An Anthology of Czechoslovak Poetry/Preface
PREFACE
In offering this little volume to its friends as the first of its publications, the Institute of Czechoslovak Studies ventures to hope that it will serve a useful purpose in the spreading of a knowledge of Czechoslovak culture and in strengthening the bonds between the United States and Czechoslovakia.
The purpose of this volume is somewhat narrow. It does not claim to be a general anthology of Czechoslovak poetry. It does not claim to be a collection of the masterpieces of that country’s verse. Its mission is more humble, for it is a collection of Czechoslovak poetry as translated in the New World. It aims to show what has been accomplished hitherto, to bring together in one volume the efforts of a relatively large and diversified group of people whose fondness for Czechoslovak literature has led them to make translations into English. Some of the works have been published in more or less remote and short-lived publications, but they bear witness to a real vitality and to a real interest.
It may be worthy of mention that this interest is no new thing. As early as 1834 there appeared in the United States the work of Talvj (Therese Albertine Louise von Jacobi), the wife of Dr. Edward Robinson, entitled A Historical View of the Languages and Literatures of the Slavic Nations, and this was republished in book form in 1850, with a sketch of their popular poetry. This volume was one of the first serious attempts in the English-speaking world to produce a study of the Slavonic culture and literature, and it is only fitting that some of the translations of folk poetry made by Talvj should be included in this volume.
It was nearly a half century later before the work which she had undertaken was continued. Then we find more and more translations appearing, but still on an inadequate scale. Many of the early translations came out in the volumes of the Komenský Clubs, the Bohemian Voice, Student Life, and other publications which did not make a direct appeal to the average American reader. For this reason, Czechoslovak literature, save for the works of the dramatist Karel Čapek, has remained largely unknown in this country. Its poetry is known today chiefly through the translations made in England by Mr. Paul Selver.
We have no desire to compare this collection with the large and representative series of works which he has produced. Nevertheless, considering the large number of persons of Czechoslovak origin in the United States and the increasing body of such persons who have received an education in America, it seems only fair that this Institute, which is devoted to the strengthening of the bonds of friendship and understanding between the two republics, should endeavor to support and make available the work which has been done here. We are well aware that our collection is not complete. We may have included works which are more or less inadequate, and we may have omitted much that is of value, because it was not to be secured.
All this is secondary; and on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the independence of the Czechoslovak Republic, we take pleasure in offering to the public this volume in the hope that others may be encouraged to undertake the difficult task of making known to the English-speaking world some of the still unexplored wealth of Czechoslovak culture, and we extend our most sincere thanks to all who have coöperated in any way in this work.
October, 1928