Peter Skrzynecki
Belonging
Biography
 Peter Skrzynecki (pronounced sherneski was born 1945, Germany)
WWII destruction
 Polish/Ukrainian background
 Emigrated to Australia in 1949 with his
parents.
 After a four-week sea journey on the
"General Blatchford" the family arrived
in Sydney on 11 November.
 Lived in a migrant camp in Bathurst for
two weeks before being moved on to the
Parkes Migrant Centre, a former Air
Force Training Base. It is this camp, in
central-western New South Wales, that
the poet regards as his first home in
Australia.
Migrant ship, the
‘General Blatchford’
 1951 the family moved to Sydney, to the
working-class suburb of Regents Park,
where a home had been purchased
at 10 Mary Street.
 Feliks Skrzynecki worked as a labourer
for the Water Board and Kornelia as a
domestic for a number of families in Strathfield. The parents worked
hard and had the house paid off in four years.
 They grew their own vegetables and had a magnificent flower garden.
 Peter attended St Patrick's College, Strathfield, where he completed
his Leaving Certificate in 1963.
 After an unsuccessful year at Sydney University in 1964, he
completed a Primary Teacher Training Course at Sydney Teachers'
College in 1965-66 .
 In 1968 he had recommenced his university studies as an external
student and has a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and a Master of
Letters.
Surprisingly, the poems that focus on family and the poems that observe
people, primarily, stand out in this book, rather than specific accounts of
the immigrant experience, although this theme is rarely absent from his
work.
 From 1967 to 1987 Peter Skrzynecki taught in various primary
public schools in the western suburbs of Sydney, in the inner-west
and the south-west
 While at Sydney University, Peter Skrzynecki began writing poetry
and was introduced to the work of such modern writers as Dylan
Thomas, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, W.B.Yeats, T.S. Eliot, Wilfred
Owen and D.H. Lawrence.
 He had his first poems published professionally in Poetry Magazine
in 1967 and again in 1968. His work began to appear in the
Weekend Australian, the ABC began broadcasting his poems on
its "Poet's Tongue" programme and his work was included in the
Australian Poetry 1969 anthology,
 Skrzynecki's first books, There, Behind the Lids and Headwaters,
were published in 1970 and 1972 respectively
 These two collections, for the most, were concerned with the poet's
experiences during the three years he taught in the country. They
were reflective or meditative poems that dealt with the natural
world, with the countryside, its people, its fauna and flora.
In 1975, Immigrant Chronicle is published.
 Traces of themes from the two earlier
books.
 For the first time the poet writes about his
European background, his experiences as a
migrant in Australia, the problems
associated with being an exile, with his
parents' dispossession and the difficulties,
such as racism, bigotry and resettlement,
encountered by them and other immigrants
in trying to assimilate to a new life in a new
land.
Skrzynecki mainly writes three kinds of poems, all in a similarly distinctive,
almost prosaic style:
•the family poem, in which he often displays a deft ability to portray
character through description
•the immigrant experience, which ranges between the new and old worlds
and often has a documentary quality
•and the landscape poem, which is often idyllic, with a poetic persona not
that dissimilar to a Wordsworthian boy wandering and meditating in a
garden or countryside.
Postscript
 Feliks Skrzynecki died in June, 1994. He was 89.
 Kornelia (Woloszczuk) died in February, 1997. She was 79.
 The house at 10 Mary Street, Regents Park, was sold later that
year.
Today
Peter Skrzynecki is that rare thing in
Australia: a poet with a substantial readership.
 Sales of his autobiographical collection Immigrant Chronicle
(1975) exceed 20,000 copies according to his website, although
many of these would be due to his good fortune at having had this
volume included on the HSC list for many years.
 Peter Skrzynecki is married to Kate and has three children, Judith,
Andrew and Anna.
Feliks Skrzynecki
Emotive
language
Simile shows
love of garden.
Tone is
humourous
Descriptive
language.
Simile used
My gentle father
Kept pace only with the Joneses
Of his own mind’s making –
Loved his garden like an only child,
Spent years walking its perimeter
From sunrise to sleep.
Alert, brisk and silent,
He swept its paths
Ten times around the world.
Hands darkened
From cement, fingers with cracks
Like the sods he broke,
I often wondered how he existed
On five or six hours’ sleep each night
–
Why his arms didn’t fall off
From the soil he turned
And tobacco he rolled.
Cliché used
to show his
father living
up to high
standards
hyperbole
Hyperbole and
humour used
The poet can
not relate to
his polish
heritage
A historical allusion
is used to show the
trauma his father
went through.
Despite this
difficult time is
father is not
hardened. Visual
and descriptive
language is used
Personal
pronouns are
used to reinforce
the personal
nature of this
poem
His Polish friends
Always shook hands too violently,
I thought… Feliks Skrzynecki,
That formal address
I never got used to.
Talking, they reminisced
About farms where paddocks
flowered
With corn and wheat,
Horses they bred, pigs
They were skilled in slaughtering.
Five years of forced labour in
Germany
Did not dull the softness of his blue
eyes
I never once heard
Him complain of work, the weather
Or pain. When twice
They dug cancer out of his foot,
His comment was: ‘but I’m alive’.
The poet’s father is
nostalgic about his
past. Such skills are of
no use in his current
life. His fellow
countrymen make him
feel a sense of
belonging.
The poet’s
admiration for the
stoic nature of his
father is shown.
This brave
quotation
provides clear
evidence of how
brave he is
Most of his
knowledge of the
Polish language
is gone yet he
has inherited
parts of his
cultural without
realising it.
The poet’s
father has a
level of
contentment
that the poet
envies
Growing older, I
Remember words he taught me,
Remnants of a language
I inherited unknowingly –
The curse that damned
A crew-cut, grey-haired
Department clerk
Who asked me in dancing-bear
grunts:
‘Did your father ever attempt to learn
English?’
On the back steps of his house,
Bordered by golden cypress,
Lawns – geraniums younger
Than both parents,
My father sits out the evening
With his dog, smoking,
Watching stars and street lights come
on,
Happy as I have never been.
Personal
pronoun
The quotation
shos the
ignorance that
exists in society
and the struggle
associated with
belonging. It
also shows the
poet’s respect
for his father
Feliks
struggles
to help his
son retain
his culture
At thirteen,
Stumbling over tenses in Caesar’s
Gallic War,
I forgot my first Polish word.
He repeated it so I never forgot.
After that, like a dumb prophet,
Watched me pegging my tents
Further and further south of Hadrian’s
Wall.
Biblical/religious
allusion
As the poet
learns a new
language he
loses his
grasp of the
polish
language
Hadrian’s
Wall is a
dividing wall
in England.
The tent
represents
the
immigration
of the family
Reflective poem on a father deeply loved and respected
and the changing relationship they shared
Conflict is generated between the two as a result of the
persona further becoming further embedded in Australian
culture.
Information on Feliks is provided by the poet’s memory and
reminiscences. The impact on Feliks’ experiences is as a
strong for the son as it is for the father.
The persona recognises in maturity that his father
understood the gap that existed between them
Feliks felt that his son would come to comprehend the value
of his Polish heritage despite his initial dislocation from it
Feliks Skrzynecki
Stanza 1…explain
Peter’s p.o.v of his
father, the garden
and himself,
include positives
and negatives and
how his
understanding
developed and
changed over
time.
Stanza 3…through
the use of
imagery, peter
depicts a world
that intrigued him
but alienated him
at the same time.
Explain how and
why this is a
passage of time
that he will never
belong to…
Connections
through
relationships can
develop over time.
Explain how this
aspect has been
explored through
the poem.
Feliks Skrzynecki
Kept pace only with the Joneses
Of his own mind’s making –
Social and physical environments are usually determining
factors in providing a sense of identity or connectedness,
yet some individuals may seal themselves off in a
metaphorical vacuum, finding solace in their memories of
the past. The composer establishes this characteristic in
‘Feliks Skrzynecki,’ suggesting his father is ignoring the
social pressures of conformity, exemplified in the
idiomatic statement‘kept pace only with the Joneses…’
His determination to find his own sense of self is
reinforced through the alliterative ‘minds making’ and
the caesura that strikingly segregates Feliks through the
structure of the poem itself and identifies him as a
character who has found comfort without the need for
broader social inclusion.
I often wondered how he existed
The different perspectives and assumptions about our
place in the world, and our sense of identity can often
cause a dislocation between individuals who foster these
divergent views. The composer elucidates this sense of
bewilderment through enjambment “I often wondered
how he existed…”
The responder naturally lingers on this key word
‘existed’ and we gain a sense of the existential
musings and confusion that abounds between father and
son. The inquisitive, childlike tone questioning notions of
his identity, and how his father seems to benignly
struggle through life seem completely foreign and alien
to the composer. This further accentuates the
generational divisions that exist when acclimatising
within a new physical and social environment.
Always shook hands too violently
How different groups affiliate and form their collective
identity varies. It is these associations that can enrich an
individual’s life and create a sense of belonging. These
traditions and shared practices may be completely foreign
to those on the outside. The composer conveys this
feeling through the paradox “Always shook hands too
violently”. The collision of the handshake, a symbol of
camaraderie, and the incongruous description of it’s
violence, perplexes the composer as he struggles to
decode these strange interactions between his elders.
This generational split leads to feelings of alienation and
an emotional chasm between father and son, at a time
when both are trying to find their sense of belonging
within Australia.
About farms where paddocks flowered
With corn and wheat,
When an individual finds themself in a new, adoptive
environment, they may mentally regress to a place of
sanctuary. Feliks Skrzynecki reminiscing with his old
friends allows this group to transcend the physical
barriers of their current milieu to return to their
homeland. The simple imagery in “About farms where
paddocks flowered,With corn and wheat”, represents
their uncomplicated lives and sense of belonging to their
homeland. The symbols ‘corn’ and ‘wheat’, simple,
staple food, further demonstrate the oneness Feliks and
his friends have to this natural environment - and
provides a barrier from assimilating to life in Australia in
the same way the Peter has embraced.
‘but I’m alive’
In an ever changing, contemporary world the desire to be more
and more connected through different spheres of our lives is
endemic. Young people are more connected than ever, and this
may be at odds with a generation of their forebears who
appreciated simple gifts during the World Wars, such as food,
shelter and life itself. The inclusion of dialogue by Feliks
Skrzynecki comes in the form of a short, simplistic declaration
“but I’m alive”, which encapsulates the resilience of his character.
In the face of adversity, cancer and Nazi concentration camps his
own sense of identity and self efficacy has been unshaken. This is
heavily contrasted to the composer, who is searching through the
recesses of his own experiences and relationships to unveil who
he is and his place in the world.
Feliks Skrzynecki
My Gentle Father
Personal Pronoun and familial
personal descriptive ‘gentle.’
suggests affection.
Kept pace only with the Joneses
Free from stigma
Of his own mind’s making –
Joneses/Society
Loved his garden like an only child,
Simile/hyperbole
Spent years walking its perimeter
From sunrise to sleep.
Sibilance
Alert, brisk and silent,
Sibilance
He swept its paths
Ten times around the world.
The use of hyperbole
at the end of stanza
one links to Immigrant
Experience.
Feliks Skrzynecki
Vivid memories
of a father from
the perspective
of an awed
child.
Reminder that
the immigrant
experience is
one of first and
second
generation.
Hands darkened
From cement, fingers with cracks
Like the sods he broke,
Simile
I often wondered how he existed
Personal
Pronoun
Hyperbole
On five or six hours’ sleep each
night –
Why his arms didn’t fall
From the soil he turned
There is the strong
suggestion of a cultural
off
and generational divide.
Task: Find an example of a text with an immigrant experience
And
tobacco
hefind
rolled.
that mirrors this
one.
You should
something to show the
difference and dissonance between first and second
generations.
Feliks Skrzynecki
Cultural
Exclusivity
His Polish friends
Always shook hands too violently
I thought … Feliks Skrzynecki,
Generation
al
Alienation
That formal address
Ellipsis to create
stream of
consciousness
I never got used to.
Talking, they reminisced
About farms where paddocks flowered
With corn and wheat,
Horses they bred, pigs
Historical
Context
They were skilled in slaughtering.
Five years of forced labour in Germany
Link to
‘Gentle.’
Did not dull the softness of his blue eyes.
Note: the use of enjambment throughout the poem. Suggest the effect
of the use of enjambment in lines 9-10.
