On Monday 13 January, in the late afternoon, the Prague Municipal Library held a memorial discussion in memory of the important Czech poet Karel Sys, who left us last July after a serious illness. The guests of the programme shared their memories with his long-time partner, the poet Eva Frantinová, who is now looking after his literary legacy.
Eva Fratinová published two collections of poems a short time ago. Pre-chorus a Closing HourThe first book was personally edited by Karel Sýs, the second is dedicated to him by the author, with whom Karel had an emotional relationship for many years. Eva is currently finishing a volume of memoirs she wrote about their life together. The book will be published by Olympia Publishing House and will be available to readers at the Prague Book Fair in spring.
We asked Eva Frantinová for an interview.
"The book will be called Memories of a skip with the subtitle Memories of Karel Sys..." the poet and writer Frantinová answers our first question. She continues: "In it we read - skipping the years 1975 to 2024 - not only about our moments or experiences together, but also about seemingly "quite" ordinary conversations on the subject of poetry, on the subject of writing, which is endless. Also about music, to which we both had a close relationship, perhaps closer in the sense that I fell into music in the fifth grade and then went on to study violin at the conservatory. And Karel grew up listening to the opera as a child. At one time he wanted to be an opera singer - and he longed to have that wish fulfilled "after life". But fate decided before that: you will be a poet!"
You belong to the generation of poets who entered literature in the second half of the 1970s, as so-called young authors. The editorial boards of newspapers, magazines and publishing houses were already occupied by so-called thirty-five-year-olds, now famous and legendary poets, among whom we can mention Jiří Žáček, Michal Černík, Karel Sýs, Plec, Čejka, Peterka or Šimon. The paths to publication led mainly through some of them. What were your beginnings?
In the summer of 1975 I spent my holidays in Vrane nad Vltavou. Here I was recovering from gall bladder surgery, walking along the Vltava River and reciting Hrubin's A romance for a wingman. And she also sent her first drafts and attempted poems to various editors. To my great joy, the editorial office of the then Tvorby, where Karel Sýs worked in culture, replied to me. His letter was amazing to me, especially the last sentence "Would you like to come over?" I see it as today, when I went to see him with a violin and a thick notebook with experiments written in ink pen back then. Today, in the world of computers and the Internet, it's unimaginable. And when we saw each other, we both felt that "something had happened". Something, both terrible and beautiful, that I never knew at 19 would last until 2024.
So your first verses were published in Creation. Then followed Literary Monthly, Host, Salon Práva and other periodicals. But Eva's stepping-stone was primarily named Karel Sýs. The two were clearly tuned to the same string. Moreover, she was unmarried, he was divorced.
Yes, we liked the same poets, the same painters, the same music but also the same scratched walls, countries, cities, often the same words. But beware - it was not about copying, but about "recording" each other's inspiration, especially during our summer stays in Kostelec nad Orlicí, where we wrote words in our notebooks, until we were called "note-takers" and they thought we were somehow secret or "out of control", that we were writing something down everywhere...
You can find these "harvests" of words in our books with a little attention. When I read some of Karl's poems, I remember those moments when I said "Freight Station" on the tram, and he immediately reached for his notebook and wrote down "Mood Station". We often tossed words around like balls. That was beautiful. For example, one spring I asked Karl: "What length skirts are worn now, shorter or below the knee?" And he said "wait" and reached for his notebook, without which he didn't take a step to write it down: "Poems to the ground. The title of a future collection."
During one of the interviews with the media after the publication of the collection Closing Hour you said that Karel Sýs, as the responsible editor, was at the birth of almost all your books. In a decorous way, you admitted to a long-lasting, deeply emotional relationship, and you also confided that you find relief from the pain of his passing in the book of memoirs you have just finished. You also stressed that you intend to nurture Karl's legacy...
Legacy - the word sounds more abstract than concise. I would like Karel to still be among us, to have not only his poetry but also his unforgettable humour circulating here. And his philosophy of life. Of course, it's clear to me that it's one thing to wish for it, and another to do it. Time is relentless and sooner or later one begins to forget. But the written word is what endures for ages. Hence my book, a reminiscent mosaic of shards that make up his picture, which will be published by Olympia in the spring.
I also initiated several memorial programmes in Prague with readings of Karel's poems and my poetry collection Closing Hour dedicated to him. In March 2025, a reading of his works will be held at the Atelier PV9 in Prague's Politických vězňů Street, where Karel had his last conversation with readers in March 2024.
And then there are my contributions, which thanks to Ludvík Hess I publish continuously on his online Wild Wine. I also copy sketches of poems from Karl's notebooks, which I have scanned at home. Sometimes it is not readable, Karel himself sometimes wondered that he could hardly decipher it by himself, but for me it is a beautiful work.
Work like a church, so to speak. And it wasn't time for the intended book with the working title Karel Sýs and us, which Eva Frantinová also initiated and accepted the thankless job of editor, who has to bring together a collective of personalities who were friends and collaborators with Karel at the time. These are about two dozen well-known names - the literary theorist Blahynka, the poets Žáček, Spáčil, Mařík, the journalists and writers Žantovský, Černý, Vlastník. There will also be the painter Kolařík, who illustrated a long series of Sýs' books.
The Olympia publishing house in Prague is also interested in this title for its publishing plan for 2026. Sýs has also collaborated with this publishing house. In 2024 he published a large book of poetry The truth will come later and was a member of the editorial board after 2020.
"It's going to be a lot of work. I don't know how it will turn out, but I will try to get the best result. It's definitely going to be a great testament to the times and the literature coming out for us..." the poet and prose writer Eva Frantinová says goodbye to us.
Ivan Cerny
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