When we think of ‘The Underground Scene’ in the US and other parts of the West, we really are discussing something that has been largely visible from the beginning of say… 1950 or so with distinct clothing, hair styles to signal others of ones participation. In reality, it has been on the most part an easy go of it. We don’t take into consideration what being ‘Underground’ in actuality is really like: Stiff prison sentences, fines, or the destruction of your writings, and art as seen in the Eastern Bloc during the Stalinist times onwards. Egon Bondy’s creative life was shaped by events that are hardly comprehended here in the West, or really even recognized. His influence on the events of The Prague Spring, and the eventual crumbling of the Communist Regimes of Eastern Europe are deep and profound, more so as he approached most everything in life in a pure Marxist fashion. You might be familar with his works through the band that used his poetry and ideas/collaborations: ‘Plastic People Of The Universe’ (how I found out about him many years ago…
Egon died recently, and this issue of Turfing is dedicated to him. A huge tip of the hat to Morgan Miller for alerting me, and in reality, he found all the links and poetry that I used to give you an idea about Egon.
Thanks Morgan!
On The Menu:
The Links
Plastic People Of The Universe
Catching Up With Egon
Egon Links
Egon Bondy Poetry
Bright Blessings,
Gwyllm
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The Links:
Boys, need some heels to go with those leggings?
Poet’s tomb discovered in church crypt
The End of a 1,400-Year-Old Business
Mysterious Huge Stone Eggs Discovered in Hunan Province
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Plastic People Of The Universe
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Catching Up With Egon
Egon Bondy, born Zbyněk Fier, (January 20, 1930, Prague – April 9, 2007, Bratislava) was a Czech philosopher, writer, and poet, one of the main personalities of the Prague underground.
In the late 1940s, Bondy was active in a surrealistic group. From 1957 to 1961, he studied philosophy and psychology at Charles University in Prague. From the 1960s he was one of the main figures of the Prague underground, writing texts for The Plastic People of the Universe. His non-conformism brought him into conflict with the communist regime in occupied Czechoslovakia. His works were circulated only as Samizdat.
Bondy was always interested in the study of Karl Marx and in the criticism of both contemporary capitalism and totalitarian socialism. His philosophical work concerns ontological and related ethical problems. He attempts to show the relevance of ontology without any substance or grounding.
Bondy’s work is very distinctive. He was a close friend of Bohumil Hrabal, another Prague writer, and is one of the most influential Czech intellectuals of the 20th century.
In the 1990s Bondy moved from Prague to Bratislava, Slovakia.
The scope of his works is exceptionally broad: he published about thirty books of poetry, ranging from epic poems in early 1950s to meditative philosophical works in the 1980s. He also published about twenty novels, most of them dealing with the topic of a society or an individual in crisis, or a crisis in the relationship between an individual and his or her community. Despite the deep, existential background of his work, the texts are fresh and entertaining. He himself most valued his philosophical works. He published a history of philosophy. However, this work is criticized by authorities within the field for its subjective deformation of the topic, reflective of Bondy’s Marxist orientation.
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Egon Links:
Egon Bondy, Czech Writer and Critic, Dies at 77
THE PLASTIC PEOPLE OF THE UNIVERSE Website
On Various Aspects of Going /by/ the Underground in Bohemia
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Egon Bondy Poetry
Summer Autumn Winter Spring
Summer autumn winter spring
who’s fault is this whole thing?
—
Tractors
I ride around in my tractor
I ride it up and down
It’s my second day
who knows what next week will bring
I like tractors
here on the farm
and the boys from the station
stand tall and firm
—
Peace
Peace peace peace
just like a piece
of bog roll
—
Twenty
At the age of twenty today
you feel like vomiting all day
But those that are forty of age
have even more to spew at that stage
Only those that reach sixty, senility at hand
can go off peacefully to slumber land