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Novel about Polish-American hero Pulaski to be published in US

17.08.2022 08:00
"Kaz: War, Love, and Betrayal" is the title of a new novel about Gen. Casimir Pulaski (Kazimierz Pułaski), a national hero of Poland and the United States, which is due to be published in America next month.
Photo:
Photo:PAP/Darek Delmanowicz

The author of Kaz: War, Love, and Betrayal is Bogdan Kotnis.

Born in Kraków, southern Poland, Kotnis holds a master’s degree in American literature from the city’s Jagiellonian University.

Having left Poland in his 30s, he lived for three decades in the United States, where he obtained a Ph.D. degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in education systems management. 

Kotnis is active as a writer, educator, film director, journalist, and a member of the Polish community in the United States.

His book chronicles the life of Pułaski, who offered his services to US leader George Washington and emerged as a brave soldier, demanding commander, and brilliant leader.

In an interview for the Polish press in the United States, Kotnis said: “It hurt me that the person of Kazimierz Pułaski did not get its rightful place in American literature. I decided to patch this hole to the best of my modest ability.

"I tried to introduce Pułaski so that the average American could find himself in his adventures … I present the narrative from the election of King Stanisław August in 1764 to the death of General Pułaski at Savannah, Georgia, in 1779.”

Kaz: War, Love, and Betrayal is set to be made available on Amazon in book and electronic form.

Pułaski was a member of the Polish landed nobility. He fought against Russian domination in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and, having emigrated to North America, on the side of the colonists against the British in the American Revolution.

He organized a legion of cavalry known as the Pulaski Legion and is also remembered as the "Father of the American Cavalry."

He died on October 11, 1779, aged 34.

The day of Pułaski’s death, October 11, is marked in the United States as General Pulaski Memorial Day.

(mk/gs)