The Christina V. Pacosz papers gives the researcher an insight into the works and mind of an American born Polish poet. This collection, in which the files are arranged chronologically, spans the years 1899-2019, with the majority of the materials reflecting the years 1961-2012.
The collection comprises of correspondence between Pacosz, her literary cohorts, and family members; published and unpublished anthologies, manuscripts, and poetry; biographical and genealogical records pertaining to Pacosz and her family; works created by her students; personal diaries; photographs of herself, family, and colleagues. The collection also comprises of publicity and research materials.
Christina V. Pacosz (1946- ) was one of three children born and raised in Detroit, Michigan to Sophia Anna Kostrzewski and Walter Frank Pacosz. She graduated from Detroit's Cass Technical High school in 1964 and in 1970 received her Bachelor of Science in Education from Wayne State University. In 1986, she went on to study Polish and Jewish relations at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. From 1971 to 1973, Pacosz taught school in Croswell, Michigan. In 1973 she traveled westward, teaching special education in Alaska, Missouri, and Oregon until 1976. Between 1977 and 1989 Pacosz served as a visiting artist/poet-in-residence for the Metropolitan Arts Commission (Portland, Oregon 1977-1978), the Washington State Arts Commission (1981-1982), the South Carolina Arts Commission (1985-1986), and the North Carolina Arts Council (1986-1989). In the early 1990s, Pacosz once again found herself in Alaska, teaching children with learning disabilities. In the early 2000's she retired from teaching and settled in Kansas City, Missouri where she continues to write and publish. Pacosz's husband Larry Rollings, whom she had met while in South Carolina, passed away in 2013.
During her career Pacosz has received numerous fellowships and accolades. This includes receiving honorable mention for the 1981 William Stafford Award, qualifying as a finalist in both the Seattle Arts Commission Poetry Competition (1984) and the Roberts Writing Award for poetry in 1990. Pacosz also received honorable mention in the Blue Unicorn 12th Annual Poetry Contest (1993), a 1994 Ucross Foundation writing fellowship, a 1984 Now & Then achievement award in fiction, second place in the Negative Capability Poetry Competition (1994), and honorable mention in the Gloucester County College's Poetry Center Contest (1995). Pacosz also served as a member in several professional organizations such as the North Carolina Writers Network, the North Carolina Poetry Society, the Thomas Wolfe Society, and the National Writers Union.
