Home and the World in Slovak Writing

"The function of English as a global language has made it an essential vehicle for the circulation of literary works written in other languages. This is especially the case for writing that originates in small nations such as Slovakia, a country of five million. The struggle for visibility in relation to dominant languages and cultures is not new in Slovak literary history, which has always been shaped by the influences of more widely spoken languages including Hungarian, Czech, and Russian. The aim of the book is to bring Slovak literature out of this isolation and to tell the story of how a small nation's literature can survive and thrive in spite of a smaller domestic audience and relatively limited circulation in English translation. The selection of texts, marketing, and reception of the translations raise issues of access, value, influence, and audience that addressed in the book. Through its case studies of the transformations and adaptations of Slovak literature, this collection also seeks to reevaluate the limitations and the benefits of smallness, how a small nation's literature functions in broader regional and global contexts and to make Slovak literature more accessible to English-speaking readers. The book addresses a set of key questions that contextualize Slovak literature and examine the complications of national identity, the relationships between tradition and innovation, and the interactions between foreign influences and national inspirations: How does Slovak literature fit into the broader contexts of Central and Eastern European literature? What are the important twentieth century traditions of Slovak literature that influence contemporary works? What are the lines of continuity or points of rupture in the relationship between present and past forms, themes, and genres? What are the key trends that link contemporary literature with tradition or break from tradition? How do key historical milestones and cultural shifts inform the forms and themes of Slovak literature? How have historical and political developments influenced the social status and function of literature? In what ways does Slovak literature focus inward on domestic themes and Slovak audiences or adapt to look outward in order to reach audiences abroad? To what extent does Slovak literature draw on foreign influences and domestic traditions? What are the practices and politics associated with translation of Slovak literature? What kinds of books or writers get translated and why? How have translations influenced the themes and forms of Slovak literature? How does writers' awareness of foreign (English-speaking) audiences shape contemporary Slovak literature?"--