Home and the World in Slovak Writing (Paperback)

Katarina Gephardt

ISBN 10: 0228024056 / ISBN 13: 9780228024057

Published by McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, 2025

About this Item

Paperback. Literatures of small nations represent a minuscule portion of the global literary marketplace, where books written in English outnumber translated works. The struggle for visibility in relation to dominant languages and cultures is not new in Slovakia, a nation of five million whose literary history has been shaped by the influence of more widely spoken languages including Hungarian, Czech, and Russian. Home and the World in Slovak Writing brings Slovak literature out of this isolation to tell the story of how a nation's literature can survive and thrive despite a small domestic audience and relatively limited circulation in English translation. The book demonstrates how historic events such as the post-Stalin Thaw, the Prague Spring, and the Velvet Revolution moulded the Slovak canon and situates contemporary Slovak literature in broader regional and global contexts. Through case studies of the transformations and adaptations of Slovak literature, contributors examine the changing social roles of writers, the tensions between tradition and innovation, and the dynamic interactions between influences from the outside world and domestic sources of inspiration. Home and the World in Slovak Writing maps the relationship between geopolitical destiny and literary production at a critical moment. As relations between the East and the West are destabilized by war, the question of cultural identity has again become a matter of national survival in Central Europe. Home and the World in Slovak Writing brings Slovak literature out of isolation and tells the story of how a nations literature can survive and thrive despite a small domestic audience and limited circulation in English translation. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780228024057

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Home and the World in Slovak Writing (Paperback)
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0228024056
• ISBN 13: 9780228024057
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Literatures of small nations represent a minuscule portion of the global literary marketplace, where books written in English outnumber translated works. The struggle for visibility in relation to dominant languages and cultures is not new in Slovakia, a nation of five million whose literary history has been shaped by the influence of more widely spoken languages including Hungarian, Czech, and Russian.

Home and the World in Slovak Writing brings Slovak literature out of this isolation to tell the story of how a nation’s literature can survive and thrive despite a small domestic audience and relatively limited circulation in English translation. The book demonstrates how historic events such as the post-Stalin Thaw, the Prague Spring, and the Velvet Revolution moulded the Slovak canon and situates contemporary Slovak literature in broader regional and global contexts. Through case studies of the transformations and adaptations of Slovak literature, contributors examine the changing social roles of writers, the tensions between tradition and innovation, and the dynamic interactions between influences from the outside world and domestic sources of inspiration.

Home and the World in Slovak Writing maps the relationship between geopolitical destiny and literary production at a critical moment. As relations between the East and the West are destabilized by war, the question of cultural identity has again become a matter of national survival in Central Europe.

About the Authors

Katarina Gephardt is professor of English at Kennesaw State University.

Charles Sabatos is professor of English and comparative literature at Yeditepe University.

Ivana Taranenková is senior research fellow and director of the Institute of Slovak Literature of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.