APOLLINAIRE I CZESKA AWANGARDA POETYCKA
APOLLINAIRE AND THE CZECH AVANGUARD POETS

Summary/Abstract: In the interwar period in the country of Czechs the influence of French literature had been extremely strong. The greatest interest of the young artistic avanguard was in the poetry of Guillaume Appolinaire. For the first time the name and poetry of Appolinaire appeared in the country of Czechs thanks to A. Procházka in 1913, and in the next years new translations appeared in the journals, together with the famous translation of the poem Zone in 1919 by Karel Čapek. However, of crucial significance for the reception of Appolinaire in the country of Czechs was the anthology prepared and published by Karel Čapek in 1920 entitled Francouzská poezie nové doby (French poetry of modern times) which had a great impact on the development of Czech poetry. The masterly translation of Zone by Čapek became functionally one of the works inaugurating the interwar avanguard. Since 1920 constantly until the present day lasts in the country of Czechs an enormous interest of translators in the poetry of Appolinaire; his poetry has been translated by great Czech poets and “merely translators” . In the sphere of influences of Appolinaire and fascination with his works were the two important phenomena of the interwar country of Czechs: Devětsil and poetism. In the development of the avanguard Czech poetry one can show the presence of a new genre which rose from Appolinaire’s inspirations: pásmo (band), multisubject poems. For Wolker, Nezval, Biebl and other avanguard writers Appolinaire was the advocate of new esthetic experiences and creative, artistic inspiration.

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