[ Ondra Lysohorsky, 'a great poet of humanity', Censored cold-war Lach (Czech/Silesian) poet and his English translators Christopher Fry, David Gill and Alan N. Phillips ] An Archive

'Ondra Lysohorsky' is the pen-name of the Lach poet Ervin Goj [Erwin Goy] (1905-1989), who, as a Silesian, was largely responsible for the creation of Lach as a literary language. (Born into the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he repudiated the Czechoslovakian citizenship he inherited.) Having fled the Nazis, Lysohorsky was feted in the Moscow literary circles of the 1940s, with Boris Pasternak among his translators. Feeling that academic promotion was being denied him, he appealed directly to Stalin, but following his return to Czechoslovakia after the war, his situation worsened. The publication of his poetry in his native dialect was banned by the communist authorities, and he was compelled by this to write in German for publication outside Czechoslovakia. In the decades that followed he was perhaps the most prominent victim of Czechoslovakian censorship. In 1976 the magazine 'Index On Censorship' stated: 'The Case Ondra Lysohorsky is one of the most scandalous and cruel in today's European literature and a spot on Czechoslovakia's name.' The magazine quoted from a letter Lysohorsky had recently written to an English friend (probably David Gill): 'My situation is worse than ever before. My poetry is definitely silenced by the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia - not only my Lachian poetry in Prague but also a book of my German poems in East Berlin. [...] I am not allowed to publish anything here nor abroad'. Despite the efforts of the authorities his international reputation continued to grow during the Samizdat period (according to Gill his poems, 'rhapsodic and on a grand scale', were published in 'a hundred different languages and dialects'), and in 1975 he was hailed by the Schweitzer Committee as 'a great poet of humanity'. His reputation was particularly high in the English-speaking world, and his work was notably translated by W. H. Auden, Christopher Fry (1907-2005) and David Gill (1934-2017). Lysohorsky's 'Selected Poems', edited by Ewald Osers appeared in 1970, and another collection, 'In the Eye of the Storm', edited by Gill and with a preface by Fry, in 1976. Gill also published translations of Lysohorsky's 'Karel Klimsa' (1984) and 'The White Rave and other Poems' (1989). The Bodleian Library at Oxford holds an archive of material relating to Lysohorsky.The present archive is from the Christopher Fry papers. It is a significant body of material, including 31 moving and revealing letters to Fry from Lysohorsky; a seven-page 'curriculum vitae' by the poet; typescripts by Lysohorsky of 348 of his German poems (including various batches brought out of Czechoslovakia for Fry by third parties); translations by Fry; translations and letters to Fry from David Gill; translations, letters and original poems by Alan N. Phillips. Fry and Gill collaborated in an unsuccessful attempt to publish an English selection of Lysohorsky's poems, to be titled 'In Difficult Years'. A list of the 44 poems to be included in the selection is also present, as is a rejection letter to Fry from the publisher Carcanet. It was Phillips's initial task to provide Fry with literal translations from the German to work from, and many of these are also present. The collection also includes (see Section D) five typed English translations by Lysohorsky of his poems, including an eight-page 'Literal translation' of 'To Romain Rolland', with the seven-page 'Lachian original text'. Also a translation of 'The Eiffel Tower' by Lydia Pasternak Slater.Lysohorsky's letters to Fry are moving and remarkably informative given the author's circumstances. As the correspondence proceeds, Lysohorsky is increasingly isolated, depressed and paranoid, and he comes to regard Fry as 'one of the best and most serious friends in all my life'. The urge to see his work in print is the main theme. At one point he writes: 'Silenced during some 40 years here and pressed by my 75 years it is natural that I do what I can to publish at least the most important part of my lifework, because I feel a horror considering the negative perspectives after my death. [...] I have nobody here who could manage it in my sens. [sic, for 'absence'?] My enemies know very well this situation and wait. I have no children. I am a poet fighting for Human Rights since 1922.' Unable to publish at home, he is 'dependent on translations, especially into world languages, in first place into English', and his joy at Fry's assistance leads him to declare that 'in the last years of my life full of illness and despair the most precious presents are your translations of my poetry'. In a dramatic letter of 20 November 1981 he describes 'an attempt on my life in summer at the entrance to the house I live in'. In a letter to Fry sent at the same time Gill reports that Lysohorsky 'is now convinced that it was an assassination attempt by the authorities who want him out of the way', but that he is not so sure ('he does have a habit of falling over').The material is in good overall condition, with the usual light signs of age and wear.The following description is divided into six parts:ONE. Correspondence with Christopher Fry, 1974-1988TWO. Typescripts made by Lysohorsky of 352 of his German poems, 1928-1981THREE: Christopher Fry translationsFOUR: David Gill translations and letters to FryFIVE: Alan N. Phillips translations, letters to Fry, original poemsSIX: Miscellaneous--ONE. Correspondence with Christopher Fry, 1974-198831 letters, dating from between 27 May 1974 and 18 January 1988, mostly from Bratislava. (None from the period 1982-1986. One or two a year, except for eight apiece in 1979 and 1980, and four in 1981.) A total of 53pp, of which 49pp are in autograph and 4 typewritten. Twenty-four of the letters are written in excellent English; of the other nine, five are in French (between 1975 and 1979) and two in German (1987 and 1988, the latter accompanied by a two-page English translation). Addressed to Fry at The Toft, East Dean, Chichester, Sussex, and one addressed jointly to his wife 'Phyl'. The twenty-seven letters in Lysohorsky's autograph are neatly and closely written; the other four are neatly typed. Twenty-eight of the letters are long and full of content; the other three are comparatively short. The first letter, 27 May 1974, is accompanied by a blank and white print of 'the photograph Klaus Beyer took of me during the Goethe Congress in Weimar in June 1973', inscribed by OL on the back. Another letter, 22 July 1976, is accompanied by a postscard and three poems translated into French by the poet Pierre Garnier (1928-2014), each written