a Journey Is Not Where You Go, but What Occurs along the Way"

Summary: The importance of the journeying process was explored and exposed by Peter Skrzynecki and a variety of other composers. Skrzynecki, using the powerful textual vehicle of poetry explores the importance of the journeying process and its various outcomes, a journey often results in the confused and mixed emotions of the traveller and this was reflected within Skrzynecki's poems, "Crossing the Red Sea" and "A Drive in the Country."

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"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step..." The importance of the journeying process, and the positive and negative outcomes of the journey, is not so much about the destination to which the travellers are headed, but the various occurrences that affect the traveller along the way. The importance of the journeying process was explored and exposed by Peter Skrzynecki and a variety of other composers. Skrzynecki, using the powerful textual vehicle of poetry explores the importance of the journeying process and its various outcomes, a journey often results in the confused and mixed emotions of the traveller and this was reflected within Skrzynecki's poems, "Crossing the Red Sea" and "A Drive in the Country." A person is always emotionally involved in the journeying process, highlighting its' importance, this is shown in Julius Caesar's public memoirs "De Bello Gallico", the political cartoon "Freedom"" (Sun-Herald, April '03) and text five from the Board of Studies Stimulus booklet, "Journeys over Land and Sea."

Skrzynecki uses poetic techniques to explore the range of conflicting emotions associated with the journeying process, enabling a responder to identify with its importance. "Crossing the Red Sea" is the first poem in the anthology "Immigrant Chronicle" and it is divided into 5 stanzas, each representing alternative challenges of the important journeying process, and showing the effect these challenges have on the travellers. The poem focuses upon the plight of Polish migrants fleeing war-torn Europe during after World War Two, and explores the upheaval and dislocation associated with the journeying process. Skrzynecki uses various poetic, textual features to illustrate the importance of the journeying process and its effect upon travellers, such as his use of exact dates and times. "1949, the war/ Now four years dead", this provides a context and setting for the journey process. Skrzynecki attempts to explore the deep emotional impact and importance of the journeying process by providing an honest depiction of the migration. Skrzynecki juxtaposes and contrasts the physical journey and the physical appearance of the migrants to explore the challenges undertaken along the way. "Voices left their caves/ Silence fell from shackles/ Memories strayed/ From behind sunken eyes." The difficulty of the arduous physical journey process being undertaken is paralleled by skzynecki to the plight of slave-bound Israelites. Crossing the Red Sea for Israelites is one of the most powerful biblical images, and suggests a journeying process of liberation from the oppression of slavery. Through this parallel and comparison a responder can understand the importance of the journey process and the various challenges encountered along the way. The migrants feel relieved about leaving their oppressive war-torn country, but they are saddened by their loss of family and heritage.

Using the familiar motifs of blood and red, ("Red Sea, Red banners, Red poppies, Blood-rimmed horizon, Blood leaves similar dark stains") coupled with powerful visual imagery, "Themselves a landscape/ Milk-white flesh/ On a scoured, polished deck" Skrzynecki exposes and explored the journeying process and all it entails, finally offering some hope of redemption with the "promise of new lands" in the last stanzas. Skrzynecki uses a powerful, positive sense of voice to heighten the importance and emotional reaction to the physical journey, and in his conclusion he showed the migrants eagerness to heal and make a new life at the end of their important journeying process.