Monica Raszewski Monica Raszewski i(A88087 works by)
Born: Established: Melbourne, Victoria, ;
Gender: Female
Heritage: Polish
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Works By

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1 1 y separately published work icon The Archaeology of a Dream City Monica Raszewski , London : Balestier Press , 2021 23338052 2021 single work novel

'Born and raised in Australia, Martha longs to return to Nadwodom, in a country called Czawa, where her parents and family grew up. As she stumbles upon the works of Marion Porter, an Australian photographer who once photographed the countryside in Czawa, Martha’s own journey to her family’s homeland begins to unfurl. There, she meets her cousin, Klara, and the two discover an uncanny relationship in which each sees herself in the other. Born and raised in Nadwodom, Klara helps Martha discover the multi-layered pattern that connects her present world and the history of a city that remains deep in the shadows of their family’s memories. In moving across time and borders, Martha gradually recognizes the source of her yearning and the connections between the dreams and images that haunt her.

'Monica Raszewski’s The Archaeology of a Dream City is a novel that explores the importance of remembering our histories and uncovering what has been lost. It is a story of the need to create, and a story of love that can only be lived when the past has been excavated.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.
1 Half Moon Bay Monica Raszewski , 2016 single work short story
— Appears in: Southerly , August vol. 76 no. 1 2016; (p. 135-140) 'The blue stone forecourt of the State Library was shiny and slippery from the rain. As I stepped over a large puddle I was tempted to squat and put my hand into the water like a child. Instead I listened to the click of my shoes on the stone steps leading to the Library entrance. When I got to the side door I dug around in my bag worried I had lost my swipe card again. I took a deep breath and looked over at the bronze statue of Joan of Arc seated on her horse. Joan and the horse were both shiny from the rain. They faced the street and stared straight ahead as if about to take off. I rummaged in my bag again and found the swipe card smothered in an old tissue. I held it against the card reader and the door glided open. The foyer was empty and still unlit. At this time of the morning I felt that the building was mine, not that it belonged to me but that I could go anywhere, do anything. I could look through shelves of books, rummage through boxes of manuscripts and wander around the deserted public areas like some kind of ghost. I lingered at the bottom of the stairs unsure whether to go up to my desk in the Art Library or whether to have a look at the new books downstairs. The sound of a trolley trundling across the floor of the Information Centre made me turn and go up the worn marble steps.' (Publication abstract)
1 There Are Trees That Are Dancers Monica Raszewski , 2011 single work drama

'... ostensibly about little-known Australian artist Sybil Craig. However, it is far from biographical. It is a finely wrought, intensely imagined play about two older idiosyncratic women attempting to define the value of life and art....'

Source: The R.E. Ross Trust Playwrights' Script Development Awards 2011 Judges' Report, State Library of Victoria website, www.slv.vic.gov.au (sighted 13/07/2011)
1 y separately published work icon Three Oaks / Chrysalis Monica Raszewski , Dina Ross , Strawberry Hills Melbourne : Currency Press La Mama Theatre , 2008 Z1516939 2008 selected work drama
1 Broken Glass Monica Raszewski , 2007-2008 single work short story
— Appears in: Meanjin , vol. 66-67 no. 4-1 2007-2008; (p. 303-308)
1 Blood Red Monica Raszewski , 2006 single work short story
— Appears in: Meanjin , vol. 65 no. 4 2006; (p. 9-14)
1 Egg Shell Monica Raszewski , 2006 single work drama
1 Three Oaks Monica Raszewski , 2006 single work drama
— Appears in: Three Oaks / Chrysalis 2008; (p. [1]-34) 'Inspired by writer Monica Raszewski's discovery of letters and notes from an artist's estate, Three Oaks explores the notion of piecing together a life when a person dies. Using a combination of text, music and physical theatre the play takes a journey through the life of Janek, a Polish artist who leaves his young family. Years later, his daughter Margaret seeks to write his biography and by speaking with the women in his life, attempts to piece together her own heritage. In doing so, she stirs old resentments and painful memories.' (Publisher's blurb)
1 Beyond Her Reflection Monica Raszewski , 2005 single work short story
— Appears in: Meanjin , vol. 64 no. 4 2005; (p. 189-195)
1 form Ghost Words Monica Raszewski , 2005 single work radio play drama

'Margaret is the daughter of migrants who separated when she and her sister, Alex were girls. Her father, an artist, returned to his homeland with a lover, Mary McInnes. Soon after his death, Margaret decides to write his biography, she wants to know her father, she wants to understand what that heritage means to her as an adult. In trying to know and understand her father, she turns to the ghost of his lover for help. Margaret confronts her own sense of loss and longing and her desire to own and control the family history. Her sister, Alex, is crucial to her quest for knowledge and she is also a rival. Driven by a desire to create a living connection to the past, she pieces together an unreal place of stories, memories and a displaced language.'

(Source: ABC Radio National website, http://www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/airplay/s1303420.htm)
1 Mushrooms Monica Raszewski , 2004 single work short story
— Appears in: Verandah , no. 19 2004; (p. 66-72)
1 Kite Monica Raszewski , 1999 single work short story
— Appears in: Overland , Summer no. 157 1999; (p. 66-67)
1 Swooping Firebird Monica Raszewski , 1992 single work autobiography
— Appears in: Second Degree Tampering : Writing by Women 1992; (p. 14-20)
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