«The Curse» by Martin Mayhew,Janko Polić Kamov

The Croatian writer Janko Polić Kamov died in Barcelona in 1910 aged 23. He left behind a small but potent collection of short stories, plays, poems and one novel which have been labelled as proto-modernist, avant-garde, absurdist, existentialist, futurist and even surrealist in nature. Most of his work didn't see the light of day until long after his death. He has been compared to Camus, Kafka and Joyce. This is a collection of his poems which was published in 1907 under the title of 'Psovka' ('The Curse'), a collection of aphorisms published in Italy after his death plus two essays painstakingly translated by Martin Mayhew from Croatian into English in the hope that his work is appreciated outside of his native country and in doing so also creating a unique glossary of Kamov's vocabulary.

Many of the themes in Kamov's writings would reflect his real-life experiences and are written in the first person or as his alter ego. During his short life, he struggled to be accepted and published as a professional poet, dramatist and novelist. He is considered to be a highly original writer for the period, despising bourgeois hypocrisy, injustice, ridiculing the social norms and niceties of the day. His work also deals with the darker side of the human psyche, madness, violence, sexual excess, alcohol, religious duality, the class system, poverty and the overall human condition. This book has been produced in the hope of funding for the translation of more of this outstanding author's work.