out by Lysohorsky in a neat hand: 'Les Larmes', 'Chartres' and 'Poésie'); another of 16 March 1979 is accompanied by a typed copy of a long denunciatory letter to Robin Gregory. A letter of 9 May 1980 is accompanied by two German poems, one dated 1932 and the other 1980. Enclosed with a letter of 28 November 1980 is an autograph copy of the previous letter (19 September 1980), together with typed copies (totalling 11pp) of nine poems in German: the first, 'Der Eiffelturm | Für Lydia Pasternak', dating from 1978, the other eight from 1942 and 1943. (The German poems are included in Part Two below.) Also present are two signed typed postcards. The first, 30 December 1977, in French; the second to the Frys, from 'Bratislava at hospital 15th August 1982'. For the two enclosures with letter of 18 January 1979 see Part below.Topics (often repeated) include: his life story, his opposition to communism ('fascistes rouges'), his continual struggle to publish his work, the confiscation of his correspondence by the communist authorities, his need for support, his aims in writing poetry, his admiration for Fry and his work, his need for Fry's support ('utile et même nécessaire'), the unhealthy conditions in which he lives, the 'recent failures and bad harvests' among his publishing plans, trouble over an edition of his Lachian poems, his politics, Fry's work on translating his poems and his delight in receiving them ('on delicious blue papers'), the efforts of his 'enemies to hush up' his poetry, his visit to England in 1978 (during which he is the happiest he has ever been), the status of the Lachian dialect and the 'Czechisation' of Silesia, increasing paranoia (supposed betrayal by English publishers Robin Gregory, Tom Maschler of Jonathan Cape, and Ewald Osers), a supposed attempt on his life, his hard life ('vie très dure) in Bratislava, his ill health and growing depression ('after all my hopes in England'), his life since the war ('Years of Hell - Inferno - Dante'), his meeting with Auden a year before his death, his assessment of Spender and Auden as former communists, his connection with five generations of the Rilke family.In the first letter, 27 May 1974, in thanking Fry for the 'moral support' of a letter, he gives a vivid description of the 'hard circumstances' of his 'individual creative life in loneliness and daily danger of death': 'Since 1922 I have been wriding [sic] poetry and always I saw even in the most lyric poems arms in my fight for the highest values of mankind.' He explains that in the 1930s he 'was convinced that communism will bring the solution to the essential problems between and within the nations. This was an error. I watch the frightening evolution of a new aristocracy of arrogance dominating those who are not admitted or those who will not go with.' He declares defiantly: 'I belong to those who do not go with the ephemeral new Caesars, and demask the hypocritic world redeemers by their universal character and creation. | For this I have to pay the difficulties of my life surmount the imaginative faculty of people not living in authoritarian regimes. Every new day is a new risk. Every day I have to equilibrate martyrdom and heroism.' He continues in the same tone, explaining how he has been '[s]ilenced and slandered since 30 years in Czechosolovakia without any possibility to answer'. In a long postscript he describes how since the 1920s he has been 'acquainted with 5 generations of the Rilke-family. When I visited Rilke's mother Phia in autumn 1927, Rilke's grandmother as 99 years old.' He also describes his friendship with Rilke's daughter, who committed suicide with her husband in 1972. OL begins the second letter, 24 January 1975, by describing Fry's preface to Gill's forthcoming selection of his poetry 'the most beautiful Christmas present I have ever received. It is precious, substancial, [sic] distinguished and very English. It represents a real help in my fight. [...] I feel honoured by this Introduction, short but saying so much between the lines.' Elsewhere in the letter he explains that from a 'cultural, not political point of vew' he is 'proud of being born in this most European Empire and of my Austrian citizenship from my birth until the end of 1918. But after 1918, although citizen of one of the most insolent small succession states, I feel that my deepest roots remained in the cosmopolitan and humanist vegetable mould of Austrial and especially Vienna'. He also states that he has been 'invited by the Central Committee of the CP in Prague to come in the concern of my demand to publish my Lachian poems on occasion of my 70th birthday anniversary. I spent there 8 days without any concrete results. I demanded an edition of 3 volumes of Lachian texts and they proposed 1 volume of Czech translations'. Writing in French at the end of 1975 he gives an account of 'la dialectique de l'évolution de ma poésie', in which he claims that there is no difference between the treatment he received from the fascists and the communists: 'Plus les fascistes me tourmentent pus mûre doit être ma poésie. Ce n'est qu'ainsi que leur crime envers mois peut avoir un sens plus haut. En 1939, je me sis enfui devant les fasciests bruns et je leur ai répondu dans ma poésie antifasciste. Mais dès 1968 je suis resté dans la cage faite de fil de fer par Celé et je ne peux répondre aux fascistes rouges que par le même moyen: la poésie. Les rouges me sont pas meilleurs que les bruns ni leur méthodes envers la littérature humaniste en général. Ma poésie est la réponse humaine au monde inhumain du vingtième siècle.' On 10 January 1977 he expresses despondency at the behaviour of the authorities: 'Les confiscations de ma correspondence causant un chaos et des dégâts qui paralysent ma volonté à écrire des lettres.' Robin Gregory has not received a list of fifty-five addresses of 'amis dans beaucoup de pays (pas socialistes)' who could have helped in promoting Gill's selection. 