TITLE
REQUEST TO OFFICIALLY NAME
KOLMAR PARK
IN HONOR OF GERTRUD KOLMAR
Body
To the Honorable Board of Commissioners of the Chicago Park District
I. Recommendation
It is recommended that an order be entered authorizing the General Superintendent or her designee to officially name Kolmar Park in honor of Gertrud Kolmar.
Proposed Park or feature: Kolmar Park
Location: 4143 North Kolmar Avenue
Community Area: Irving Park
Ward: 45
Proposed Name: Gertrud Kolmar Park
III. Explanation
The Chicago Park District naming and renaming procedures allow for the naming of parks and features in parks, including playgrounds and buildings. This proposal has the support of State Senator Christina S. Pacione-Zayas, the Polish Museum of America, the Americans of Polish Descent organization, and numerous community members.
Gertrud Kolmar was born in Berlin in 1894. Born Gertrud Kathe Chodziesner, she was the eldest of four children in a Jewish family of Polish descent. Gertrud began writing poetry at a young age, though she resisted publishing her work out of a sense that it wasn't adequate. In fact, it was her father who submitted her poems to a publishing house, resulting in the publication of her first volume of poetry in 1917. It was published under the name Gertrud Kolmar-taking the German name of the town in Poland, Chodziez, where her family had roots.
Throughout the following years, Gertrud continued to write poetry while she worked as a teacher and studied several languages. In the late 1920s, her poems were often published in various literary journals and anthologies. It wasn't until 1936 that Gertrud participated in a reading of "women's prose" that she began to gain recognition for her works in literary circles, though she remained unknown to the general public.
Gertrud had left teaching in 1928 to care for her sick mother, and she remained at home, assisting ...
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