Stomach of the Soul

By Sylva Fischerová

Poetry. Bilingual Edition. Translated from the Czech by Sylva Fischerova, Stuart Friebert and Andrew Jan Hauner. Sylva Fischerova's newest volume, STOMACH OF THE SOUL, features an ample selection of award- winning poetry written by a poet whom Ilya Kaminsky refers to as "one of the few European poets who are a great fun to read, without compromising the truth, without selling out the magic," while Bruce Weigl sees these new poems as "fierce in their complete devotion to the revelation of a new way of seeing the world." Calypso Editions is proud to publish STOMACH OF THE SOUL, a bilingual collection in which Fischerova's ironic wit and deep human empathy are perhaps at their best. These particular poems invite paradox where personal and historical forces, faith and skepticism and humor, live side by side like "mosquitoes in holy water." "Sylva Fischerova is a poet like no other. What does it mean? It means that here we have a poet who 'lives with the dead, ' who 'finishes their gestures' and raves and dances and loves in a large way, with both arms open, but also whispers, conjures, casts a spell. She speaks of fate, but not: 'as in Greek tragedy / where you carry it inside / where it's wrriten in your eyes.' Her fate is 'like rain: a branch fallen, / right in front of you, / pointing to the graveyard.' This is a voice that speaks without patronizing, that knows of mystery but admits that 'in the last room, / the soul tied up in a password, / which I'm not gonna tell you '. This refusal to say, with all its warmth, with love, with verbal skill, aplomb, and fireworks of the highest order, is wisdom. She is not just one of the most important European poets alive, she is also one of the few European poets who are a great fun to read, without compromising the truth, without selling out the magic. She entertains in the old way, teaching the lesson. Her phrases utterly playful and utterly instructive: or 'what the Greeks / died in admiration of, /all these are statues. / They can't eat spinach. Can't see / how you, before the mirror, / try to find yourself, / the inside of your statue.' Fischerova teaches me something new each time I open her book. This is a poet to live with." Ilya Kaminsky "These new poems from Fischerova are fierce in their complete devotion to the revelation of a new way of seeing the world. They represent no less than the redefining of significant ideas such as fate, death, poetry, and even god, reshaped through the jarringly original vision of the world that drives these remarkable poems. The coming together of Fischerova and Friebert one of our most distinguished literary translators is great news too for the lovers of poetry among us. We used to say: These are the kinds of poems that literally transport you to other realms of seeing and feeling and knowing. Hold onto your hats." Bruce Weigl"

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0988790343
• ISBN13: 9780988790346
• Release Date: September 2014
• Publisher: Calypso Editions
• Length: 162 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.5" x 5.0"