Salomon’s Rag

On the basis of the poetic style, character and personal leaning, the work of František Dryje (1951) can be perceived as belonging to the context of Czech surrealism, more precisely its post-war form, which was forged in the literary circles around the authors Teige and Effenberger. The poet wants to cut ties with tradition and engage with the language again, in a different manner – he must therefore keep it pure of all set forms. Dryje’s testimony often takes the form of a (pseudo-)diary or a letter; considerable emphasis is put on the sound quality of words. Other compositional features are abrupt changes of style; various ghosts and phantoms emerge on the surface. Mood and atmosphere, where irony and self-irony are interwoven with a strange melancholy, are of utmost importance in Dryje’s texts.