'Comment expliquer cela?' On 7 April 1978 he informs Fry that he has been granted permission 'to leave the country for 20 days and to go to England.' He describes his plans, beginning with '3 days in Oxford with Prof Auty and Dr. MacEwan', discussing 'arrangements regarding the publication of my Lachian poems'. Fry is among other friends (including 'Lydia Pasternak, Hugh McKinley, Dr. Kay, Jean Willcox, Ewald Osers') he would like to meet; and he describes his plan to visit 'some places dear to me since my first trip to England in 1947'. At the end of 1978, following the visit, he declares: 'I travelled very much in my life, in Europe I know 22, in Asia 5 countries, but I must say that I didn't feel nowhere as happy as during my second trip to Great-Britain.' He describes the trip, and how he 'found kindness, generosity, sincerity, every day was well organized, for the first time in my life I had the opportunity to read my poems at several universities not only in the original languages Lachian and German but also in translations into 7 languages, some of my oldest wishes had been accomplished now [...] but happiest I felt in Chichester [...] Of course I imagined your house and your garden when I read your letters. But now - the reality! Everything was much more beautiful, larger, deeper and surrounded with a sort of magic brightness. I felt like in a fairy-tale.' He continues in the same vein, praising Fry's wife and adding 'I can't forget anything of this precious day. How could I forget your friendly readiness to translate my poems?' He explains his plan to send a large number of poems, 'and you can let it see to your friend who will make the rough translations. There are two possibilities: either your translations will be published in a larger collection of my poems prepared on occasion of my 75th anniversary (July 6th, 1980) or you will publish them separately in an independent special book. As to me I would prefer the second. This book could contain my best poems from 1922 until 1979, some 50-100. But the decision depends on you.' On 18 January 1979 he writes: 'The poems for you (86) are prepared and wait for my friend who will take them along.' On 1 March 1979 he praises Fry's lecture 'Death' as 'a rare and reliable synthesis of philosophy and poetry, near to me, near to my work treating this theme during more than half a century in several poems. No real philosophy, no real poetry are possible without the treating of this theme. [...] I feel more and more the mystery of your landscape'. Later in the letter he discusses his creative motives and method, beginning: 'I began writing my poetry in 1922, i.e. 57 years ago. My poems represent creative answers to the innumerable blows of my very difficult life - beginning iwth my childhood. I exist by transferring creatively every blow. the undeasier my life the more creative my poetry. I write all my poems in hand but not all are typewritten now. I think there are (Lachian or German original texts) some 2,500 together, but only the fifth part approximately was published in book for till now. Some hundred of my poems were published in the original texts (Lachian or German) but I am not convinced that - because of the political persecution of my humanist poetry as a whole - there will be published all before my death. Therefore I am dependent on translations, especially into world languages, in first place into English.' In a letter of 16 March 1979 OL criticises Robin Gregory for placing him in 'the bad situation in which I can't write anything, or almost anything'. He cannot forget that Gregory published his book 'In the Eye of the Storm' ('a good book, which is, I hope out of print'), but he is 'now a pedagogical advisor in the family of an Arabian oil-multimillionaire and seems to have forgotten what he promised before'. OL asks Fry, whom he describes as 'one of the best and most serious friends in all my life', what to do. He concludes: 'My nights are sleepless... | For some weeks I have been living at a village, not in Bratislava, which has the worst air of all Slovakia. I come to my dwelling only once in a week to fetch my correspondence.' He encloses a typed copy of a long indignant letter to Gregory, concluding: 'I repeat the question: Will you publish, on the occasion of my 75th anniversary, the second book of English translations or will you not? If you will, all right. It will be a fine book. Many of my best poems are not yet translated because they are not yet typewritten. If you will not, you create a serious situation, because I lose my confidence in you.' In a long letter of 14 October 1979 he describes his 'recent failures and bad harvests': 'Gregory's unpardonable faithlessness', the 'sabotage' of an edition of his Lachian verses, the decision in Norway to refuse publication of a Norwegian translation, previously authorised. Fry is however a true friend, and his latest translations have been received. On 15 December he asks Fry to send two of his works to the poet Stephen Spender. In suggesting an edition of translations of his poems by Fry, Auden and Spender he writes: 'But I have never been a member of the C. P. nor any other Party as Auden and Spender. All four of us were or are experimenting the same problems. I like you, dear Christopher, because of the deep essence of your work, the most personal language and new images, your deep comprehension for the sky, the sea and the earth. I like Spender because of his fight for the oppressed, his social conscience for Man and Mankind and his leaving the C P. Auden I knew personally. W. H. AUDEN, who's [sic] guest I was a year before his death, nonforgettible [sic] conversations about Literature, social, philosophical and political questions. He left the C P too.' He returns to his hopes for the book (regarding which Fry has written to Spender) at the beginning of 1980, also exclaiming: 'my life without my spiritual communication with you? Impossible to imagine.' Of Spender he writes: 'I think he is a master of German. His mother was of German descent. Among the German poets, he translated, were some poets near to me.' In March of 1980 he contrasts Fry's life with his own: 'you live in the pure nature far from the hell of industrial noise and dirt. In my noisy street the air is poisoned in such a degree that almost all trees on both sides died one after the other. The surviving trees resemble to ghosts.' In the same month he defends himself again over his urging of publication: 'Silenced during some 40 years here and pressed by my 75 years it is natural that I do what I can to publish at least the most important part of my lifework, because I feel a horror considering the negative perspectives after my death. [...] I have nobody here who could manage it in my sens. [sic] My enemies know very well this situation and wait. I have no children. I am a poet fighting for Human Rights since 1922. [...] I am so happy by reading your translations and people reading them can see the uselessness of my enemies to hush up my poetry.' On 26 July 1980 he restates his political position: 'I reject all party-poetry, right and left. Poetry isn't a matter of a part, of a party, but of the whole, the human whole, mankind, humanity. I am a humble servant of the whole. But our materialist, atheist time likes and serves the parts, the parties. The great art in all times liked the Whole, beginning with the Egyptian art. The Whole is the Holy, the Holy is the Whole.' He end by reporting that his 'psychical depression (after all my hopes in England) are [sic] growing more and more. And I fear a collapse