Tomaž Šalamun (July 4, 1941 – December 27, 2014) was a Slovenian poet who was a leading figure of postwar neo-avant-garde poetry in Central Europe[1] and an internationally acclaimed absurdist.[2] His books of Slovene poetry have been translated into twenty-one languages, with nine of his thirty-nine books of poetry published in English.[3] His work has been called a poetic bridge between old European roots and America.[4] Šalamun was a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. He lived in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and was married to the painter Metka Krašovec.[5]
As members of the Slovene minority in Italy (1920–1947), Šalamun's mother's family joined thousands of Slovenes who left their homes because of forced Italianization and moved from Italy to Yugoslavia, where he was born in 1941 in Zagreb. His father's family came from Ptuj, where his grandfather had been a mayor.[6] After his family moved to Koper, the local high school teachers of French and Slovene aroused his interest in language. In 1960, he began to study art history and history at University of Ljubljana. His mother was an art historian,[7] his brother Andraž is an artist, and his two sisters Jelka and Katarina are a biologist and a literary historian respectively. Šalamun died on 27 December 2014 in Ljubljana.[8][9]
Work
In 1964, as editor of the literary magazine Perspektive, he published his iconoclastic poem "Duma '64" (Thought '64). When Ivan Maček, a Titoist hard-liner, saw the dead cat in the poem as a reference to himself (the Slovene word maček means 'cat'), Perspektive was banned and Šalamun was arrested.[7] He spent five days in jail and came out something of a culture hero, but he refrained from including the poem in his first poetry book, which appeared in 1966 in a samizdat edition, full of absurdist irreverence, playfulness, and wild abandon.[6][10]
There was no purer contemporary surrealist than the Slovenian poet Tomaz Salamun, whose poems are not designed to be interpreted but instead to act upon us, in order to open up in us a little dormant space of weirdness where we can hopefully feel more free.[11]
Poetry collections translated into English
Several collections of Šalamun's poetry have been published in English, including The Selected Poems of Tomaž Šalamun (Ecco Press, 1988), The Shepherd, the Hunter (Pedernal, 1992), The Four Questions of Melancholy (White Pine, 1997), Feast (Harcourt, 2000), Poker (Ugly Duckling Presse), Row! (Arc Publications, 2006), The Book for My Brother (Harcourt), Woods and Chalices (Harcourt, 2008, translated by Brian Henry), There's the Hand and There's the Arid Chair (Counterpath, 2009), On the Tracks of Wild Game (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2012), Soy Realidad (Dalkey Archive Press, 2014), Justice (Black Ocean, 2015), Andes (Black Ocean, 2016), Druids (Black Ocean, 2019), and Opera Buffa (Black Ocean, 2022). American poets that influenced him include Frank O'Hara, John Ashbery, and Walt Whitman.[1]
For a time, he served as Cultural Attaché to the Consulate General of Slovenia in New York. Literary critic Miklavž Komelj wrote:[13] "Šalamun’s inventiveness with language has, indeed, never been more dynamic than in his most recent books. But in this dynamism there is also a monotone quality, which the poet makes no attempt to hide. It is as if this ecstasy resulted from spinning endlessly in a circle, like the whirling dervishes—a religious order, incidentally, that was founded by the mystic Rumi, one of Šalamun’s favorite poets....It seems that the intensity of Šalamun’s language lies precisely in the endless insistence of its pulsation."
Prizes
Šalamun won a Pushcart Prize, as well as Slovenia's Prešeren Fund Award and Jenko Prize. Šalamun and his German translator, Fabjan Hafner, were awarded the European Prize for Poetry by the German city of Muenster. In 2004, he was the recipient of Romania's Ovid Festival Prize.[14]
Hass, Robert (2004) Tomaž Šalamun: An Introduction. Poetry International.
Tomaž Šalamun bio at Smith College Poetry Center.
Tomaž Šalamun bio at Poetry Foundation website.
