Obvyklé hrdinství – Gabriel Tomáš (2016)

The new collection by a young author disrupts the stereotypes of contemporary poetry. The title of the collection itself captures a contradiction. If we call heroism 'usual,' we place it in time, stripping it of its charm, and furthermore, we make it something routine. But shouldn't we be 'heroes' quite naturally? It is merely another expression of the opposition between romance and realism. The humorous tone propels his play (situations and stories) forward, but what is easily said can also be quite serious; the boundary between cheerfulness and mad 'seriousness' is unclear. The light-hearted passages contrast with the saturated, and pathos borders on irony. At the same time, he does not present this approach as the only option for creation and understanding. Again and again, he establishes his style, thickens his statement, intensifies his work with imagery, as if he fears the treacherous ease and expansiveness of lyrical writing. It is a distinctive, in its own way 'Quixotic' reaction to the ailments of contemporary poetry. The book received a nomination for the Magnesia Litera 2017 award in the poetry category.