In the Age of Warring States
22,00 €This book is an unusual intellectual autobiography. Firstly, because it consists largely of poetry. And secondly, because the author, Darko Suvin — Professor Emeritus at McGill University in Canada — barely touches upon the central theme of his prolific international career: science fiction. Yet, the poetic and translated texts he has gathered for this edition span seven decades and constitute a lesser-known but significant part of his oeuvre. Since he translated poetry primarily for himself, his selection criteria were based on personal affinity; consequently, his translations — which might best be viewed, in places, as creative renderings — encompass a diverse range of writers, from Laforgue, Housman, Wilde, and Éluard to Du Fu, Chaucer, Brecht, and Fortini. His own poetry, meanwhile, is wide open to both the world of literature and the world of reality; it includes references to political events, wars, and the Capitalocene, alongside a poetic dialogue with the Greek poet Sappho and intimate moments of confronting time and old age. The book’s central section, titled “Parables from the Warring States Period,” is a series of short prose pieces born of the author’s interest in East Asian thought and literature. The short autobiographical texts at the beginning and end of the book are also in prose, as are the notes that situate specific poem cycles in time and space. In this way, the author creates a harmoniously cadenced whole that reflects his journey through the world of words and ideas. Darko Suvin himself selected and arranged the texts for this edition, and the editorial team adhered strictly to his guidelines. Linguistically, the work reflects the changes the Croatian language has undergone over time — evident to the modern reader — while also containing a number of distinctive traits we simply termed “Suvinisms” during the production of the book. Although many of the poems have previously appeared in literary journals, some are published here for the first time. With this selection of writings from “a time of warring states” — an era that shows no sign of relenting — the Mala zvona publishing house aims to introduce a valuable part of this exceptional author’s body of work to the domestic audience.