sooner or later. My enemies here in my country do everything to attain it. I fear that I'll die in the political terror in my country as a fighter for human values and rights without the help of my friends abroad'. His depression has grown by 23 February 1981: 'My will is often eliminated. I am powerless. My mighty foes enhance their blows. Now they render more difficult my spending of some weeks in a hospital in 1981. This is the most inhuman blow against me in this year. But there are some other ones. My enemies continue silencing and distorting the human sense of my work.' On 15 March 1981 he writes: 'I am not a Czech poet, because I don't write Czech. I am a Lachian poet, because I began to write, as the first, in Lachian. In this language 4 books appeared in Czechoslovakia - 3 before and 1 after World War II. But I am also a German poet, because the greatest part of my poetry and all my prose are written in German. I was born in 1905, as a citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In our family, as in all other Lachian families, Lachian and German were the two natural means of expression. After the establishment of the new state of Czechoslovakia after World War I in 1918 the Czechisation of Lachia begun and under the Communist regime after World War II the Czechisation atteined [sic] the highest point. The C P forbad me to continue writing in Lachian. It is self-evident that I refused this chauvinist command. That is the begin of my tragedy.' On 12 May 1981 he asks Fry to translate his poem 'My Answer', written ' at the hospital in 1958 during 4 days. It is a farewell to Life. It contains my philosophy of Poetry. I think it is my best poem and the most important one.' He considers that 'in the last years of my life full of illness and despair the most precious presents are your translations of my poetry. [...] Your translations are the most valuable because they sound like original English texts by their monumental simplicity and perfection.' On 20 November 1981 he apologises for not writing sooner: 'The reason for this belated answer to your letters and the letters of other friends is an attempt on my life in summer at the entrance to the house I live in. The criminal wounded my head by a hard object of wood or iron and broke my right hand. After a long time my neighbours found me unconscious and bleeding. A serious concussion of the brain. I had to spend almost 2 months in two hospitals.' As a result of the attack he is 'not able to works seriously': 'A complete chaos is around me and sometimes in me.' In a letter in German, 11 June 1987 he announces the publication in Canada of 'ein Buch aller meiner lachisch geschrieben Poesie', edited by Prof. Georg Marvan, and he yet again urges Fry to make translations from it. The final letter, 18 January 1988, is again in German, but begins with four lines in English on the death of Fry's wife: 'My dear friend Christopher, | I am confounded about Phil's [sic] death. I see how much I love both of you. Our friendship was for me and remeins [sic] very dear. I have compassion on you.' Autograph postscript in English: 'I am so happy that you translate me'. Also present is a typed biological chronology by OF of his life, 1905-1979 by OF, in German, headed 'Ondra Lysohorsky: Curriculum Vitae', 7pp. First page with large part torn away and lacking. Accompanied by two pages in autograph of translations into English by Alan N. Phillips, headed 'One or two extracts from Curriculum Vitae'.TWO. Lysohorsky's own typescripts of 348 of his German poems, 1928-1981Lysohorsky's own typescripts of 348 of his German poems. The dates of composition are between 1928 and 1981, but the typescripts date from the 1970s to 1981. Each is a separate carbon copy, and almost all cover one page only (the few exceptions are noted). With few exceptions they are laid out with Lysohorsky's name above the title at top right, and the date if given following the end of the poem at bottom right. The location of composition is sometimes given, such as Pizunde, Hohe Tatra, Achali-Gagra, Bratislava, Chartres (4), Versailles, Mont Saint-Michel, Vézelay (2), Athens (3, one 'Akropolismuseum'), Püspökladány, Phaistos, Slia?. The poems are grouped in eight batches, lettered below A to H. Also present, and of particular interest, are alternative typescripts of poems in Section A, as brought out of Czechoslovakia for Fry in batches by third parties. The collection also includes (see Section D) five typed English translations by Lysohorsky of his poems, including an eight-page 'Literal translation' of 'To Romain Rolland', with the seven-page 'Lachian original text'.A: Batch of 86 poems, 1928-1978Each poem is dated, and each is on a separate piece of paper (apart from two poem of 2pp apiece). For the titles see the accompanying typed list of the 86 titles and dates, headed 'Verzeichnis der deutschen Gedichte Ondra Lysohorskys für Christopher Fry'. All but the first fifteen dating from the 1970s. In chronological order from '1. Arbeitslose 28.IV.1928' to '86. Der Eiffelturm, 3.XII.1978'. A few minor autograph emendations. Regarding this collection OL writes to Fry, 18 January 1979: 'The poems for you (86) are prepared and wait for my friend who will take them along.' Enclosed with that letter is another copy of the 'Verzeichnis', together with a fourteen-work bibliography headed 'Ondra Lysohorsky ist in fogenden Lexiken vertreten'.Accompanying the collection are alternative typescripts of almost all of the poems (1-27, 29, 31, 34, 37, 38, 39, 41-82 and 86), printed together to fill 26pp (from the pagination p.15 is lacking), and with minor autograph emendations. This second set of typescripts is the original version sent to Fry in batches, with the numbering and titles of the earlier poems underlined in red, but with those on the last 11pp (52-82, 86) unmarked. Accompanying the item is a slip of paper with autograph note: 'Voilà la deuxième partie du MS. | Cordialement | Ondra'. (From the note the batch to which this refers has pagination 8-15 and contains poems 19-51.)Also present is an autograph translation into English by Alan Phillips of most of the 86 poems. In three batches. The first batch, incomplete, with poems from 1-19, paginated to 15 + 2, but lacing pp.1-5, 8, 9 and one other page. The second batch, with poems from 20-51, paginated to 16-51, but lacking pp.1, 2. The third batch, complete, with poems 52-86, paginated to 21.B: Batch of six poems, 1932-1942Acqua acetosa ('Die Acqua acetosa. Einsamkeit.') 