I Caught Sight of My Face

Petr Hruška (1964) is a poet and literary historian who lives in Ostrava, Czech Republic. His poetry has won several state and international awards, including the Czech State Award for Literature in recognition of his collection Darmata (To No Travail, 2012) and Magnesia Litera, the most prestigious annual literary award in the Czech Republic, for his collection Spatřil jsem svou tvář (I Caught Sight of My Face, 2022). Collections of Hruška’s poetry have been translated into French, German, Polish, Italian, Hungarian, Romanian, and Croatian.Joshua Mensch, who provides the English translation to Petr’s poetry, is a poet himself and literary translator based in the Czech Republic. He is a founding editor of the online literary journal B O D Y (bodyliterature.com) and the author of Because: A Lyric Memoir (W.W. Norton, 2018), which was shortlisted for the Canadian Governor General’s Literary Award in poetry.

"This is a kind of poetics where precision of lyricism attains a meaning that crosses the boundary of language. And for that, I am grateful." - Ilya Kaminsky, contemporary poet and author of Deaf Republic and Dancing in Odessa

• 13 Anchoring off the coastParrots in Mirrors16 The supporting heel of the mast17 Wind throughout the day18 When we stepped ashore19 The island looked uninhabited20 The king of the island cannot be seen21 Good to know22 They attacked so poorly23 The local king is protected from words24 They explained to us that we die too straight25 She opened her legs26 This island is one of the smallest27 You open the thicket28 In the exchange of prisoners, it turned out29 Green parrots from this island30 The sun resembled a newborn31 Good to know32 On this island they had nothing against trading33 The negotiations didn’t go well34 Have you heard Awuan?35 They have a habit of cutting off the lower jaw36 It was explained to us that37 The shaman finished chewing38 When they returned what they took39 In the afternoon rocks appeared before us40 Yesterday the logbook drowned41 The king of the island wept42 What those naked people crave most43 Tuan44 The black-lipped man predicts45 Days did not begin and did not end46 Ticug?47 I woke up too early48 There was no one here before us49 A great dispute50 They stood on the shore and watched51 We took him with us52 The patrols squint their bloodshot eyes53 We almost lost the main mastOverloaded Ship57 Five hundred years67 Author’s Note69 Acknowledgements71 Notes on Contributors