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.