17 May 1932Von dem Lied, das ich schreibe ('Es ist nicht mit goldener Feder geschrieben') Taschkent 23 June 1942 [autograph emendation]Vor der Wiese ('Der Wind spielt mit gelben Wiesen und deinem schwarzen Haar.') 29 April 1937 ('Lysohorskys eigene deutsche Ubersetzung aus seinem lachischen Original.')Kneipe am Donauufer ('Hohe, grosse, goldene Sonnenblumen') 28 June 1937Tulpen ('An diesem Maitag, wie aus Glas gesponnen,') 9 October 1936Dem unbekannten Bruder ('Aus tiefster Zeit quillt Wort nach Wort ins Lied,') Taschkent 16 March 1942C: Batch of nine poems, 1932-1943(Each with title of the published collection in which the poem appeared.)Rehbock vor einem Wildbretladen ('Wie still hängst du. Die Füsse straff gebunden.') 9 December 1932 [one manuscript emendation]Wachtangow-Theater ('Ich liebte sie, die alte Linde.') Moscow 24 July 1941 [autograph emendations and marginal note]Gasse im alten Buchara ('Die hochrädrigen Karren kommen wieder') 2 November 1942 [autograph emendation]Chinesische Ballade ('Die Krähen flattern voller Unruh') Moscow 5 March 1943 [autograph emendation]Das Buch der Natur ('Stadt, du wendest so schnell deine Seiten') Moscow 21 May 1943Nature morte ('Ein weisses Tuch träumt auf dem Tisch') Taschkent 26 April 1943Der Apfelbaum ('Wie fühl ich deinen Pulsschlag, Apfelbaum!') 28 April 1943Beethoven in der Wüste ('Der Abent lastet bange auf der Wüste') Taschkent 22 January 1942Botanischer Park in Taschkent ('Durchschnitten von dem reisslend gelben Flusse,') Taschkent 17 October 1942D: Batch of six poems, 1942 and 1943; with a further five in English, 1933-1958(Each with title of the published collection in which the poem appeared, and the four English poems each said to be a 'Traduction juxtalinéaire'.)Gefährtin, lichte ('Gefährtin, lichte, meiner dunklen Jahre,') 20 January 1942Dieselbe Stunde ('Die sechste Stunde. Eine leere Barke') 9 February 1942Der Fluss Salar ('Im Weidengertendickkichts schaukeln Schatten') Taschkent 25 June 1942Die Sonnenblume ('Zu dir. Durchs Gartentor. Den Lärm der Trams') 29 June 1942Unausgesungene Lieder ('So wie die Formen; im Banne des Steinblocks') 4 August 1943Vor Sonnenaufgang ('Welch Glück - paar Tropfen Milch aus irdenem Kruge!') 4 March 1942Oars ('The boat glides in glittering shades of midday.') 'Moscow, February 13th 1943 | Traduction juxtalinéaire' [with autograph additions in pencil]The Hand of my Mother ('The evening ripens. The world falls asleep silently.') 'Moscow, April 27th 1943 | Traduction juxtalinéaire'Hymn to Life ('Let me change into song my native earth:') 'March, 25th 1934 | Traduction juxtalinéaire' [subtitle added in autograph: 'To L. Jana?ek']Flowers ('I know you too, I know you and your anxiety,') 'August, 28th 1933 | Traduction juxtalinéaire'Also included in this section, although not part of the batch, is a typed 'Literal translation' into English by OL of his poem 'To Romain Rolland', Slia?, 21-24 June 1958, 8pp. With the 'Lachian original text', 7pp. Both original and translation with a few autograph emendations.E: Batch of nine poems, 1934-194322.VI.1941 ('Dieser Tag nahm mir alles,') Taschkent 23 May 1942Auch die alte Mühle ('Sie mahlte am Frühlingsfenster') Taschkent 21 November 1942Hruschauer Teiche ('Du reines Lächeln in dem Land des Schmutzes,') 5 December 1936Die Oase ('Ein Fischer. Das Schillern von Netzen in seltsamen Wassern.') Taschkent 26 March 1942Der Vogel ('Warteten unsre Bergwälder vergeblich?') 16 February 1934Mittag ('In reifen Feldern dösen Mohn') 11 May 1934Das Buch der Natur ('Stadt, du wendest so schnell deine Seiten,') 21 May 1943Granstapfel ('Der reiches Mutter-Erde neue Stimme') Buchara 7 November 1942Ich steh an Fluss ('So müde bin ich sehen von all den Wandern.') Taschkent 28 June 1942F: Batch of eight poems, 1942 and 1943(Each with title of the published collection in which the poem appeared.)Ich steh am Fluss ('So müde bin ich schon von all dem Wandern.') Taschkent 28 June 1942Die Sonnenblume ('Zu dir. Durchs Gartentor. Den Lärm der Trams') Taschkent 29 June 1942Taschkenter Autoporträt ('Eine trotzige Mähne, mein dunklen Haar,') Taschkent 4 July 1942Botanischer Park in Taschkent ('Durchschnitten von dem ressend gelben Flusse,') Taschkent 17 October 1942Das Licht ('Du zündetest an am Abent') Samarkand 28 October 1942Brot ('Du Stückchen Brot, zwei-dreimal in den Mund,') Buchara 9 November 1942Das Nicht zu Ende gelesene Buch ('Ein grosses gilbenden Blatt') Taschkent 19 November 1942 [with autograph emendations]Der Puls des Lebens ('Nur Schwarz war einst auf der Palette.') Moscow 26 May 1943G: Batch of 20 poems, 1967-1977)(Each numbered in autograph by OL.)Im Louvre ('Rembrandts Selbstbildnisse,') August 1967Mein Werk ('Mein Werk ist ein Dialog mit der Natur und der Menschheit.') May 1979Möwen über dem Meer ('Sie fliegen seit Millionen Jahren.) Constanca - Budapest 20 September 1971 [autograph emendation]Jeden Tag ('Jeden Tag bleibe ich') 21 July 1971Zwanzigstes Jahrhundert ('Wenn unsre Zeit noch eine Morgenröte') 1 November 1971Auf der Akropolis ('Als ich in runden Schatten der Zypresse') Akropolis, Athens 4 October 1973Die Zukunft ('Die Zukunft scheint mir oft die ausweglose') 25 November 1974Träume in Schlafwagen ('Wenn du schlaflos im Schlafwagen fährst,') 19/20 May 1975Ratschläge ('Stell einem Blumenstrauss') 17 July 1970Autobahn ('Du reine Blume,') 23 October 1975Der Bergmannssohn ('Wo kein Blut fliesst,') 12 March 1975Der Sonnenstrahl ('Du kommst von weit,') 15 June 1971Die Urne ('Viel Leid') 17 October 1974Demut ('Wir alle sind in ein Gewebe gewoben,') 22 April 1975Nacht ('Wie fühl ich mich wohl bei dir, Lampe,') 26 July 1970Pierre Garnier ('Ich bin allein geblieben ohn ihn,') 17 November 1975 2ppVor dem Bild der zertrümmerten Pietà Michelangelos ('An dieser Tat nehmen wir alle teil,') 27 March 1975Junge Magnolie ('Dieselben Blüten') 11 April 1968Von oben gesehen ('Dort unten also dreht sich dieser Ball') 27 June 1975Dichter ('Wir werden geboren.') 26 May 1977(Accompanied by an autograph English translation of the 20 poems by Alan Phillips, on leaves paginated to 13, but lacking p.3.)H: Batch of 204 poems, 1961-1981.(With an additional four duplicates.)Lebensrückblick ('Nichts hab ich zu bedauern, was ich tat.') 20 March 1980 [signed, with birth date, and one autograph emendation] [with second copy, similarly annotated]Erinnerung an Paris 1926 ('Trauer erfasst mich.') 2 August 1980Dichter ('Oft schneiden wir herum an dem Seil,') 2 January 1981Das Krankenhaus ('Täglich ein und dasselbe:') 16 November 1980Beim Anblick des Sternenraumes ('Vom Sternenraume weht es kühl.' 19 November 1976Bei Betrachtung der Weltgeschichte ('Wann war die Menschhiet im Gleichgewicht?') 10 December 1975Die einzige Wahrheit ('Morden im Namen der einzigen Wahrheit?') 23 April 1975Meine Hematstadt ('Woran ich denke und wem ich danke?') 15 January 1981An David Gill ('Drei Tage vor mir wurdest du geboren') 25 March 1975Die heutige Menscheit ('Jeder ist auf jeden angewiesen.') 