Work
Tomaž Šalamun reading on February 13, 2008: Blackbird: An Online Journal of Literature and the Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Volume 7, No. 2 (Fall 2008)
2011 Slovenska medkulturna neoavantgarda: poezija in svet Tomaža Šalamuna, Koper, Ljubljana, Zagreb.
March 10, 2023
tomaž, Šalamun, july, 1941, december, 2014, slovenian, poet, leading, figure, postwar, avant, garde, poetry, central, europe, internationally, acclaimed, absurdist, books, slovene, poetry, have, been, translated, into, twenty, languages, with, nine, thirty, ni. Tomaz Salamun July 4 1941 December 27 2014 was a Slovenian poet who was a leading figure of postwar neo avant garde poetry in Central Europe 1 and an internationally acclaimed absurdist 2 His books of Slovene poetry have been translated into twenty one languages with nine of his thirty nine books of poetry published in English 3 His work has been called a poetic bridge between old European roots and America 4 Salamun was a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts He lived in Ljubljana Slovenia and was married to the painter Metka Krasovec 5 Tomaz SalamunSalamun in 2005Born 1941 07 04 July 4 1941Zagreb Independent State of CroatiaDiedDecember 27 2014 2014 12 27 aged 73 Ljubljana SloveniaOccupationPoetLanguageSloveneNationalitySlovenianAlma materUniversity of LjubljanaLiterary movementNeo avant gardeNotable awardsPushcart Prize Preseren Fund Award European Prize for PoetrySpouseMetka Krasovec Contents 1 Life 2 Work 3 Poetry collections translated into English 4 International reception 4 1 United States 4 2 Slovenia 5 Prizes 6 References 7 External links 7 1 Profiles 7 2 Work 7 3 Interviews and review 7 4 2011 SymposiumLife EditAs members of the Slovene minority in Italy 1920 1947 Salamun s mother s family joined thousands of Slovenes who left their homes because of forced Italianization and moved from Italy to Yugoslavia where he was born in 1941 in Zagreb His father s family came from Ptuj where his grandfather had been a mayor 6 After his family moved to Koper the local high school teachers of French and Slovene aroused his interest in language In 1960 he began to study art history and history at University of Ljubljana His mother was an art historian 7 his brother Andraz is an artist and his two sisters Jelka and Katarina are a biologist and a literary historian respectively Salamun died on 27 December 2014 in Ljubljana 8 9 Work EditIn 1964 as editor of the literary magazine Perspektive he published his iconoclastic poem Duma 64 Thought 64 When Ivan Macek a Titoist hard liner saw the dead cat in the poem as a reference to himself the Slovene word macek means cat Perspektive was banned and Salamun was arrested 7 He spent five days in jail and came out something of a culture hero but he refrained from including the poem in his first poetry book which appeared in 1966 in a samizdat edition full of absurdist irreverence playfulness and wild abandon 6 10 Matthew Zapruder wrote the following about him and his work in The New York Times There was no purer contemporary surrealist than the Slovenian poet Tomaz Salamun whose poems are not designed to be interpreted but instead to act upon us in order to open up in us a little dormant space of weirdness where we can hopefully feel more free 11 Poetry collections translated into English EditSeveral collections of Salamun s poetry have been published in English including The Selected Poems of Tomaz Salamun Ecco Press 1988 The Shepherd the Hunter Pedernal 1992 The Four Questions of Melancholy White Pine 1997 Feast Harcourt 2000 Poker Ugly Duckling Presse Row Arc Publications 2006 The Book for My Brother Harcourt Woods and Chalices Harcourt 2008 translated by Brian Henry There s the Hand and There s the Arid Chair Counterpath 2009 On the Tracks of Wild Game Ugly Duckling Presse 2012 Soy Realidad Dalkey Archive Press 2014 Justice Black Ocean 2015 Andes Black Ocean 2016 Druids Black Ocean 2019 and Opera Buffa Black Ocean 2022 American poets that influenced him