Fairytales, rhymes, ballads, famous and half-forgotten writing feature in a new anthology published on the occasion of Erben's 200th birthday. The work covers a wide range of the Czech poet's collector's interests. Accompanied by Iku Dekune's illustrations, the title becomes a work of art.
Pohádka o Zlatovlásce, Holka modrooká, Houpy, houpy, kočka snědla kroupy (Goldilocks, Blue-Eyed Girl or Oh, Oh, the Cat Ate Groats). We continue to read or sing all of these without realising that we know them through Karel Jaromír Erben (1811–1870) who unearthed and wrote them down. Already during his studies, Erben met Karel Hynek Mácha and later became friends with František Palacký and Božena Němcová. He also participated at patriotic meetings, acquainting leading foreign folklore researches and exploring archives. Erben collected and created fairytales, songs, ballads, riddles, and magic formulas. He noted down keywords into Rieger's educational vocabulary and published Old Czech works as well as his own mythological studies. What is more, Erben also translated the civil code and the rules of criminal procedure and was a member of the delegations to the Viennese parliament.
The new anthology, edited by Jana Čeňková, mostly features fairytales. According to Erben, fairy- tales unravel the perennial feud between winter and spring, darkness and light, death and life symbolized by dead ice and sprightly flowing water. The publication doesn't omit samples of carols, riddles and songs from the monumental collection Prostonárodní české písně a říkadla (Czech National Folk Songs and Sayings, 1864) or the three ballads from Erben's most famous work Kytice (The Bouquet, 1853). A surprising and little known text about Josef Mánes' “moon circle images” at the Old Town Hall conclude the book.
About the illustrator
The Japanese illustrator Iku Dekune graduated in graphic design from the Musashino Art University in Tokyo. She has lived in Prague since 2002. Her work has been praised both in Japan and abroad; her illustration of the Grimms' fairytale „Das Meerhäschen“ was awarded the Grand Prix BIB 2003 at the Biennial of Illustration in Bratislava. You can view samples of her illustrations of Živá voda here.