25 March 1975Einem Dichter ('Bein Buch ist ein Speigel deiner zeit?') 15 April 1975Frage an die Zypressen ('Was bewacht ihr, Zypressen,') 12 October 1975Auf der Karlsbrücke ('Die Karlsbrücke. Die Kampa. Dort oben der Hradschin.') 26 December 1980De profundis ('Auch ich erkenne bitter in meinem hohen Jahren,') 31 December 1980Poseidontepel am Kap Sunion ('Ich müsste noch einmal vom Norden kommen.') 11 November 1979Lebensglück ('Ein Graschalm wächst auf und vergeht.') 21 November 1979Der böseste Traum der Menschheit ('War es ein in die Hölle getriebener') 22 July 1980Frédéric Mistral ('Der heilige Name kommt von weitem her') 3 May 1980Pappelallee in Herbst ('Mir scheint es,') 20 October 1971 [with manuscript translation into English in Alan Phillips's hand]Gespräch mit einer Marguerite bei Sonnenuntergang ('Wie klein bist du - und voll von Himmelaglanz.') 10 July 1978An Oswald Spengler ('Du schriebst vom Undergang des Abendlandes.') 19 March 1977An Hugh MackKinley ('Ich bin traurig darüber,') 17 August 1977Der Hochmut der Deutschen ('Mit Hochmut zeigen sie den Touristen ihr wiederaufgebautes Land') 11 March 1978Der Eiffelturm | Für Lydia Pasternak ('Boris ging uns veraus. Wir beide werden folgen.') 3 December 1978 3pp [a few autograph emendations]Sinn der Menschheitsgeschichte. ('Vor drei Milliarden Jahren') 15 September 1974.Zivilisationsmensch. ('Man sagt, er sei äusserlich?') 4 October 1974.Zukunft ('Neblige Linien der Zukunft') 4 October 1974.Soest ('Auf meiner Reise durch Ruinen schöpf ich Trost.') 25 March 1975Städte und Türme ('Dächermeere,') 22 November 1975Rat einem Dichter ('Wirst du von der Partei verfolgt,') 22 October 1975Meere ('Gefährlich rauschen Meere, grüne, blaue, weisse,') 28 October 1975Karfreitagsspruch ('Das Denken an den Tod lässt mich nicht erschlaffen.') 28 March 1975Die Ballade von den braunen und den roten Krähen ('Ihre Farbe nimmt manchem den Mut') 3 October 1975Schatten ('Als Knabe schaute ich schweigend') 4 July 1975 [with one minor autograph emendation]Frage ('Meine Gedichte?') 7 January 1975Aufstieg der Menschheit ('Wer zweifelt daran, dass die Menschheit steigt?') 19 January 1975Die Tragödie der Menschheit ('Vor 350 Millionen Jahren stiegen Tiere aus dem Meer aufs Land.') 28 January 1975. [two copies, both with minor autograph emendation]Die graue Staubwolke ('Vulkanausbrüche. Erdbeben. Orkane.') 30 January 1975. [two copies, both with minor autograph emendation]Fruende ('Sie sind einer nach dem andern im Dunkel verschwunden,') 4 January 1975Betrachtung an einer Staatsgrenze ('Ich glaube nicht an unsere Zeit,') 17 March 1975Bäume ('Ich stamme aus einem Land der bewaldeten Berge') 7 January 1975Selbstüberschätzung und Selbstzerstörung der Menschheit ('Wir dringen von Formel zu Formel vor ins Atom.') 6 July 1975 [minor autograph emendation]Leid ('Obdachlos in der Menschheit') 10 January 1975 [title in autograph]Blick nach dem Sternenhimmel ('Ich frage euch, Diktatoren aller Farben und Masken:') 10 August 1976Ehrliches Schaffen ('Wer ehrlich schafft,') Pizunda, 20 July 1976Einmal ('Sie morden mich schon dreissig Jahre lang.') 6 July 1976Archäologie ('Auf wie vielen Treppen der Archäologie') 23 August 1976Meinen allmächtigen Feinden ('Tut mir noch mehr Unrecht,') 3 August 1976Inschrift am Grabe eines Dichters ('Er nahm mit seinem totgeschwiegenen Werke') 11 August 1976Reife des Dichters ('Ob du wachst, ob du ruhst,') 13 April 1976 [one autograph emendation]Ausgeschüttet ('Ausgeschüttet') 11 April 1976Nüchterne Abrechnung ('Die letzte Brücke habt ihr abgebrochen, die uns verband.') 5 August 1976. 2pp. [minor autograph emendation, and final two lines deleted]Anregung zu einem Tiermonument ('Einst traf ich einem Wolf in den Karpaten.') Hohe Tatra; 23 March 1976. [one autograph emendation]Weber und Kumpel ('Wenn ich einem Preis bekäme für meine Poesie,') 13 January 1976Dichter ('Wir werden geboren.') 26 May 1977Gespräch mit meiner Poesie ('Unsere Feinde bauen eine Mauer um uns,') 15 August 1977 [autograph emendation]Kaukasuslandschaft ('Prozessionen von Zypressenalleen') 9 October 1970Blumen an Autostrassen ('Stumme Tragödien, von denen keiner spricht.') 24 October 1975Zivilisierte Menschheit ('Sie ist schon so verlogen, so verschutzt und so entmenschlicht,') 22 November 1975Blick in den Sternenhimmel ('Ein Chaos auf den ersten Blick.') 6 December 1975Poesie ('Mit jedem unnützen Wort schlägst du ein Loch in das Fass,') 24 January 1976Liebesgedicht ('Die vielen Quellen, die mich ansehen') 1 October 1976Sonntaghnachmittag ('Wie das Flöten einer Amsel') 9 April 1978Im Morgengrauen ('Kastanienbäume blühn.') 11 May 1978Gesprach mit einer Margerite bei Sonnenuntergang ('Wie klein bist du - und voll von Himmelglanz.') 10 July 1978Gebirgspark zu Mittag ('Der Park schlaft in der Mittagsruhe.') 22 July 1978 [one autograph emenation]Bei Betrachtung eine Misthaufens in der Natur ('Sage mir, wie du dich zu deiner Mutter verhältst,') 8 November 1978 [autograph emendation]Das Menschliche ('Das Menschliche windet sich') 13 October 1978 [two copies]Über den Globus geneigt ('Jahrtausende lang regiert der Mann') 23 November 1978 [two copies]Moderne deutsche Dichte ('Irrende in der Wüste.') 2 August 1978.Den Anbetern des Nichts ('Hier die Traktorenplakate') 29 November 1967Den Liebenden ('Wie viele seid ihr glücklich heute nacht?') 17 November 1967Fortschritt ('Die unglücklichen Griechen.') 16 November 1967Und morgen ('Noch seh ich zu, wie meine Hände schaffen.') 24 October 1967Camões ('Schenk mir, mein Freund, dein Leinentuch.') 24 October 1967 [title amended in autograph]Das goldene Kreuz der Kaiserin Tamara ('Meine grusinischen Freunde') 26 November 1967 [one autograph emendation]Dichtergräber ('Grabsteine errichtet') 7 March 1979Industriegesellschaft ('Wir könnten zufrieden sein,') 23 June 1968Abend in der Bretagne ('Ich hör nur die ewigen Fragen des Wassers') 20 September 1971 [place of composition 'Budapest' deleted]Zwielichtintervall ('Stets tiefer dringen wir ins Weltall ein.') 19 January 1974Abend ('Die Tulpe schliesst zufrieden ihren Kelch.') 13 May 1974Die Menschheit ('Die Menschheit is ein Fluss,') 11 June 1974Frage und Antwort ('Schmerz,') 16 August 1974Ich schäme mich ('Schon hat der Mensch das Raubtier übertroffen.') 17 April 1974Das gute Gedicht ('Das gute Gedicht gleicht dem Getreidekorn') 9 April 1974Von Menschen unt Tieren ('Mich zieht es nicht zu den Übermenschen') 24 October 1974 [autograph emendation]Kunst am Ende des 2. Jahrtausends ('Jahrhundert der Epigonenkunst.') 11 December 1974Der Bergmannssohn ('Wo kein Blut fliesst,') 12 March 1975Ballade von den zwei Tieraugen ('Zwei Tieraugen blicken mich hilflos an:') 1 April 1975Erinnerung ('Sie hatte ein blondes Lachen trotz ihres schwarzen Haares.') 