Poems by Janko Ferk speak to all of us as they touch the human existence and are therefore most authentic poetic expression of present times.
For Janko Ferk the poetry represents a certain “Way of the Cross” to the final destination, but what this destination is? “a spirit of life / not a spirit of death”, the author says himself. Yet a living being must meet the death, reach the end hurryingly, and so do youth and beauty. Does this general human fate encompass wider, common, social, national destiny? It does as clearly stated in Ferk’s poems.
Janko Ferk is primarily engrossed by an individual, with all its quotidian snags. He says “one / is philosophy / and elated peace / the other / is life / and its struggles / for our bread”. It is also visible in Ferk’s images of angels with broken wings, of divine music as a mortal dance, of emptied glasses of joy, of spring trumpet sobbing, of a still-born child by Adam and Eve.
As opposed to the above, Ferk’s poetry only harbours sensations known to humans – suffering, child’s play, gentleness, pain, love, a man’s being wedged between social and cultural norms. The poet says: “dreams / are my history”.
Ferk’s poems vocalize author’s engagement in protesting against fears, wars, atom bombs, manipulations, estrangement as well as the chords of a hurt national pride.
The layering of the truth, the essence from the visible, the shallowness and redundancy are fundamental for Ferk’s poetic quest. As soon as we think we have found Ferk’s salvation formula “the salvation only comes from love / the gentle and soft music” he crashes the hope by stating “not even that”.
The language of Ferk’s poetry is surprising; contemporary as it is condensed and economical with words, but on the other hand almost classical although with no punctuation.
Janko Ferk is not the bearer of the doom; he is a sober judge searching for the real truth of the world. He writes it down upon seeing it, imprints it into our terrestrial crust thus leaving his trail behind.
Herman Vogel