2005 marks the centenary anniversary of the birth in Prague of Vladimir Holan (1905-1980). He was one of the great poets of his time, yet is almost unknown to the English-speaking literary world. In the darkest part of the history of his country, he created such graphic poetry, with expressions and imagery so deep and rich, that the two apocalyptic poems in this book seem to be a precursor to the angst of the whole world today, as it struggles with the turmoil of terrorism and aggression. Never before published in English, the very title of this book must surely intrigue prospective readers....

2005 marks the centenary anniversary of the birth in Prague of Vladimir Holan (1905-1980). He was one of the great poets of his time, yet is almost unknown to the English-speaking literary world. In the darkest part of the history of his country, he created such graphic poetry, with expressions and imagery so deep and rich, that the two apocalyptic poems in this book seem to be a precursor to the angst of the whole world today, as it struggles with the turmoil of terrorism and aggression. Never before published in English, the very title of this book must surely intrigue prospective readers....

"I want to be a poet with all my heart. With all my heart and, even more, I want to die for it " These were the words Jiri Orten wrote to the poet Frantisek Halas in 1939, who published his first book of poetry The First Reader Spring, which appeared under the pseudonym Karel Jilek because Orten, being a Jew, could not be published under his own name. On the 30th August 1941, the day of his twenty-second birthday, he was knocked down by a German ambulance in a Prague street. As a Jew, he was refused first-aid treatment in a nearby hospital. He died two days later of a brain hemorrhage in the...

Reading Dolour is like looking into the most private depths of Holan's soul. Some of his poems are so simple that they are almost child-like; some are cruel and harsh, while others border on pornography. One can easily call him a wordsmith - he uses words as thoughts to convey his every written nuance. Sometimes, he purposefully chooses archaic and totally obsolete Czech words, which are virtually untranslatable. He was obsessed with women and sex, as well as his belief in God, Satan, Hell and Heaven. Both his sensuality and spirituality appear in most of his works and his intensity of...