20 April 1975Der Blumenstrauss ('Ich habe meinen Blumenstrauss auseinandergeschenkt') 13 November 1975Kurzgeschichte meines Jahrhunderts ('Seit seniem Anfang bereitete es sich auf den Ersten Weltkrieg vor.') 3 April 1979 [two autograph emendations to first line]Vor der Kathedrale in Chartres ('Die Menschen mordeten') Chartres 2 August 1967Dichterlesung ('Dichterlesung.') 8 September 1978Im Wald ('Nachmittagsstille.') 18 November 1978Zum schneeweissen Ararat der Poesie ('In welcher Stadt?') 8 March 1978 [autograph emendation]Auf dem Kahlenberg ('Hast du in mondvollen Mitternächten') 3 August 1978Grabe! ('Dein Geist umfrasst die ganze Erde.') Bratislava 23 April 1965Krähenkrallen ('In versteckten Mulden kauert noch Schnee.') 5 April 1965Lachien ('Kohle und Stahl, Sprache und Lied.') 11 December 1978 [autograph emendation]Kannst du schwimmen? ('Kanst du schwimmen,') 2 August 1978Krähen ('Über den Hügeln und Bergen') 5 August 1978Erkenntniszerrinnen ('Alles, was wir sehen, sind nur Schatten') 27 July 1978Nüchtern gesehen ('Nichts bedeutet es für das Weltall,') 8 August 1978 [autograph emendation]Humanistischer Dichter ('Bist du ein humanistischer Dichter,') 15 November 1978 [autograph emendation]Weltraum ('Wenn du den Leib der Mutter verlassen hast,') 14 July 1961Meerestille ('Am Vorgebirge drüben') Achali-Gagra 24 July 1966Chronik der Zukunft ('Nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg') 19 January 1968Auf der Fahrt nach Toulouse ('Dichter sind wie Städte.') 24 July 1967 [autograph emendation]Statuen in Chartres ('In einigen der Statuen') Chartres August 1967 [last word replaced in autograph]Das Glasfenster in Chartres ('In Chartres vernichteten Priester') Chartres August 1967Abend am Meer ('Deine Worte tändeln und plätschern und wollen mich täuschen.') 4 February 1967 [autograph emendation]Versailles ('Hab ich mich verändert') Versailles August 1967Engel mit der Sonnenuhr ('Engel mit der Sonnenuhr,') Chartres August 1967 [autograph emendation]Bei Betrachtung des Mont-Saint-Michel ('Niemand wird dir den Platz rein fegen,') Mont Saint-Michel August 1967 [autograph emendation]Vor der Hinrichtung ('Ich werde morgen nicht mehr sein.') 16 June 1970Liebeslied ('Liebte ich dich, wie ich dich lieben sollte?') 6 September 1974Der Baumfäller Tod ('Vor mir stand ein Baum') 5 November 1974Dante Alighieri ('Gleich einer Kathedrale,') 10 November 1967Den Feinden meines Werkes ('Es wuchs in Kreta und Athen.') Vézelay 12 August 1967[untitled] 'Überall schimpft die Menschheit auf ihre Regime.' Vézelay 12 August 1967Goethehaus in Frankfurt ('Mit deutscher Akkuratesse') 12 September 1967Protestieren ('Sie protestieren gegen Vietnam,') 15 May 1967Gedichte ('Ich schreibe Gedichte:') 2 October 1974Mittag auf der Akropolis ('Hier hat ein jeder Tag viel Tausend Stunden') Athens October 1973Schwarze Gedanken ('Durch Sandwüsten, Steinwüsten musste ich gehn,') 6 November 1974Auf der Heide ('Es reift in mir eine Heiterkeit') 27 November 1974Mein bester Freund ('In fünfundsiebzig Jahre dauernden Kriegen') 14 March 1975Triumph des Dichters ('Die Welt schaut zu') 12 March 1975Resignation ('Ich atme in einer Zeit, die in Brüche geht.') 15 December 1978Mein Geheimnis zum Weitergeben ('Sie wollten mich zwingen, dass ich sie ernst nehme.') 21 February 1968Vollmond auf der Akropolis ('Das Kleid,') 7 October 1970Ganz allein ('Und dann') 25 January 1974Sehenswürdigkeit in Bratislava ('Tourist,') 5 February 1975 [autograph emendation]Aufstieg der Menschheit ('Wer zweifelt daran, dass die Menschheit steigt?') 19 January 1975Michelangelo ('Es lag an ihm,') 12 March 1975Wegweiser ('Auf meinem Wanderungen durch die Welt') 13 January 1976Frauen ('Frauen sind wundervolle Instrumente.') 1 January 1978Sonnenuntergang ('Ein Falter setzt sich auf mein Buch.') 22 August 1978Tagesbeginn ('Langsam hellt sich auf das Morgengrauen') 8 April 1978Moderne deutsche Lyrik ('Stinkendes Nichts. Nach einem solchen Fall!') 2 August 1978A un Poète sous la Terreur ('Nur mit wahren Worten kannst du dienen.') 3 June 1971Als Schüler Jakob Böhmes ('Wie gräbst du aus den allerteuersten Schatz?') 27 June 1971Tourne-sol und Tourne-cou ('Glückliche Sonnenblume,') 23 August 1971Grabinschriften ('Grabinschriften verwittern') 14 March 1967Juniabend ('Ich höre einer Lerche zu.') 23 June 1971Das Grab der Menschlichkeit ('In London,') 5 March 1971Sirmione ('Steineichen standen schon damals') 8 February 1971Der Falter ('Nachfalter, schöner, fliege nicht fort,') 2 July 1971Das Buch ('Nach der Schrift der Randbemerkungen sehe ich:') 16 October 1970Rom ('Dichter, wir gleichen den Archäologen.') 19 December 1970Das Insekt ('Soll ichs bewundern? Soll ich es bedauern?') 8 October 1970Frühling ('Das kommt und geht und wider Neues kommt') 24 April 1969Louis Bayle ('Sie nicht traurig, mein Freund Louis Bayle,') 24 August 1967 [manuscript emendation]Ilja Ehrenburg ('Seine Augen, aus Wüsten kommend, an Wüsten gewöhnt,') 11 November 1967Mitschuld ('Habt ihr, die ihn besuchtet in der hohen Burg,') 23 June 1968Prager Mäzene ('Sie haben Horazens Mäzen überboten') 1 February 1968Das Meer ('Vom Keulenkannibalismus') 17 January 1968Nacht ('Ich blicke durch das Fenster in die Nacht.') 9 February 1968Lektüre ('Man brachte mir eine Zeitung ins Haus.') 27 January 1968Zum Schriftstellerprozess ('Sie werden verurteilt') 19 January 1968Hué ('Ich knie vor euerer einstigen Schönheit nieder,') 23 February 1968 2ppBotschaft ('Pfauenauge auf meiner Hand . . .') 18 February 1968Gamlers und Hippies ('Die Notre-Dame als Hintergrund') 12 February 1968Rückkehr aus dem Exil ('Als ich im Exil war,') 19 February 1968Die Blätter fallen ('Die Meisen schlafen schon.') 19 November 1969Frühlingsgedicht ('Du bist stärker als ich.') 17 January 1969Beitrag zur Literaturgeschichte ('Es gibt Länder,') 10 November 1969Neue deutsche Lyrik ('Die Ziet ist aus den Fugen') 1 August 1969Crécy ('Ein Stein nimmt an dem ewigen Augenblick teil.') 18 May 1969Über das Glück ('Ich wünsche mir nicht Glück,') 22 December 1970An Eingang des Schollses ('Der junge Magnolienbaum,') 26 April 1970Reife heisst Lächeln ('Lächle in dem Grau der Dämmerung') 19 February 1970Aschermittwochgedanken 1970 ('Sonst sind am Aschermittwoch alle Masken fort.') 1970Beethovens Streichquartettete ('Ich habe sie tiefer zu verstehen begonnen') 14 August 1970Der Kommunismus ('Er versprach eine Welt der Gerechtigkeit') 16 December 1978Ein Fragebogen wird ausgefüllt ('Lachien ist mein Elternhaus.') 11 August 1978Zwei Schatten ('Über die blühende Frühlingswiese zieht der Schatten eines grossen Vogels.') 19 October 1975Tränen ('Unter den tränenfeuchten Wimpern deiner Augen') 19 May 1971Tatsachenbericht ('Mozart starb im Spätherbst 1791.') 