include Frank O Hara John Ashbery and Walt Whitman 1 International reception EditUnited States Edit In July 1970 he was personally invited to exhibit his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City 12 Salamun spent two years at the University of Iowa including one year in the International Writing Program from 1971 to 1972 and lived for periods of time in the United States after that 3 From 2005 to 2007 he taught at the University of Pittsburgh Slovenia Edit For a time he served as Cultural Attache to the Consulate General of Slovenia in New York Literary critic Miklavz Komelj wrote 13 Salamun s inventiveness with language has indeed never been more dynamic than in his most recent books But in this dynamism there is also a monotone quality which the poet makes no attempt to hide It is as if this ecstasy resulted from spinning endlessly in a circle like the whirling dervishes a religious order incidentally that was founded by the mystic Rumi one of Salamun s favorite poets It seems that the intensity of Salamun s language lies precisely in the endless insistence of its pulsation Prizes EditSalamun won a Pushcart Prize as well as Slovenia s Preseren Fund Award and Jenko Prize Salamun and his German translator Fabjan Hafner were awarded the European Prize for Poetry by the German city of Muenster In 2004 he was the recipient of Romania s Ovid Festival Prize 14 References Edit a b Colm Toibin 2004 The comet s trail Guardian Martin Lopez Vega 2013 La poesia total de Tomaz Salamun El Cultural a b University of Iowa International Writing Program Salamun Tomaz Salamun Poet philosopher monster The Hour 13 May 2001 Remembering Tomaz Salamun Huffington Post December 29 2014 a b Robert Hass 2004 Tomaz Salamun An Introduction Poetry International a b Tomaz Salamun is this year s Vilenica festival author Primorske Novice Umrl je Tomaz Salamun www delo si Retrieved 27 December 2014 Poslovil se je Tomaz Salamun ikonoklast slovenske poezije Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal MMC RTV Slovenija Retrieved 27 December 2014 Michale Thomas Taren Translator on Tomaz Salamun poetry Transom Journal Whirl Selected by Matthew Zapruder Michale Thomas Taren Tomaz Salamun Acclaimed Slovenian Poet Blue Flower Arts Miklavz Komelj on Tomaz Salamun Transom Journal Tomaz Salamun s page on Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts website External links EditProfiles Edit Hass Robert 2004 Tomaz Salamun An Introduction Poetry International Tomaz Salamun bio at Smith College Poetry Center Tomaz Salamun bio at Poetry Foundation website Work Edit Tomaz Salamun reading on February 13 2008 Blackbird An Online Journal of Literature and the Arts Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond Volume 7 No 2 Fall 2008 Tomaz Salamun reading at University of Berkeley UCTV Poems by Tomaz Salamun Trans Michael Thomas Taren in Vol 9 No 2 of Blackbird an online journal of literature and the arts Poems by Tomaz Salamun and the American poets who translate him with interviews in Transom Issue 3 Spring 2012 Interviews and review Edit An article on Salamun in The Guardian Translator and poet Phillis Levin on Salamun Transom Journal Poet Brian Henry on translating Salamun Transom Journal Miklavz Komelj on Tomaz Salamun Transom Journal Lukacs Zsolt 2010 Tomaz Salamun in misticno izkustvo diplomsko delo diploma at University of Ljubljana Poznanovic Omers Tjasa 2002 Pesniske zbirke Tomaza Salamuna iz mehiskega obdobja diplomsko delo diploma at University of Ljubljana Kusar Meta 1999 Metafizicna inteligenca in pesnik prekucuh Tomaz Salamun Morje Nova revija Ljubljana Kusar Meta 1982 Tomaz Salamun diplomsko delo diploma at University of Ljubljana 2008 Bomb Magazine discussion between Charles Simic amp Tomaz Salamun2011 Symposium Edit 2011 Slovenska medkulturna neoavantgarda poezija in svet Tomaza Salamuna Koper Ljubljana Zagreb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tomaz Salamun amp oldid 1127089854, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
