October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. As you may know, T.S. Poetry Press has published a memoir: Sun Shine Down—called a “jewel [that] rises to the top” of the category of Down syndrome memoirs. Yes, we have an interest in bringing beauty to light, regarding this life reality.
Throughout October, we will feature poetic and artistic looks into the experiences of those who live with Down syndrome in one way or another. Today’s feature is a peek into the artistic vision of Kasia Puciata, followed by a found poem we created from her own words (title excepted)…
The Dream of Kasia
I am lonely
Why are you staring at the computer screen, not me?
Where do you dream?
Tomorrow I will make an experiment.
God will do confessions.
Will He have time to talk? Can one can come to Him and talk seriously?
Where do you dream?
Do you die in your clothes?
There are small rooms in Heaven, beds, two rooms and two beds.
Why did God create the world?
Where do you dream?
I would like to know when is the end of the world. Is it on Saturday,
Tuesday or maybe Wednesday?
When Liniewski calls tell him that I am cheating on him.
Bury me in Powazki and cover me with soil, like you covered Father!
Where do you dream?
—found poem, from the words of Kasia Puciata
Kasia Puciata fell into a two-year silence after her father died. Hospitalization and medication eventually brought her to speak again, but it was through a newfound art (encouraged by an observant mother) that Kasia eventually found a vibrant voice that could express the inexpressible.
She was recognized by the art establishment in Poland, and the great art critic Andrzej Oseka noted, “The usual way of perceiving was not available to her. She tried—with the help of those close to her—to somehow join the world. She copied letters from a first grade schoolbook, tried embroidery and playing the guitar. Three years ago she tried painting for the first time. I consider the results astounding. It has to be a different way of perceiving since this art is so mature, so beautiful.”
Kasia passed away on Feb 16, 2004
For more on Kasia Puciata, see her sister’s website and the fuller story.
Browse more features on Down Syndrome
Browse more art and poetry
“Gillian Marchenko’s Sun Shine Down is a moving account of the birth of her third daughter, Polina. She describes her depression after Polly’s birth and her own difficulty in loving her child. Beautifully written, this memoir is hopeful without being glib.”
—Susan Olasky, World magazine
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Maureen Doallas says
Kasia’s art is such a moving testimony to what she held and holds inside. She beautifully articulates the moments of being closed off and then her window opens, unbarred, to let in the sun. Wonderful!
Beautiful found poem also.
Joanna says
One of the greatest Polish art critics have compared Kasia’s art work to the one of the great masters who could navigate between joy and tragedy in one painting. And there you say from closed to open. Her world was full of contrast, from love to ridicule, from beauty to ugliness. Overall her life was calm and loving, but peoples remarks and the suffering from the loss of our father created those contrasting strokes.
Thank you! Kasia’s sister, Joanna Puciata
Donna says
Looking at these now, after having read the Curator piece, I am moved by the process that I believe Kasia used…. with the exception of the fourth (I can’t be sure of that one) they all seem to have received their edges (framing) LAST. The heart of the picture came first and then it was framed… that is very different to me than placing the heart of the painting in a box (frame) that has been painted first… and it makes me think of PUSHING BACK… the frame makes the statement “HERE I AM.. THIS IS ME” and it pushes back against a world that all too often refuses to see, or cannot see, the beauty there inside – the complexity – the gifts. So the frame says to me “LOOK… LOOK HERE and you’ll see what matters”. Although I have no way of knowing her reasons or habits… still, they speak to me of pushing back against invisibility.
Joanna says
Thank you so much for this in depth interpretation and an unusual remark. I will post it on my website if I may.
Kasia’s sister, Joanna Puciata
Donna says
Of course you may, Joanna. Thank you! I would consider it a privilege if you posted my words on your beautiful site. 🙂