Jenko Award Goes to Salamun
The Jenko Award for best poetry collection of the past two years goes to Tomaz Salamun, the most widely translated Slovenian author, for "Sinji stolp" (Blue Tower). The award, given out by the Slovenian Writers' Association, will be presented on Thursday.
Salamun has received a number of commendations for his work, including the most coveted one, the Preseren Prize for lifetime achievement (2000). His 37th book, "The Blue Tower" takes the reader on a journey through his landscape, which is crystal clear in its irony. The style prevailing in this collection is sly, laid-back and swift. The poet shifts between Ljubljana, the US and Paris, cutting through with linguistic pirouettes and action painting. The poems make the reader hungry for more and ready for new journeys.
According to the Jenko Award panel of judges, Salamun always manages to create virtual synergy, combining and structuring the variety of emotions, spiritual and other experiences.
Salamun (1941) started out as a conceptualist, was then a member of the OHO avant-garde group of artists and later followed the aesthetics of Dadaism and Surrealism. He has also served as a cultural attache in New York and lectures at the University of Pittsburgh.
Last year the Jenko Award went to poets Josip Osti and Miklavz Komelj. It is named after poet Simon Jenko (1835-1869).
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