FROM THE HEART OF EUROPE

PREFACE The birth of ‘Poems from the Heart of Europe’ in terms of writing the poems stretches back as far as late April 1991 following my first visit to Czechoslovakia after the removal of the Iron Curtain dividing Western Europe from Central and Eastern Europe, although the first poem, ‘Pragueisms’ in fact looks back to a visit I made in August 1974 when the country was still under Soviet control. The majority of the 87 poems written in the 1990s were written during my time spent living and working as an English teacher and social work adviser in Slovakia after its independence in 1993. Some poems, however, were written or inspired by visits to the Czech Republic and Hungary. My poems cover a wide range of themes from personal and social to nature and wildlife, and hopefully displaying a deeply felt love for this part of the world and its people. Some of my own personal background stems from Central Europe in that I was born in Austria and have a maternal grandfather who originated from Prague before he emigrated to Britain to set up his own business in Manchester. I have always retained a compassionate empathy for this part of the world and all that it has had to endure through wars and external control. When I worked in Slovakia I used my professional skills and training to help this delightful, small country to rebuild and take its rightful place of dignity in the European community. I would like to dedicate this book to my friends in Slovakia, especially Jan and Adriana Krajćik who have always been a source of great encouragement to me.