9 July 1971Der Sonnenstrahl ('Du kommst von weit,') 15 June 1971Species Homo sapiens ('Jeder Mensch hat ein Herz.') 7 March 1971Frag das Meer ('Frag das Meer nach der Zahl der Wellen.') Püspökladány 20 September 1971La Commedia è finita ('Manchmal ist mir plötzlich,') 30 January 1971François Villon bittet seine Freunde ('Eh man mich henkt, verbrennt und in die Gosse schüttet,') 31 July 1971 [autograph emendation]Damenstrand ('So viele Aphroditen') 19 August 1971Sonnenuntergang ('Die Sonne sinkt und was hast du getan') 27 June 1971 [manuscript emendation]Dignitas humana ('Heute feiere ich ein makabres Jubiläum,') 30 May 1971Am Sarge eines Dichters ('Er konnte nicht der Lust den Rücken kehren') 5 April 1971Vor der Sonnenuhr an der Kathedrals in Chartres ('Der dünne Eisenstift weiss von dem Schatten nichts,') 26 January 1971 2ppRitterrüstung statt Bikini ('In den Nächten seh ich die schönsten Arten von Fischen,') 16 July 1971 [manuscript autograph]Selbstporät ('Da ist ein Pferd. Man prügelts bis aufs Blut.') 6 July 1971Rückblick des lachischen Hiob ('Der Erlösser wurde im Stall geboren.') 26 February 1972 [word order of one line rearranged in autograph]Karfreitag ('Karfreitag.') 31 August 1972Athene in Gedanken ('Aus meinem dunklen Leben') 'Athen/Akropolismuseum/' 4 October 1973Ruinen von Phaistos ('Der Wind schreibt mit den Schatten der Weinrebenranken') Phaistos 8 October 1973 [autograph emendation]Abend auf der Akropolis ('Stadt, Berge, Meer, ich hab euch abzubitten') Athens October 1973Zwielichtintervall ('Stets tiefer dringen wir ins Weltall ein.') 19 May 1974Mein Raum ('In meinem Raume sind zwei Türen.') 15 May 1974Ma - Alot ('Ein Mensch liegt im Sterben.') 16 May 1974Bei Betrachtung einer Blume ('Eine Blume ist aus dem Wasserglas gefallen.') 19 May 1974Was brachten unserer Erde selbst die Allergrössten? ('Sand, Wüste, Schritte, Wind.') 20 May 1974Und wieder die Eidechse ('Ich danke dir, Eidechse,') 3 June 1974Friedhof in Slia? ('Noch wärmt die Sonne im Herbstwind') Slia? 8 September 1974 [autograph phrase in Greek script repeated twice]THREE: Christopher Fry translationsCollection of autograph and typewritten drafts and versions of translations, as follows. Autograph drafts of 24 poems, closely written on 13pp, with a second version of one of the poems on another page. Typewritten drafts of 'July 1948', 5pp, heavily reworked with numerous autograph emendations. Three copies of typewritten draft 'Air Raid', each with different autograph emendations. and one with two different autograph versions of the whole poem. Typescripts of 'Rhineland 1948' and 'To my Mother', both with autograph emendations. Typewritten drafts of ten poems, 10pp, some of the poems with autograph emendations. Two typewritten versions of a translation of the poem 'In Difficult Years', one with minor autograph emendations and a carbon copy. Two typewritten versions of 'The Planting of the Tree', one with autograph emendations. Ten typewritten translations on 9pp, some with minor emendations.FOUR: David Gill translations and letters to FryNine letters to Fry, six typed and three in autograph, 1979-1983. Concerning the translation process, efforts to find a publisher, and OL's health and situation. Of particular interest is a letter of 6 December 1981: 'You will have heard from Alan about Ondra's injury. He received a blow on the left side of his head as he entered the front door to his flat, and falling also broke his hand. He lost consciousness, and the next thing he knew was that a neighbour was standing by him. [...] You can imagine how terrifying the experience must have been. He is certain that it was an attack by an assailant (he does have a habit of falling over, though) and that the attacker had no ordinary motive, since he was robbed of neither watch nor wallet. He is now convinced that it was an assassination attempt by the authorities who want him out of the way. I really don't know what to make of it. [...] the injury on the top of his head would hardly come from the fall. It seems extremely unlikely that this was any kind of assassination attempt by the authorities as Ondra is not even a recognized dissident in Czechoslovakia and no obvious danger to the regime. [...] As you know, translations are Ondra's life-line and he is pinning great hopes on our selection of poems. I have warned him about the publishing difficulties here and not to expect speedy results'. With neat fair copies of two translations, 2pp. Typescripts of nine translations, 5pp. See David Gill's obituary by his son Tom, in the Guardian, 23 August 2017.FIVE: Alan N. Phillips translations, letters to Fry, original poemsEight autograph letters to Fry, 1979-1983, totalling 24pp. The last two accompanied by a total of three typescripts of original poems. Neatly and closely written, discussing the translation process and other matters. Autograph drafts and finished translations of 27 poems, 21pp. Two copies of typescript of 'On a Windless Day', one with a version of the first eight lines in Fry's autograph. Typewritten drafts of 24 poems, 10pp, with autograph emendations. Typescripts of eleven poems by Phillips, each 1p, ten dating between 1979 and 1982, the other from 1963. Autograph poem by Phillips titled 'Translation of my German poem.' Autograph score of piece of music titled 'Autumn', with libretto translated from Herman Hesse, and score by 'Alan N. Phillips'. (Phillips's literal translations from Lysohorsky, produced to assist Fry in making his own translations, are present in Section Two above.)SIX: MiscellaneousFive items. First: Typescript of 'The Eiffel Tower' (2pp), 'Translated from the German of Ondra Lysohorsky by Lydia Pasternak Slater | November, 1979', with unsigned pencil note to Fry from Gill: 'Dear Christopher, be so kind as to tell me your opinion about the English translation made by L. P. of the German original text'. Second: Two typed letters signed to Fry from Jan Anker Frøydarlund, 29 May and 26 August 1979, regarding his book 'Curriculum Vitae', containing eleven of LO's poems. 'I have corresponded with Ondra (Lysohorsky) for about one year. [...] I myself have about 60 poems ready, but I need some biographical information'. Third: Typed Letter Signed to Fry from Michael Schmidt of Carcanet publishers, 30 June 1981, stating that 'the book you propose [...] falls well outside our area of interest and competence at this time', and giving advice on other publishers to approach (Cape and Chatto). Fourth: Typewritten list of 44 poems for inclusion in 'In Difficult Years' - the anthology of OL's work proposed by Fry and Gill, 1p, each poem with date of composition. With contemporaneous typescripts of four translations from OL by W. H. Auden. Fifth: Copies of four of OL's books. The first three have OL's compliments slip. The first two are in German: 'Danksagung' (1961) and 'Ich reif in meiner Zeit (1978). Also Pierre Garnier's selection of French translations, 'Mais la vie est la plus forte' (1963). The last is Gill's 'The White Raven and other Poems', 1989, inscribed by the editor.