The Bloody Sonnets

by Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, John Minahane (Translator), Dušan Kállay (Illustrator)

Published to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War this is an illustrated volume of 32 sonnets composed during August - September 1914 by Slovakian poet Pavol Orszagh Hviezdoslav (1849-1921).

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2018

About the author

Slovak poet, playwright, writer, translator, lawyer and honorary president of Matica Slovenská. Hviezdoslav is one of the most important figures of Slovak literature of the second half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century as well as one of the most important figures of Slovak literature and culture in general.

Reviews

[Joseph Schreiber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 32 Sonnet cycle was written by Hviezdoslav, Slovakia’s greatest poet, in the opening months of the First World War. At the age of 65, he was not, like other poets of the day, caught up in extolling the rightness and glory of the fight at hand. The first half of this cycle features dark, bloody imagery and anger, the second half beseeches God to end the conflict and grant the Slovak peoples their prophesized role as force of renewal. This new translation of these bold and passionate poems bound in a handsome hardcover edition illustrated with intense black and white illustrations by Slovak artist Dusan Kallay has been published in Bratislava, Slovakia by Centre for Information on Literature.

A longer review can be found here: https://roughghosts.com/2018/10/30/ho...

[Daniel Waller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poems of the First World War have a particular power, even today over a century later. There is something about WW1 that evokes poignancy, perhaps because as a conflict it seems so utterly pointless to us, largely because of the voices that have come to us from that time. What is special about Hviezdoslav's poems is that they were largely written at the start of the conflict, in the face of the outpouring of patriotism that was being used to drive recruitment and public appetite for the war. Hviezdoslav's work is a reminder today of the futility of war, at a time when most of us are fortunate enough not to experience the horrors of confict but where leaders and the media constantly tell us that an action is necessary and that we are right and those who oppose us are evil. The Bloody Sonnets stand as a rebuke to the propaganda of WW1 and its equivalent today.

[Ana Marinho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma leitura extremamente interessante. Descobri Pavol Hviezdoslav na minha última viagem a Bratislava e aconselharam-me a leitura destes poemas. Apesar de não ser uma voz reconhecida da Primeira Guerra Mundial, acho que deveria ser uma leitura obrigatória para quem quer perceber melhor esta fase da História mundial. Apresenta-nos sonetos na perspetiva de quem está devastado com a guerra, de quem tem medo do futuro dos seus, de quem critica a religião e a ganância do ser humano. Pavol era uma pessoa como nós - angustiado com as lutas entre "irmãos", com o sangue derramado, com as viúvas e os órfãos. Só este facto acaba por tornar esta obra intemporal e muitas das suas palavras aplicáveis a todas as guerras atuais.

[Hallien · Rating 5 out of 5]

The greatness of Hviezdoslav's anti-war work, written in a time of great hardship not only for Europe as a whole, but especially for our nation, is, I feel, given life anew by Minahane's brilliant translation.

To those whose passions include both English and Slovak, this will undoubtedly prove just how much a good translation can do for one's enjoyment of literature - and poetry is on a level of its own!

The constraints of both sonnet forms are masterfuly navigated here, and the beautiful hardcover edition with Kállay's fitting illustrations serves as a respectful and majestic introduction of this heart-wrenching work into the anglosphere. May it be followed by many more.

[Hendrik Heinemeier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schöne, emotionale und vor allem wahnsinnig intelligente Lyrik aus der Slowakei mit dem Ersten Weltkrieg als Thema. Ich habe dieses Appell an fundamentalste Menschlichkeit nicht nur genossen; es hat mich Dank seiner vielfachen historischen Bezüge auch einiges gelehrt. Zudem gefallen mir das aufschlussreiche Vorwort und die hochwertigen Zeichnungen in diesem Band. Kleiner Abzug nur, weil einige Motive m.E. in etwas zu vielen Gedichten verarbeitet werden.

[Maurane Pieters · Rating 3 out of 5]

🇸🇰

This puffed-up arrogance that's dressed in iron
and, armed with lethal weapons, lurks in wait;
that bulks like stormy clouds on the horizon,
each move a threat, with wide eyes full of hate;

that hangs above the earth like punishment
and keeps peace powerless: it coarsely swears
that it fears God alone! -- But this is meant
contemptuously: in truth it does not care