Representatives of Slovak poetry at Ars Poetica 2017

Ars Poetica 2017 will feature a number of local, Slovak poets, including the well-known representative of the contemporary older / middle generation of poets, Ján Štrasser, who has recently published a new book of collected poems. „His civil poetry has an irreplaceable role in our poetic tradition," says the festival director Martin Solotruk on Štrasser's contribution. He will present some of his poetry to the audience on Thursday, November 16, during the opening night of the festival, along with other poets, including Viktor Suchý, another of his Slovak poetry-writing contemporaries. (Článok je dostupný len v anglickom jazyku.)The festival will also host appearances by Eva Luka, with her poetry characterized by the depth of psychology; Michal Habaj, a poetry-writing literary scientist; and Eleni Cay, a Slovak poet based in the UK.

Eleni Cay Eva Luka
Eleni Cay and Eva Luka

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Michal Habaj Ján Štrasser Viktor Suchý
Michal Habaj, Ján Štrasser and Viktor Suchý

Ars Poetica Music

The amount of poetry present on the festival will be balanced out by performances with a different focus, namely concerts by the Czech/Polish duo Tara Fuki on Thursday, and Nitky & Zuzana Homolová on Saturday. The duo Tara Fuki is comprised of two cellists, who decorate their music with their own voices, resulting in a delicately dynamic and rich musical experience. On the other hand, Nitky & Zuzana Homolová is a project centered around the album "Prší na habry," promoting the poetry of Suzanne Renaud set to music. The fathers of this project, Darek Král, Ondřej Škoch and Štěpán Škoch, invited the songwriter Zuzana Homolová as a special collaborator, and together they have created a unique musical and atmospheric experience.

Ars Poetica Theatre

WOW!, a theatrical play with poetry present in full force, is another example of the multi-genre fusion that Ars Poetica Festival can offer. It is a play conceptualized and directed by the debris company's Jozef Vlk and choreographed by Stanislava Vlčeková. Its English version with a voiceover by Ron Padgett will exclusively premiere at our festival on Friday at 6pm in A4 – Space for Contemporary Culture.

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