Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

This post from author Darcy Pattison is a perfect sequel to Colleen Paeff’s post last week. Both authors experienced the power of place as they approached a story. A trip to Poland helped Darcy visualize the life of Copernicus so very long ago to create NIGHT: HOW COPERNICUS MADE THE SUN STAND STILL AND THE EARTH MOVE.

Congrats to Julie Rowan-Zoch, the winner of PUFFLINGS FLY FREE from Colleen Paeff!

The Power of Place to Find Story

By Darcy Pattison

The car was dead! We stood on a busy street in Torun, Poland, birthplace of Nicholas Copernicus, and wondered what was next. While we discussed the situation, we kicked around the hairy chestnuts on the ground. (You know you’re not in America when you encounter chestnut trees, because they were decimated in the U.S. by a blight over a hundred years ago.)

Magda and her husband Marcin had to make a difficult decision. Would we return to Krakow, or finish our trip of sites related to the Polish scientist, Copernicus?

In September 2024, my husband Dwight and I visited Poland with the idea of researching one of the most famous scientist’s historical sites. Magda is a former exchange student who lived with us for a year while in high school, and over the years, we’ve kept close contact. When she asked if we might come visit, I replied, “Yes. If I can use it as a research trip.”

In response, Magda arranged visits to 1) Torun, Copernicus’ birthplace, 2) Krakow, where he attended university, and 3) Frombork, the cathedral where Copernicus lived and worked for over thirty years. This was going to be an amazing trip!

Krakow University, Krakow, Poland—Copernicus’s University

We started at Krakow University, founded in 1364, and saw astronomical instruments and museum exhibits. Telescopes were invented in about 1608 and improved by Galileo. Copernicus, however, lived 1473-1543, before the telescope, which mean his astronomy work was done by just observing the stars. While his instruments were crude, he was able to measure the positions of stars with enough accuracy to do his complicated calculations.

Torun, Poland—Copernicus’ Birthplace

Next, we drove to Torun, Copernicus’ birthplace, where his ancestral home is a museum. We learned that during Copernicus’ lifetime, the boundaries of Poland were fluid. His loyalty lay with the Catholic Church for whom he worked most of his life as an administrative cleric. 

Torun is known for its gingerbread, which was soft and mildly flavored. Here, our host’s car broke down. Eventually, they hired a truck to take their car back to Krakow, which I rented a car to travel on.

Frombork Cathedral—Copernicus’ Workplace

As we drove north, I was constantly thinking about Copernicus’ travels 500 years ago. Likely, he traveled by foot or horse-drawn carts. We were out in the boondocks, as we say here in Arkansas. Frombork lies on the Vistula Lagoon, a narrow lagoon that separates Frombork from the Baltic Sea. This far north, the countryside is still rural. We got caught in road construction, so the trip seemed exceptionally long—and lonely. We finally arrived at our B&B about 10 pm.

The next morning, we stepped outside and saw the cathedral rising above us just two blocks away. The B&B owner said that still today, in the winter, they hear wolves howling. So remote!

Touring the cathedral was a thrill. Over the last 500 years, the size has doubled, so I kept imagining the smaller cathedral and what it would be like to live and work here. A couple rooms were set up with Copernicus-like mannequins to help visitors envision the scene. The museum was full of historical documents, art, instruments, and information.

Travel to Write

I wish I could travel to write every time I work on a project. When I wrote, Wisdom, the Midway Albatross, I wished I could go to Midway Island and see the flocks of Laysan albatrosses. But the island is a national sanctuary, and you must apply to visit; only credentialed scientists with legitimate research projects are allowed.

Here in Poland, though, because of the amazing hospitality of Magda’s family, we could visit the sites, see the landscape and hear local stories. They affected my story, NIGHT: How Copernicus Made the Sun Stand Still and the Earth Move. I keep telling people about the wolves howling around Frombork, but that’s just a shortcut way of saying the trip to Poland helped me write Copernicus’ story. It’s not always possible to travel for a project, but when I can, it affects the story I write, and the way I talk about the story. In the end, I hope it will affect how kids understand this amazing scientist.

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