The Bloody Sonnets

The most significant work of poetry of Slovak literature with an anti-war message is still valid today as a resolute condemnation of moral and social decay and of the dehumanization that a war conflict means. In the 32 sonnets the poet - apart from protesting the blood-shed - asks who is responsible for the horror and suffering and he also expresses his hope that humankind will learn its lesson and that people will live in peace. Hviezdoslav's poem was translated to English by the poet and prose writer John Minahane (1950) who has been living and working in Slovakia since 1996. He has also translated selected poems of Ladislav Novomeský, Milan Rúfus and other authors. He completed Hviezdoslav's Bloody Sonnets with an extensive introduction and a calendar of the poet's life. 

The English translation is accompanied with illustrations of Dušan Kállay.