Ondřej Zajac

PERU

                        
                            Provided that an economic and political stability is maintained, 
                            Peru could be one of the biggest producers of great coffee 
                            The larger part of Peruvian coffee gets to the market as biocoffee

It tastes best before 6 a.m.
Before the children’s screams fill calampas with sounds
And at Christmas before Little Jesus warms
The waters and drives the fish out

Before the assassination planning
Sit in a circle on a shining path and remember
Abimael over a cup of coffee

The coffee is suitable for Francisco
The coffee is ideal for Pachacúteca
The coffee is ideal for a sitting in the room of three windows

After returning from fishing
Disembowel the first caught fish
And read the future from the entrails
Enjoy the coffee
The dregs at the bottom of the cup 
Show how many fish tomorrow will bring

Delicious on a lake with a tic tac
The taste becomes apparent in a golden cup
After drinking, chew coca

                           Costs:              Coffee Peru                                               41,- CZK 
                                                    The Great Fishing Guide, 
                                                    Praha: Svojtka, 2010                             399,- CZK 
                                                    Hunter Penknife (contains 
                                                    a disembowelling knife)                        866,- CZK

                                                    Total (prices including VAT)                 1306,- CZK

This poem is sponsored by the biggest importer of Peruvian tea and herbs Pizarro de herboristéria. Luční 1087, Pardubice. www.pizarro-de-hierba.cz

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NICARAGUA

  
Delicate with a balanced taste
Aroma typical for quality coffees from higher altitudes
Of Central America

It tastes best in summer after a rainfall
When the rainbow arches over the Cordillera
And at the moment when the sun climbs
Between two mountains

Smuggle the Nicaragua coffee into the USA
Only under the surveillance of CIA and without the knowledge
Of the Teflon president

The coffee is suitable for Ronaldo
The coffee is ideal for Dan and Rosaria
The coffee is ideal for a clan of dictators

Drink a cup of strong coffee at noon
With a pistol in your right hand
And A Theology of Liberation in your left
Storm a bank
Don’t regret the seven years behind bars
Who didn’t serve one’s term is a shitty president

Excellent on the Mosquito Coast
And at the lake of sharks
Dip your toes only near the bank

                           Costs:              Coffee Nicaragua                                           44,- CZK
                                                    Ronald Reagan: An American Life: An
                                                    Autobiography, trans. Jiří Vaněk,
                                                    Praha: Prostor, 1997                                     599,- CZK
                                                    Revolver 38 Special                                      6990,- CZK

                                                   Total (prices including VAT)                        7633,- CZK

This poem is sponsored by a Nicaraguan importer of hourglass Ometepe, Klášterní 51, Český Krumlov. www.ometepe.org

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ONDŘEJ ZAJAC (*1982) lives in Prague, Czech Republic. He graduated in Bulgarian and Serbian philology at The Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague. He translates contemporary Serbian and Bulgarian poetry into Czech. His works and translations have been awarded several times (for example, his translation of Grigori Gospodinov’s Třešen jednoho národa has been awarded the third prize in Jiří Levý’s Competition in 2009). His translations include the poetry collections Lapidárium (Literární Salon, 2009) and Techniky a jiné verše (Petr Štengl, 2012) by Georgi Gospodinov. He has published in various anthologies and magazines (Tvar, Plav, Dotyky, Slovanský jih etc.). He works as an editor in Psí Víno, a magazine for contemporary poetry. He debuted as a poet with his poetry collection Pojmenovaná in 2010. His second collection Kafegrafie: Příručka pro milovníky kávy (Coffeegraphy: A Handbook for Coffee Lovers) has been originally published in Czech by Petr Štengl in 2011.

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About the Translator:

 
FILIP KRTIČKA was born in Most, in the Czech Republic in 1987. He has a BA in English and American Studies from The Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague and is currently working on his MA degree in American Literature. His MA thesis concerns William Faulkner’s short stories. For three years, he has worked as a part-time teacher of English as a Foreign Language; currently for James Cook Languages, the leading Czech language school in foreign language teaching in companies. In July 2011, he participated on the organization of the 9th World Shakespeare Congress that took place in Prague and was partly organized by his home department, the Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures.