Woodstock Fine Arts Association's 61st Annual Creative Living Series Thomas Swick

Falling into Place - The Cold War Love Story of a Would-Be Travel Writer and Almost-Spy

In 1978, at the height of Soviet Bloc tensions, Thomas Swick moved to Poland to be with his future wife, Hania. The young journalist and aspiring travel writer had no idea he would, in the next decade, witness the rise of Solidarity and the imposition of martial law, decline an invitation to be an informant for the regime, and walk with thousands of Poles to Czestochowa, an annual pilgrimage that blossomed into a nine-day protest march. He discovered that to be a travel writer it helps to live in a place and learn the language, but to be a good traveler all you need is curiosity and a sense of wonder.