Feliks Skrzynecki
Stoicism
I never once heard
Him complain of work, the weather
Or pain, When twice
They dug cancer out of his foot,
His comment was: “but I’m alive.”
Immediacy
through
speech
Note: The tone of admiration in this stanza. Where else do we see
this tone of admiration. You may also notice that whilst there is the
suggestion of respect and affection this leaves the persona excluded
from the father’s experiences and in a way incidentally and
accidentally alienated from the father’s world. Task: List all incidents
like this in the text.
Feliks Skrzynecki
Growing older, I
Remember words he taught me,
Remnants of a language
I inherited unknowingly –
The curse that damned
Return of Personal
pronoun
Memories and
legacy –
suggestion of loss
and lament.
Emotive alienation
through ‘curse.’
A crew-cut, grey-haired
Satirical representation
Department clerk
of an unwelcoming
society. Bureaucracy is
Who asked me in dancing-bear grunts:
scorned here.
“Did your father ever attempt to learn English?”
Task: What is the effect of direct speech at the end of this stanza?
Feliks Skrzynecki
Cyclical
return to
home
On the back steps of his house,
Bordered by golden cypress,
Note: the
existence
outside
Australian
society.
Shunning of
policy of
assimilation
Lawns – geraniums younger
Than both parents
My father sits out the evening
With his dog, smoking,
Watching stars and street lights come on,
Happy as I have never been.
Task: What does this last line connote about the conflict between the
migrant experience of first and second generation migrants?
Feliks Skrzynecki
School education ‘kicks in’ and affects the
ability to connect with his parents
language.
At thirteen
Feliks corrects the
Stumbling over tenses in Caesar’s Gallic War,
persona at first
I forgot my first Polish word.
and then
eventually
He repeated it so I never forgot.
concedes defeat.
After that, like a dumb prophet,
Watched me pegging my tents
Further and further south of Hadrian’s Wall.
Hadrian’s Wall: This is a reference to the wall built on the English and
Scottish border by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. This is used as a
metaphor by skrzynecki to suggest the alienation of the son from the
father as he becomes more embroiled in the dominant culture and
forgets his parent’s heritage.
Questions
1.
There are emotions conveyed regarding the
immigrant experience throughout this poem. How are
they conveyed by the author to encompass both the
experience of Feliks and his son?
2.
How does this experience convey a sense of the
concept of ‘immigrant voices’?
3.
How does the use of non-native plants such as cyprus
and geraniums metaphorically convey a sense of the
migrant experience?
Migrant Hostel
Read, discuss for meaning, analyse
Parkes, 1949-51
No one kept count
Of all the comings and goings—
Arrivals of newcomers
In busloads from the station,
Sudden departures from adjoining
blocks
That left us wondering
Who would be coming next.
For over two years
We lived like birds of passage—
Always sensing a change
in the weather:
Unaware of the season
Whose track we would follow.
A barrier at the main gate
Sealed off the highway
from our doorstep—
Nationalities sought
As it rose and fell like a finger
Each other out instinctively—
Pointed in reprimand or shame;
Like a homing pigeon
And daily we passed
Circling to get its bearings;
Underneath or alongside it—
Years and name-places
Needing its sanction
Recognised by accents,
To pass in and out of lives
Partitioned off at night
By memories of hunger and hate . That had only begun
Or were dying.
The title sets
the scene. The
date is just
after the end
of WWII
The use of
‘us’ adds a
personal note.
The tone is
uncertain
The simile is
used to show the
immigrants are
uncertain and
unsettled in their
new country.
The migrants are
depicted as
being
temporarily lost
Migrant Hostel.
Parkes, 1949-51
The word migrant was used
in the title and the sheer
number of people moving
through the hostel reinforces
the instability. Hyperbole is
used
No one kept count
Of all the comings and goings –
Arrivals of newcomers
In busloads from the station,
Sudden departures from adjoining
blocks
That left us wondering
Who would be coming next.
Nationalities sought
Each other out instinctively –
Like a homing pigeon
Circling to get its bearings;
Years and place-names
Recognised by accents,
Partitioned off at night
By memories of hunger and hate.
Trying to find
a sense of
belonging
Historical allusion
to war. May be a
metaphor. Refers
to conflicts from
the past and also
references the
very real fear
that would be
felt.
