[CZECH CONCRETE POETRY] Lekce velkého A: konkrétní a vizuální poezie 1962-1993 [The lesson of the capital A: concrete and visual poetry 1962-1993]

This volume represents the first publication of various concrete and visual poetry cycles created in the 1960-90s by Eduard Ovčáček (born 1933), which could not be published during the Czech Normalization-period of the 1970-80s. Along with such figures as Jiří Valoch, Jiří Kolář, Josef Hiršal and Bohumila Grögerová, Ovčáček was one of the foremost practitioners of concrete poetry and lettrism in Czechoslovakia. "Ovčárek endeavoured to achieve a revitaliyation of the language, based on a mythology of script, ideograms, hieroglyphs, pictograms and calligrams, as well as on a bilingual expression of writing as image. Ovčáček's cycle Lekce velkého A is an example of politically engaged utilization of the techniques employed by concrete poetry and its grotesque and ironic forms, which is typical of the Czech context. It is based on a confrontation between big A and little a, which have a quite unambiguous symbolic meaning in the texts -- big A symbolizes the power hegemon, which has decided to coerce its satellite, symbolized in the text by the grapheme a. The cycle was created during the critical period of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the armies of five Soviet bloc states in August 1968" (Piorecky, "Before a poem is written: Czech concrete poetry," 325). Contains a preface by Valoch and Pohribný, as well as a detailed bibliography and list of exhibitions. One of 1000 copies, of which 100 were numbered (this one unnumbered, but inscribed by the artist). As of January 2024, KVK, OCLC only show two copies in North America. This volume represents the first publication of various concrete and visual poetry cycles created in the 1960-90s by Eduard Ovčáček (born 1933), which could not be published during the Czech Normalization-period of the 1970-80s. Along with such figures as Jiří Valoch, Jiří Kolář, Josef Hiršal and Bohumila Grögerová, Ovčáček was one of the foremost practitioners of concrete poetry and lettrism in Czechoslovakia. "Ovčárek endeavoured to achieve a revitaliyation of the language, based on a mythology of script, ideograms, hieroglyphs, pictograms and calligrams, as well as on a bilingual expression of writing as image. Ovčáček's cycle Lekce velkého A is an example of politically engaged utilization of the techniques employed by concrete poetry and its grotesque and ironic forms, which is typical of the Czech context. It is based on a confrontation between big A and little a, which have a quite unambiguous symbolic meaning in the texts -- big A symbolizes the power hegemon, which has decided to coerce its satellite, symbolized in the text by the grapheme a. The cycle was created during the critical period of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the armies of five Soviet bloc states in August 1968" (Piorecky, "Before a poem is written: Czech concrete poetry," 325). Contains a preface by Valoch and Pohribný, as well as a detailed bibliography and list of exhibitions. One of 1000 copies, of which 100 were numbered (this one unnumbered, but inscribed by the artist). As of January 2024, KVK, OCLC only show two copies in North America.