Finding Samolinska: an annotated translation of selected works of Teofila Samolinska

Teofila Samoliska, a beloved Polish actress and poet, who lived in Chicago in 1872-1913, was a daring writer and activist who espoused progressive ideas about a woman's place in society. However, apart from a handful of Polish immigration scholars and historians that know about her contributions; she remains an obscure figure for Poles in America and in Poland. One of the reasons for her obscurity is that most of her poems, letters, plays and commentaries perished in the fire of the Polish museum where they were placed after her death. In my paper I decided to uncover as much as possible about her life and works based on letters and poems the she submitted to Polish immigrant press in years 1865 – 1913. I selected some of her letters and one play and translated and annotated them; I decided to select works that would offer good samples of her style and of issues she was interested in or cared about. I hope that my annotated translation of writings of this remarkable woman releases her from unfortunate an ill devise obscurity and that it contributes to the historiography of nineteenth century immigrant community in which she lived.M.A.Includes bibliographical referencesby Renata Marti