This selection of German poems by the Austrian writer Paula von Preradović is the
first English language translation of her poetry collection Dalmatinische Sonette.
Well known in Austria for writing the country's national anthem, "Land of the
Mountains, Land by the River," these sonnets celebrate and reflect a melancholic
nostalgia for Krönland Dalmatien, a territory that the Austro-Hungarian Empire
lost in 1918 alongside its other Adriatic possessions.
Preradović's father had served as an officer in the Austrian navy in Pula while
the eastern Adriatic was part of Vienna's maritime outlet. Prolonged residence in
this azure environment gave the author ample inspiration for an original opus that
accurately captured Dalmatia's multifarious essence.
Diving beyond the Adriatic's sea's clichés, the poems recall the permanent
features of the raw environment, a resplendent historical heritage and a (forlorn)
longing for the eternal. Through these sonnets, the translators unveil amongst
other things the barren islands, the Karst landscape and odes to the lighthouse and
the olive tree.
A preface to the translation is included by the descendants of the author, together
with a historical introduction to Dalmatia by the project initiator as well as an
insight into the translation process.