Živly v nás [The elements in us]. Knižnice Lyra, vol. 6 (series title)

Prague: B. Stýblo, 1946. Octavo (21.5 × 15 cm). Original decorative wrappers; 49, [3] pp. Illustrated with a drawing by Kamil Lhoták. About very good; wrappers lightly smudged; small chip to lower left corner; in protective mylar. First edition of a long poem composed by Kundera in September 1944. With the appealing understated wrapper design of the Lyra series of poetry and one illustration by Miloš Koreček. Sixth volume of the series Knižnice Lyra (The lyre), edited by Josef Brož.

Kundera (1920-2010), a cousin of his more famous namesake, was a prolific Czech surrealist writer and an important representative of modernism during and after WWII, as well as a co-founder of the Ra Group (Skupina Ra). He was not allowed to publish work during the Czech "Normalization" after 1970.

With a reproduction of a "fokalk" by another member of Skupina Ra, Miloš Koreček, who began taking pictures in 1940 and between 1943 and 48, and again after 1971, developed the technique of the "Fokalk", an acronym combining "photography" and "décalcomanie." Inspired by Vitězslav Nezval's surrealist decals, Kořeček deformed photographic plates using heat: "Der Fokalk ist ein Bild, gewonnen durch Projektion einer fokalisierten fotografischen Platte oder ihres auf Fotopapier fixierten Ausschnittes. Die fokalisierte fotografische Platte entsteht aus einem (beliebigen) Negativ, durch eine maximal eigenwillige Deformation des ursprünglichen Bildes nach Aufweichung der Emulsion (z.B. mit warmem Wasser). Die Bezeichnung Fokalk benutzte ich zum erstenmal im Jahr 1947" (Neusüss, Das Fotogramm in der Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, p. 455). The photogram played an important role in the Czech interwar avant-garde, beginning with a fascination with Man Ray and his Rayographs.

As of December 2021, KVK and OCLC show three copies in North America. (Inventory #: 52106)