The poet as victim, witness and prosecutor Counter-history in the poetic work of Ivan Diviš: My eyes had to see (1987-1989)
2022
Abstract
Ivan Diviš's "My Eyes had to See" (1987-1989) can be considered one of the finest poetic creations and performances of Czech poetry at the end of the 20th century. Its powerful effect lies in the fact that it combines poetic testimony, (auto)biographical intimacy, a suprapersonal, generally applicable message and a reflection on universal history and the modern Czech history of the last century in both fiction and fact.
It is as if the identity of the poet is actually determined by the testimony: the poet is the one who sees, must see, and bear witness to what he sees.