The Early Poetry of Jaroslav Seifert: City in Tears, Sheer Love, on the Waves of Tsf, and the Nightingale Sings Poorly - Tapa dura

"We felt relief, when he was with us. What justification of existence can a small doomed nation give? The justification was here: the poet, square-shouldered . . . the tangible proof of the genius of the nation, the only glory of the powerless." --Milan Kundera "Loewy has opened the door to an important phase of Seifert's career [for] readers of English." --Harvard Review

Seifert's poetry is strongly situated within the Czech literary tradition of Poetism, which evolved into a playful, lighthearted refuge from world history while maintaining an edge of social consciousness. The playfulness of Seifert's early poetry expresses itself in anecdotes and witty aphorisms, and relies importantly on such sound patterns as alliteration, assonance, and euphony. Dana Loewy's adept translations maintain the play and verve of Seifert's originals: the sensuality, eroticism, Epicureanism, and humor of Seifert's work is stunningly evident. Beyond its obvious aesthetic interest, Seifert's early poetry also has a specific historical value as a manifestation of the avant-grade in the Europe of the 1920s and 1930s. Loewy's perceptive introduction to the volume provides a historical and cultural context for Seifert's work.