Section III: Poetry in Translation from Other Languages to Italian

Vladimr Vokolek
Vladimir Vokolek, Three Poems
Translated by Claudia Zavaglini and Ji Msc

Vladimr Vokolek (1913 1988) was born on January 1st, 1913 in Pardubice (Czech Republic).
He grew up in an artistic milieu (his father was the owner of a printing office, his oldest brother
Vlastimil was an important publisher and his other brother Vojmr was a painter). He published
his first three books in the family edition Lis t brat (Three Brothers Printing-Press). These
were two collections of poetry, Poutn pse k dobrmu lotru (A Pilgrim Song to a Good
Ruffian), Tolikrt obtovan (Many Times Sacrificed), and an essay called Prvn
blahoslavenstv (The First Beatitude). During WWII, he published nn roucho (Sackloth) but
his subsequent collection could not be published since it did not pass through the protectorate
censorship. After the war, he published Nrod na dlab (Nation on the Street), Cesta k
poledni (Way to the Noon) and Vyprodan as (Sold Out Time), which were printed but
forbidden to sell by post-war censorship. In 1946, Vokolek became the chief of the District Library
in Dn, out of where he was suspended in the early 1950s. Then he did not publish anything for
eighteen years. During this period, he wrote philosophical journals and series of poetry
collections Hic iacet, Exodus, Ke komu mluvm dnes (To Whom Im Speaking Today),
Dtstv (Childhood), Monology do telefonu (Telephone Monologues) and two books of absurd
prose Absurdanda and Tak pravil vejk (Thus Spoke vejk). In 1967, the publishing house Mlad
fronta published, thanks to Ivan Divi, a collection Mezi rybou a ptkem (Between Fish and
Bird). In 1969 there were other books prepared for being published but only one made it
through: Cesta k poledni (Way to the Noon). At this time, Vokolek finished several essays and
other poetry collections, Mezi Ohnm a Vodou (Between Water and Fire), K a kdlo (Cross
and Wing), Bl msto (The White Space). Vladimr Vokolek died on July 23, 1988 in st nad
Labem. Three years later his last collection of poetry, Krouen (Whirl), was published, while his
selected essays Obrana bsnka (The Poets Defense) were published in 1992. The poems
presented here in Italian translation are from Ke komu mluvm dnes (To Whom Im Speaking
Today; Brno: Atlantis, 1998), a collection of all the poems Vokolek wrote in his silent period
between 1950 and 1967.

***

Hic iacet are poems written between 1948 and 1950. The two following poems come from the
section Kapar Hauser (Kaspar Hauser). The legend goes that Hauser was a boy who appeared
in the streets of Nuremberg in Germany in 1828 and claimed that he had grown in a darkened cell
without any direct contact with the outer world. Vokolek seems to be writing about the
poet/himself from the perspective of such a boy who comes from darkness into light. In the end,
the boy/poet resemble the Messiah who is about to be born.
KDO JAKO J se skrv ve svt, CHI COME ME si nasconde nel mondo,
tsn se v podobenstv, costretto in una parabola,
jako by dosud nebyl ve svt. come se non fosse ancora nel mondo.

Kdo jako j vykikuje Jsem, jsem, Chi come me grida Sono, sono,
vykld nesouvisl sny narra i sogni incoerenti
o nenarozenm. su uno non nato.
000
Kdo jako j se sune kolem zd Chi come me striscia lungo i muri
a nikde dvee, nikde okno, e da nessuna parte porte, da nessuna parte finestre,
s krlovstvm bom soused. vicino al regno di dio.

*
***
*

VYEL JSEM z podzem SONO VENUTO dal sottosuolo

zahraban zaiva. sepolto vivo.
Zachzm zase do sv tmy, Scendo di nuovo nel mio buio,
neml jsem as se rozdvat. non ho avuto tempo di guardarmi attorno.
Zstal jsem stle pimhouen, Sono rimasto sempre con gli occhi socchiusi,
odkud a kam m vedete? da dove e dove mi portate?
Vyel jsem jako zloin ven Sono venuto come un crimine
na svtlo? Nebylo ve svt. nella luce? Non cera nel mondo.

***

The texts from Ke komu mluvm dnes were written between 1947 and 1960 but appeared only in
samizdat then. They were re-published in 1998, ten years after Vokoleks death, in the volume Ke
komu mluvm dnes, which contains the original collection as well as seven other collections of
Vokoleks poetry. Its name comes from the verse of the Ancient Egyptian poem The Debate
Between a Man and His Soul, or The Debate between a Man Who is Going to Commit Suicide
and His Soul. The poet seems to be aware of the fact that he has lost his audience, the voice of the
ancient Egyptian poet to whom he transformed himself is no longer awaited or needed.

J
Ke komu mluvm dnes? A chi parlo oggi?
Brati jsou zl, I fratelli sono cattivi,
dnen ptel nejsou hodni lsky. gli amici di oggi non meritano amore.

888kk
KE KOMU MLUVM DNES A CHI PARLO OGGI?
pt se bsnk egyptsk noci chiede il poeta alla notte egiziana
prastarm jazykem se pt con lingua primordiale chiede
Zhadu jazyka jsme rozlutili il mistero della lingua abbiamo decifrato
ale otzka hled odpov ma la domanda cerca la risposta
a nenalz. e non la trova.
000
Ke komu mluvm dnes A chi parlo oggi
pt se ozvna stejn noci chiede leco alla stessa notte
stejn vzdlench hvzd se pt alle stelle ugualmente distanti chiede
Brati jsou zl lovk hled bratra I fratelli sono cattivi . . . luomo cerca il fratello
a nenalz. e non lo trova.
0mmm00

***

Claudia Zavaglini is a doctoral student of Italian Literature at Palack University, Olomouc (Czech
Republic). Claudia is interested in modern Italian literature and its relation with philosophy. In
particular, her dissertation focuses on dialogue as a literary genre in twentieth-century Italian
Literature, investigating its evolution from ancient literary and philosophical traditions. Her interest in
dialogue was sparked by her intellectual encounter with Italian philosopher Carlo Michelstaedter, on
whom she wrote her bachelor and master theses. She focused on Michelstaedters Il dialogo della
salute (The Dialogue of Health), analyzing the influence of the Biblical tradition and the Gospels upon
his work and comparing Michelstaedters reading of the Gospels with Tolstoys religious beliefs.
Claudias translation of Vokolek was born from rich and fertile discussions with her colleague Ji
Msc.

Ji Msc is a doctoral student of English and American Literature at Palack University, Olomouc
(Czech Republic), working with Professor Josef Jaab. In his dissertation, Leonard Cohen, The
Modern Troubadour, Ji focuses on the manifestation of the feminine in Cohens lyrics and traces
individual motifs to Classical antiquity and, especially, to Medieval and Renaissance poetry, which he
regards as giving birth to the modern phenomenon of the love song. Ji wrote his bachelor and master
theses on Leonard Cohen, as well, published several essays and reviewed books dealing with the
singer. In addition, he is a published poet and translator of John Pass, Ariana Reines and Gertrude
Stein into Czech.