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Translating poetry is no easy feat. Poetic language, whether based on rhyme or ancient hexameter, contains a plethora of nuances and hidden messages not found in prose. Romantic poetry yields particularly stubbornly to translation into other languages as it addresses emotions and touches, through the power of words, those most intimate parts of our souls. As such even more respect is due to Jerzy Snopek for making Sándor Petőfi's poetry available to Polish readers.

In Poland, familiarity with Hungary's forefront romantic and one of Hungary's most outstanding poets is still scarce. Saying that he embodies Mickiewicz, Kozietulski and Jakub Jasiński wouldn't do him justice. Petőfi's star rose up brightly above Hungarian plains and flickered out too quickly in 1849, a tragic year for the Hungarians – the year the Hungarian Revolution was quenched. The poet was only 27 at the time of his death. Now, through the efforts of the Biały Kruk publishing house and the work of professor Snopek, Polish readers have an opportunity to discover intimately this Hungarian romantic. "Lute and Sword" published this year contains a broad selection of Petőfi's works translated into Polish as well as a foreword and an afterword, outlining the poet's character against the backdrop of European and Hungarian histories. We will even find a Polish thread therein – during the Hungarian Revolution a revolutionary army was raised in Transylvania and its command entrusted to Józef Bem, a Polish general. In a short space of time, Bem's series of victories delivered almost the entire Transylvania into the hands of the insurgents. Sándor Petőfi served as one of his aide-de-campes. The young poet held the old commander who led the insurgents to victories in great esteem, even reverence. The "Transylvanian Army" poem is an expression of that reverence and a deep conviction that Hungarian interests will triumph. It is also one of the many examples of the poet's works associated with the Hungarian struggles between 1848 and 1849. And tragically that struggle was Petőfi's doom – he was killed during the Battle of Segesvár. A death, for which he seems to have been preparing both himself and his readers. In his heart he knew that he will die young, on a battlefield, leaving the words of his poetry to his countrymen. And it is not only Hungarians who enjoy Petőfi's works to this day. He found acclaim amongst various nations already in the 19th century. A British diplomat and translator wrote about him thus: "Petőfi is the greatest lyrist of the world. In my opinion he embodies the Hungarian spirit more than any other poet managed with the spirit of their nation."

In Poland poems by this Hungarian romantic have been well received since 170 years ago. Initially, in the 1850s, they were translated by anonymous poets, most probably veterans of the Polish Legion in Hungary. Władysław Sabowski, Stanisław Rossowski and Seweryna Duchińska also translated Petőfi's poems. More works of the Hungarian romantic were translated and disseminated in the 20th century. The latest Hungarian Series book published by the Biały Kruk publishing house gives readers an opportunity to discover the life and work of this most recognisable poet in Poland.

""Lute and Sword" Biały Kruk 2019