The bird motif
continues. The
tone is emotive
and reinforces
instability
The boom gate
is personified.
This also
serves as
visual
imagery. The
language is
emotive
For over two years
We lived like birds of passage –
Always sensing a change
In the weather:
Unaware of the season
Whose track we would follow.
A barrier at the main gate
Sealed off the highway
From our doorstep –
As it rose and fell like a finger
Pointed in reprimand or shame;
And daily we passed
Underneath or alongside it –
Needing its sanction
To pass in and out of lives
That had only begun
Or were dying.
Simile
comparing the
immigrants to
birds is used
again.
Emotive language
is used to make
reference to the
uncertainty and the
fact that the
immigrants old
lifestyle is being left
behind and being
replaced with a
new life in
Australia.
Analysis of Migrant Hostel
Composer: Peter Skrzynecki
Source: The Immigrant Chronicles, Parkes, 1949-51
Context:
Migrant hostels, like the ones described in this poem, were old army camps with
dormitory-style accommodation. Men and women were not housed together. The
migrants Skrzynecki depicts in this poem are those who came to Australia after WWII at
the invitation of the government.
These migrants where segregated and isolated from the rest of the population even
though they were actually invited to come to Australia. These immigrants where helping
Australia to recover after the war but were treated appallingly.
RELATE TO YOUR OWN micro/MACRO WORLD CONTEXT: Brainstorm how the
context of the poem is still relevant today. Who migrates? Where do they go? How are
they received?
Key features/techniques:
Four stanzas
Imagery
Irony
Simile
Symbolism
Metaphorical motifs  imprisonment and segregation/migratory birds
Juxtaposition  hope is contrasted with fear
Migrant Hostel
 The persona reminisces about the two years his family spent at the
Parkes hostel for newly arrived migrants.
 The immigrants are forced to spend this time in Parkes as a transition
into Australian society.
 The poet conveys the immigrants’ sense of isolation and dislocation
during this time.
 The promise of new life is not quickly realised and there is a sense of
enforced imprisonment at the hands of an unsympathetic bureaucracy.
Some important concepts to
remember:
 The inhabitants of the hostel come and go but no one seems to
have control or to have achieved a place to belong.
 The immigrants continue to be haunted by their recent experiences
that impact upon their ability to belong.
 The barrier at the main gate symbolises isolation from the outside
world and acts as a barrier to belonging.
 The family question whether they will achieve belonging in their
lives.
 The immigrants congregate in nationality groups to provide mutual
support and to create a transitory sense of belonging.
Migrant Hostel – analysis continued
Quotation
Technique
Effect and connection to IV
‘No one kept count/of all the
comings and goings-’
‘Sudden departures.../That left
us wondering’
Idiom , negative or
neglected tone
Chaotic, erratic and
uncertain tone
Suggests chaos and lack of
administration
‘Like a homing pigeon/circling
to get bearings’
‘We lived like birds of
passage/Always sensing a
change’
Bird motif, simile
The migrants are trying to find
something familiar
No preparations made to assist the
migrants to feel as if they belong. They
were left without a voice
Bird motif, reference Simile suggests they will be moving
often.
to temporary
migrant workers,
simile
Metaphor
Sealed off from Australia and the
chance to belong with society
Simile, accusatory
Figurative language refers to negative
treatment – invited to migrate.
tone
‘A barrier.../sealed off the
highway’
‘As it rose and fell like a
finger/Pointed in reprimand or
shame’
‘Needing its sanction/to pass in Sibilance, irony
and out of lives/That had only
begun/Or were dying’
Patronising bureaucracy that control
their existence
Questions
1. How does the first stanza create a sense of the instability and
insecurity of the
migrants?
2. Whose perspective is this poem from? How does this change the way
that the
migrants’ emotions are experienced?
3. Why would people from the same nationality seek “each other out
instinctively”? What does this suggest about humans’ need for belonging?
4. What is the effect of the simile, “like a homing pigeon/ Circling to get
its
bearings”?
5. Even in a new country, groups separate themselves at night. What
technique(s) are used to create a sense of their alienation from each
other?
6. What is the effect of the simile, “like birds of passage”? What does it
suggest
about their existence and identity?
