Grafton writer Blazis discusses ‘Zoisa’ at library talk

Grafton author/editor Helen Blazis will discuss her book, “”Zosia: Immigration and Industry in Grafton Massachusetts a Polish Immigrant’s Perspective,” on Tuesday June 14t at 7 p.m, in the new Community Room of the Grafton Public Library

“Zosia” is a uniquely historical chronicle of the Industrial Revolution in Grafton as seen by immigrants, who powered its surge and enabled the prosperity that followed. The personal nature of this not-in-the-textbooks documentary lights up revealing windows through which most history students have no access.

Author Stasia Obara Rawinski and editor Blazis have combined to weave an intricate tapestry that depicts the bleak agricultural conditions in Poland that led to immigration here and the vivid opportunities in industrial America that rewarded that risky, sometimes hazardous, and often frightful journey. In between, the writers create a complete picture of life transformed, often in starkly revealing detail.

The burgeoning America that the writers reveal is both delightfully complex and as basic as kitchen tub-baths, outhouses, and repairing and recycling just about everything broken or worn-out. America is all this and more. Both Rawinski and Blazis fearlessly uncover it all in the unvarnished experiences of first and second generation American women, who encounter triumph and tragedy along the way. The history of Grafton is thus revealed under a new light.

Readers may be particularly surprised by the often-brilliant resourcefulness and essential ingenuity required of the immigrants to survive and make their way initially without English, helpful connections, education, and money. Their self-reliance was incredible. The immigrants emerge from this documentary as surprisingly noble in spirit, extremely patriotic to their new country, and willing to tirelessly work. In that regard, Zosia is a testament to the foundation of the American Spirit.

Learn more about Zosia and the Industrial Revolution in Grafton through Blazis’s powerful presentation. The program is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Grafton Public Library and by the Grafton Historical Society and is supported in part by a grant from the Grafton Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. Copies of her book, “Zosia,” may be purchased at the time of the event for $25.

For more information, contact the library at info@graftonlibrary.org or call 508-839-4649.