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FORTHCOMING NEWS
& EVENTS IN 2025

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POLISH COMMUNITIES IN

19th CENTURY BRITAIN:

Keeping national culture

and identity alive

&

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR WRITING:

rooted in Norwich, open to the world!

 

The Auditorium at

 

Norwich Forum​

 

Saturday, 17th May 2025

at 14.00 - 16.00

CLICK HERE TO BOOK - TICKETS ALSO ON DOOR

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If you are interested in P0land and its heritage or culture, History, Books or Writing... this is the event for you! The NPHG is delighted to invite you to our special event featuring eminent guest presenter, Janet Zmroczek MBE, Curator of Polish and Baltic Collections and Head of European, Americas and Oceania Collections at the British Library, London, between 1983-2022. She'll be talking about her particular area of interest: Polish communities in Britain in the 19th century.

 

Based in Norwich but initially from Northern Ireland, Peggy Hughes is Chief Executive of the National Centre for Writing (NCW) at Dragon Hall, Norwich's iconic medieval masterpiece. She'll be explaining how the NCW is Rooted in Norwich but open to the world and will reveal the organisation's links with two of Poland's best-loved cities.  

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Janet Zmroczek MBE

​Polish communities in Britain in 19th century Britain

"Most people probably think that Polish communities developed in Britain after the Second World War, or even later in the 20th century, during the Solidarity era or after Poland joined the EU.  My presentation will shed light on the much longer history of Poles in Britain, focusing on the 19th century. Particularly, I'll  look at their social and cultural lives, with a brief outline of the political situation for context . I'll focus on the societies and institutions these 19th century Poles set up together with their educational and publishing activities. Also, I'll highlight their efforts to keep national culture and identity alive in the difficult, often tragic circumstances in which they found themselves, far from home and family and in poor financial circumstances. The presentation will be illustrated to show the publications and other resources used to piece together this history".

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Peggy Hughes

National Centre for Writing:

Rooted in Norwich, open to the world!

 

"I'll give a brief history and current view from the National Centre for Writing, a contemporary literature house based at stunning Dragon Hall. We work at the heart of England's first UNESCO City of Literature to connect Norwich to the world, including through residencies and exchanges with fellow Cities of Literature, Kraków and WrocÅ‚aw". 

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CLICK HERE TO BOOK - TICKETS ALSO ON DOOR

Adults: £5.00 (+ booking fee)

Full-time students: Free​

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