7. What did the barrier at the gate signal to the migrants about
Australians’
acceptance of them? What is the effect of the simile, “rose and fell like a
finger pointed in reprimand or shame”?
8. What are the connotations of the words “partitioned”, “barrier” and
“sealed
off”? What do these words suggest about the migrants’ sense of
belonging?
9. What is the effect of the last two lines? What do these lines mean?
10. Comment on the migrants’ perceptions of the extent of their
belonging in
Australian society, and the barriers to their belonging
St Patrick’s College
Impressed by the uniforms
For eight years
Of her employer’s sons,
Mother enrolled me at St Pat’s
With never a thought
To fees and expenses – wanting only
“What was best”.
I walked Strathfield’s paths and streets,
Played chasings up and down
The station’s ten ramps –
Caught the 414 bus
Like a foreign tourist,
Uncertain of my destination
Every time I got off.
From the roof
Of the secondary school block
Our Lady watched
With outstretched arms,
Her face overshadowed by clouds
Mother crossed herself
As she left me at the office –
Said a prayer
For my future intentions.
Under the principal’s window
I stuck pine needles
Into the motto
On my breast:
Luceat Lux Vestra
I thought was a brand of soap.
For eight years
I carried the blue, black and gold
I’d been privileged to wear:
Learnt my conjugations
And Christian decorums for homework,
Was never too bright at science
But good at spelling’
Could say The Lord’s Prayer
In Latin, all in one breath.
My last day there
Mass was offered up
For our departing intentions,
Our Lady still watching
Above, unchanged by eight years’
weather.
With closed eyes
I fervently counted
The seventy-eight pages
Of my Venite Adoremus,
Saw equations I never understood
Rubbed off the blackboard,
Voices at bus stops, litanies and
hymns
Taking the right-hand turn
Out of Edgar Street for good;
Prayed that Mother would
someday be pleased
With what she got for her money
–
That the darkness around me
Wasn’t ‘for the best’
Before I let my light shine.
His mother’s
reason for
sending him
seems
superficial
yet well
intentioned.
Reinforces his
mother’s good
intentions and
hopes for his
future
Shows
immaturity
and a lack of
respect for
the school
crest
St Patrick’s College
Impressed by the uniforms
Of her employer's sons,
Mother enrolled me at St Pat’s,
With never a thought
To fees and expenses ‐ wanting only
“What was best”.
From the roof
Of the secondary school block.
Our Lady watched
With outstretched arms,
Her face overshadowed by clouds
Mother crossed herself
As she left me at the office ‐
Said a prayer
For my future intentions.
Under the principal's window
I stuck pine needles
Into the motto
On my breast:
Luceat Lux Vestra
I thought was a brand of soap.
Colloquial
Religious
reference to Mary
the mother of
Christ. The
shadow has
negative
connotations
Let you light
shine. This
motto has no
meaning to the
poet at this
point
He caught a
bus & a train
just to get
to school.
Irony is also
used.
Repetition of
the time
Humour is
used. The
poet doesn’t
feel like he
has much to
show from
his time at
the school
For eight years
I walked Strathfield's paths and
streets,
Played chasings up and down
The station's ten ramps ‐
Caught the 414 bus
"Like a foreign tourist”
Uncertain of my destination
Every time I got off.
For eight years
I carried the blue, black and gold
I'd been privileged to wear
Learnt my conjugations
And Christian decorums for
homework,
Was never too bright at science
But good at spelling;
Could say The Lord's Prayer
In Latin, all in one breath.
Simile shows
that he
never felt
like he
belonged
The tone is
sarcastic
Everything
seems to
pass in a
blur
My last day there
Mass was offered up
For our departing intentions,
Our Lady still watching
Above, unchanged by eight years
weather
With closed eyes
I fervently counted‐
The seventy‐eight pages
Of my Venite Adoremus,
Saw equations I never understood
Rubbed off the blackboard,
Voices at bus stops, litanies and
hymns
Taking the right‐hand turn
Out of Edgar Street for good;
Prayed that Mother would someday
be pleased
With what she'd got for her money ‐
That the darkness around me
Wasn't "for the best"
Before I let my light shine
This links back
to the 1st
satnza of the
poem. Note
that Mary
remains
unchanged
This also links
to the previous
stanza. The
tone is quite
dark. The
school motto is
mocked.
