Volková, Bronislava 1946–(Bronislava Volkova)

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Volková, Bronislava 1946– (Bronislava Volkova)

PERSONAL:

Born May 15, 1946, in Děčín, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic); daughter of Stefan Fischer (a research worker in technology) and Marketa Morenova (a professor of music); married Robert Smith, 1995 (died, 1999). Education: Attended Leningrad State University, 1967-68, Moscow State University, 1972, University of Cologne, 1974, 1975, and Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1977-78; Charles University, Ph.D., 1970, CSc., 1973. Religion: "All." Hobbies and other interests: Semiotics, mysticism, collage, yoga, Qi-Gong, theater, dance.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Bloomington, IN. Office—Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, BH 502, Indiana University—Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

University of 17th of November, Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), assistant professor of Russian, 1973-74; University of Cologne, Cologne, West Germany (now Germany), assistant professor of Slavic Languages, 1975; University of Marburg, Marburg, West Germany, visiting professor of Slavic languages, 1976; Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Mellon faculty fellow in Slavic studies, 1977-78; Indiana University—Bloomington, Bloomington, visiting professor, 1978-80, assistant professor, 1982-86, associate professor, 1986-91, professor of Slavic languages and literatures, 1991—, adjunct professor of comparative literature, 1992—, and Jewish studies, 2006—. University of Virginia, assistant professor, 1980-82; lecturer at other institutions, including universities in Bremen and Munich, Germany, Bern, Switzerland, and Seville, Spain. Visual artist, with collages exhibited in the United States and Europe. Council on International Educational Exchange, Prague, resident program director, 1999-2001; guest on media programs around the world; conference participant; presenter of poetry readings. Member of editorial board, Kosmas, 1995—.

MEMBER:

International PEN, International Semiotic Society, Societas Linguistica Europea, Poets and Writers, Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, Association of Czech Writers.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Indiana University exchange grant for University of Seville, 1986; American Council of Learned Societies grant for Canada and West Germany, 1988; George Gall Memorial Award, Systems Research Foundation, 1988; named Poet of Merit, American Poetry Association, 1989; grant for Czechoslovakia, International Research and Exchanges Board, 1989; Fulbright grant for Czechoslovakia, 1990-91; research grants and fellowships from Indiana Arts Commission, 2004-05, and other institutions.

WRITINGS:

Emotive Signs in Language and Semantic Functioning of Derived Nouns in Russian, John Benjamins (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1987.

A Feminist's Semiotic Odyssey through Czech Literature, Edwin Mellen Press (Lewiston, NY), 1997.

Contributor to periodicals, including Slavic Review, Vespers, Folia Slavica, Slavic and East European Journal, Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, Proceedings of the Semiotic Society of America, and World Literature Today. Contributor to essay collection, Writer Uprooted.

POETRY

Motáky do uší pěny, PmD (Munich, West Germany), 1984, bilingual edition published as Prison Notes Smuggled into the Ears of Seafoam, translated by the author, Willis Barnstone, and others Edwin Mellen Press (Lewiston, NY), 1999.

Dům v ohni (title means "House on Fire"), PmD (Munich, West Germany), 1985.

Vzduch bez podpatků (title means "Air without Heels"), PmD (Munich, West Germany), 1987.

Jistá nepřítomnost (title means "A Certain Absence"), PmD (Munich, Germany), 1990, Explorer Editions (Bloomington, IN), 2003, bilingual edition published as Jistá nepřítomnost/Certain Absence, translated by Clarice Cloutier, Explorer Editions (Prague, Czech Republic), 2003.

Proměny, Alfa-Omega (Prague, Czech Republic), 1991, enlarged and revised bilingual edition published as Proměny/Transformations, illustrated by the author, Explorer Editions (Prague, Czech Republic), 2001.

Zranitelnost země (title means "Vulnerability of Earth"), PmD (Munich, Germany), 1992.

(Translator, with A. Durkin, Willis Barnstone, and others), The Courage of the Rainbow: Selected Poems Sheep Meadow Press (New York, NY), 1993.

Hluchoněmá dlaň (title means "The Deaf and Dumb Hand"), PmD (Munich, Germany), 1993.

Roztříštěné světy (selected poems; title means "The Shattered Worlds"), Votobia (Olomouc, Czech Republic), 1995.

(Editor, with Clarice Cloutier) Entering Light/Vstup do světla, Explorer Editions (Prague, Czech Republic), 2001.

Ze tmy zrozena, Explorer Editions (Prague, Czech Republic), 2004.

Born out of Darkness, Explorer Editions (Prague, Czech Republic), 2005.

Work represented in anthologies, including American Poetry Anthology and Best New Poets of 1988. Contributor of poetry and short stories to periodicals, including Dirty Goat, Metamorphoses, Visions, World Literature Today, Vespers, Only the Keeps, Midwest Poetry Review, and Massage.

Volková's poetry has been translated into several languages, including German, French, Polish, Spanish, and Russian.

Born out of Darkness and Entering Light/Vstup do světla have been performed and recorded on DVD; The Slightest Reminder of My Being and Nejmenŝí připomínka Tvého bytí have been recorded on CD.

SIDELIGHTS:

Bronislava Volková once told CA that "creative expression, experimentation, and love" are her primary motivations for writing; "new insights, and unpredictable encounters" are what particularly influence her work; and "solitude, nature, my vision, animals, and God" inspired her to write on her chosen subjects. She also added: "I usually let things happen for as long as it takes to get the most important thoughts and feelings put into words, then I often edit the text in multiple ways, let it sit, sometimes for a year or two before I come back to it.

"I am currently most involved with mystical poetry which requires creating of a space in mind of alignment with the universal spirit. Meditation inspires me to write this kind of poetry. Besides it, I write also existential poetry with surrealistic elements. Life events inspire me to do that. I have been extensively involved with the question of emotions and ethical values, lately predominantly on the basis of literary texts.

"My poetry style has changed a lot over the years. I have spent a lot of time on bilingual editions of my poetry. Combining collage and poetry is my new passion. Creating multimedia performances, translating poetry, and writing essays occupy me currently.

"Many of my poetry books appeared first in the Czech language which is my mother tongue."