamentation of lost belonging rather than a celebration of unity.

‘Postcard’ encapsulates the alienation engendered by the inescapable nature of one’s nationality and foregrounds this as a cause of inner turmoil much more than it does as a cause of pride and elation. Being of Polish descent yet raised in Australia, Peter Skrzynecki documents the cultural chasm which he personally faces foremost through his choice of supernatural diction such as “haunts.” In this way, Skrzynecki sets up the poem with supernatural overtones, suggesting futility in artificially adopting a nationality. Nonetheless, his highly objective illustration of the city of Warsaw as reflected in the lack of a main verb governing “red buses on a bridge… high-rise flats” represents his attempt not to engage emotionally with the town. This detachment is sustained and thus he pejoratively states “the sky’s the brightest shade.” However section 2 marks a more emotional attempt to accept his separation from his culture and this is most clearly seen in his direct address to “Warsaw, Old Town;” the cultural enigma which he is yet to confront. Here Skrzynecki does try to establish a legitimate link with his heritage by sympathizing for its physical sufferings as a “great city that bombs destroyed” and also as a diminishing culture which is only perpetuated in “the minds of a dying generation half a world away.” Never the less, this connection is tenuous as Skrzynecki’s tone becomes somewhat envious of those who vicariously defend their spiritual homeland. This is expressed through the distillation of Polish values into the symbol of the “White Eagle:” an ideology which he respects yet is unable to wholly embrace. Furthermore this cultural chasm is construed as a result of situation rather than volition as can be seen in the use of asyndeton in the plea “I repeat, I never knew you, let me be.” The dichotomy of his situation is ultimately encapsulated in his rhetorical question “What’s my choice to be?” Eventually, he himself recognizes the superficiality of this connection as he has nothing to offer other than “despair.” This self imposed alienation is developed in the third section as his persistence against the allure of his heritage leads him to “refuse to answer the voices of red gables.” Ultimately, this isolation manifests itself in his surroundings as it does in the somewhat prophetic “lone tree” which “whispers “we will meet before you die,”” thus echoing the sense of a supernatural enigma established in the beginning of the poem.

In contrast to ‘Postcard’ in which Skrzynecki confronts his inescapable heritage, ‘10 Mary St’ eulogizes the physical transience of his home yet through literature, immortalizes the sense of belonging which it endowed him with.
The focus on these ideas is most evidently reflected in the way his poem is framed by temporal references such as “for nineteen years” and “back at 5p.m.” These phrases create a sense of security which is further developed by the extended listing in “we departed each morning, shut the house… hid the key.” Moreover, this specific focus on the inane details of life such as hiding the key “under a rusty bucket” and walking “over that still too-narrow bridge” establishes a colloquial tone which in turn, represents the sense of familiarity associated with everyday life. Thus a sense of belonging is founded in this regularity. Moreover, this routine is portrayed in highly favourable light as is seen in the leisurely and bucolic interrelationship between work and play; “my parents watered plants – grew potatoes… tended roses and camellias.” This Arcadian imagery becomes even more significant as an empowering sense of reciprocity is generated by the simile of the “roses and camellias like adopted children.” In addition to this, the lines “washing clothes and laying sewerage pipes” draw upon familial conventions of the ‘handyman’ father and domestic mother to render a scene of unity. Also, the house becomes the irrevocable scene of his childhood where he would “ravage the backyard garden like a hungry bird.” However, these nostalgic reflections take on a somewhat lamenting tone as the house’s transience is fully realized;” the whole block has been gazetted for industry” and it is with this attitude in mind that his dwindling Polish religion is treated in the following paragraph. Thus the first person plural pronoun “we lived together” illustrates a collective cultural unity which “kept pre-war Europe alive.” It is by adhering to this unique culture
of “kielbasa, salt herrings and rye bread” that Skrzynecki manages to perpetuate a diminishing culture and the metaphor of the “key, that’ll open no house when this one is pulled down” suggests that it will remain as a legitimate nationality as long as its citizens maintain its legacy. However, such ideas are undercut by his use of the Australian vernacular “smoked like a dozen Puffing Billies” which illustrates the cultural chasm he has to reconcile and thus “10 Mary St” stands as a lamentation of the loss of familiar senses of belonging on a familial and cultural level.

While ‘Postcard’ and ’10 Mary St’ operate on familial and cultural levels, ‘St Patrick’s College” is a confrontation with the ideological isolation which Peter Skrzynecki faced at school and with his parents during his childhood. His attendance at the school is foremost construed as a result of shallow reasoning from his mother as she was “impressed by the uniforms” yet he is able to overlook this on account of her good intentions which are emphasis by the direct speech in “wanting only “what was best.”” Nevertheless her decision is not readily endorsed by the persona and thus the otherwise symbolic figure of “Our Lady” is rendered from a much a more prosaic perspective, as a statue “from the roof of the secondary school block.” While the statue embodies the ideology of the school, Skrzynecki’s detachment from these ideals manifests itself in the menacing face “overshadowed by clouds,” thus foreshadowing his insecurities in such an environment. This is later fulfilled by the simile by which he “caught the 414 bus like a foreign tourist uncertain of [his] destination. While the compassionate plea by his mother who “said a prayer for [his] future intentions” creates a serious tone and epitomizes her wish for him to subscribe to the school’s ethos, this is undermined by his puerility as he “stuck pine needles into the motto.” Similarly, the idealism offered by the motto “luceat lux vestra” is undercut by his reduction of it to “a brand of soap.” Also, his reaction to the symbolism of the “blue black and gold” which he had been “privileged to wear” is tainted with a hint of sarcasm thus emphasizing his disconnection to the school. This is explored through the lack of conjunctions in his highly objective listing of facts learnt at school “learnt my conjugations… could say The Lord’s Prayer in Latin,” inturn demonstrating that he is oblivious to the deeper significance of his education. His final encounter with “Our Lady still watching above, unchanged” devaluates the transcendental nature of religion rendering him as another product of the school’s processes. Similarly, he trivializes the religious connotations of his prayer book “venite adoremus” as he quantifies the book by its “seventy-eight pages” rather than its spiritual content. While his prayer that “Mother would someday with what she’d god for her money” echoes her own desperate plea for him to successfully integrate into this society, it does not fulfil her wishes as Skrzynecki responds in a very Utilitarian frame of mind. Moreover, the indefinite connotations of the word “someday” imply that they are yet to be fulfilled. In this sense, “St Patrick’s College” serves as a reflection of Skrzynecki’s aversion to the ideals which his mother intended to impose upon him and thus addresses the theme of alienation on an ideological level.

Peter Skrzynecki’s anthology of poetry Immigrant Chronicles stands much more as a lamentation of lost unity and communities rather than as a celebration of belonging. This is most evidently seen in ‘Postcard’ ’10 Mary St’ and ‘St Patrick’s College’ which address the issue on familial, cultural, ideological and religious levels and he imparts extraordinarily deep layers of significance in his poetry through virtuosic mastery of the literary form.