St Patrick’s College
The College's crest was designed in 1938 and is made up of three
components:
 The Shield: a symbol of strength and fortitude.
 The Motto: Those who wear the crest pledge fidelity to the
College motto 'Luceat Lux Vestra', Latin for "Let Your Light Shine".
 The Star: the College lights the way to
knowledge and to the Heavenly Father.
The school has a strong sporting focus.
Consider: What do school traditions,
values and the motto ’Christ is my light”
mean to you? How will you remember
your school days?
St Patrick’s College Analysis
 A reflective appraisal – with the benefit of hindsight and experience.
 Overall tone is condemnatory, hints at institutional alienation rather than imbuing
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

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school spirit or inclusion
No reference to positive growth or learning.
Catholicism referenced by statues, prayers, ethos and Mass but no real affinity inferred
by such ‘decorums’.
Large part of childhood spent there (repetition of 8 years) but no reference to period
being enjoyable.
Anonymity dominates – symbolises few meaningful connections poet has made.
Overall perception is drudgery and uniformity – a penance to be endured.
Conformity to strict educational codes has appeared to stultify poet’s individuality.
Mother’s notion of ‘What was best’ was not ‘for the best’
Note irony in last sentence –before I let my light shine
His mother’s
reason for
sending him
seems
superficial
yet well
intentioned.
Reinforces his
mother’s good
intentions and
hopes for his
future
Shows
immaturity
and a lack of
respect for
the school
crest
St Patrick’s College
Impressed by the uniforms
Of her employer's sons,
Mother enrolled me at St Pat’s,
With never a thought
To fees and expenses ‐ wanting only
“What was best”.
From the roof
Of the secondary school block.
Our Lady watched
With outstretched arms,
Her face overshadowed by clouds
Mother crossed herself
As she left me at the office ‐
Said a prayer
For my future intentions.
Under the principal's window
I stuck pine needles
Into the motto
On my breast:
Luceat Lux Vestra
I thought was a brand of soap.
Colloquial
Religious
reference to Mary
the mother of
Christ. The
shadow has
negative
connotations
Let you light
shine. This
motto has no
meaning to the
poet at this
point
St Patrick’s College
analysis
Quote
‘impressed by the uniforms/Of her
employer’s sons’
‘with never a thought to fees and
expenses’
Technique
Effect – how it relates to
belonging/not belonging
Mother does not base her decision
on tradition or belonging but a
desire for betterment.
Desire to belong determining
factor not money.
‘-wanting only what was best’
‘From the roof.../Our Lady
watched...her face overshadowed by
clouds’
Ominous – as if statue suggests
he will not be welcomed at this
school.
‘Mother crossed herself’
‘I stuck pine needles/Into the motto’
Poet’s disengagement with school
or sense of rebelliousness
“‘Luceat Lux Vestra’/I thought was a
brand of soap”
‘For eight years/I walked Strathfield’s
Tone suggests ritual and lacks
St Patrick’s College Analysis
continued....
Quote
St Patrick’s analysis continued...
‘Like a foreign tourist/Uncertain of my
destination.’
‘For eight years/I carried the blue, black
and gold’
‘I’d been privileged to wear’
Technique
Effect – how it relates to
belonging/not belonging
Assimilation into this school is a
burden he must carry.
‘Could say the Lord’s Prayer/In Latin, all
in one breath
‘Our Lady still watching.../With closed
eyes’
No sense of connection to what
he has learnt.
‘Out of Edgar street for good;’
Relief at leaving place poet did
not belong.
‘Prayed that someday Mother would be
pleased’
“The darkness around me/Wasn’t ‘for
the best’”
‘Before I let my light shine’
Realises his mother has not
achieved her aims.
Poet is figuratively excluded by
her ‘closed eyes’
Darkness represents his sense of
isolation and exclusion
He has succeeded in spite of
school
Further Activities for St Patricks College:
 How has the poet achieved a sense of belonging and isolation?
Use textual evidence to support your answer.
 What do the mother’s reasons for sending her son to St Patrick’s
College suggest about her desire to assimilate?
 It is possible to fit in without belonging. Use this statement as the
basis for an interview with Peter Skrzynecki. Write a transcript of
this interview with specific reference to St Patrick’s College.