It was Heidegger, writing in the 'Origin of the Work of Art,' who summoned Art to have the courage to ask of itself not "what is it?" but "where does it belong?" Director Romuald Wicza Pokojski who, in chosing to stage his play 'Memiors of a Decade of Homelessness' in St. Albert's Shelter in the slums of Gdańsk, seems to understand this challenge well. His play, as Art, to quote Heidegger "sets up a world. The work holds open the Open of the world," and in so doing - even when it is over - it really isn't; because the world of the homeless, the down-trodden, the isolated and abused remains - surrounding the audience - and thus coming closest to an Art that is not merely a form of imitation, but that is pure content, stripped of form, touching - sometimes grabbing - at the core of the human heart.

What a wonderful boldness. What a terrible boldness. Nietzsche remarks in 'The Will to Power' that "we possess art, lest we perish of the truth." Finally - finally a play has come around wherein Art frees itself of our possession - and hopefully many an audience member will indeed 'perish' from its' truth! Anna Lojewska, now head of a fundraising company, is the author of a memior chronnicling her time as a homeless woman; this memior serves as the basis for the play 'Memiors of a Decade of Homelessness,' directed in accordance with his own script, by Romuald Wicza Pokojski, and performed in homeless shelters in Gdansk. Critics praise the acting, the idea, the utilization of authentic homeless people, but what makes this series of monodramas truly unique is the extent to which experiencing them seems to jar all preconceptions regarding the distance between Art and lived-experience, making of them something penumbric in nature. It is almost fitting that Lojewska compares living