Anto GARDAŠ (1938-2004)
The Croatian writer Anto Gardaš was born on 21st May 1938 in Agići, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He graduated from the Law School in Zagreb in 1968. Since his first publication in 1958 he has been cooperating in many literary magazines, journals, newspapers; in radio and television. He wrote poetry and prose for children and adults: poems, haiku poems, novels, short stories, fairy tales, and plays, radio plays for children and for the theatre. He has written about forty books and he also published five haiku collections.
His work has been translated into numerous languages and he received several prestigious literary awards for his novels and poetry in Croatia. His haiku was awarded and commended on many haiku contests both in Croatia and abroad. Anto Gardaš died in Osijek, Croatia on 10 June 2004. In 2007 as acknowledgment of his work the Croatian Ministry of Culture established an annual literary award in his name.
Domestic awards:
Puzev se roscic 'Dani Drubravka Ivancana', Krapina, 1999
U tamnoj noci 'Vrabac/Sparrow' Samobor, 2000
International awards:
Zlatnim cavlima Kusamakura, Kumamoto, 2000
Mutna rijeka Ito En, Tokyo, 2000
Sjaj mjesecine - Kusamakura, Kumamoto, 2001
Some if his haiku publications:
"The bush of wild roses," haiku poetry (1994)
"3rd samoborski haiku encounters” (1995)
"Anthology of Croatian Haiku" (1996)
"Purl" Haiku (1996)
"What daffodils" Haiku (1997)
"5th samoborski haiku encounters" (1997)
"9th samoborski haiku encounters" (2000)
"Haiku anthology - Ludbreg, 2000" (2000)
"Seven ways" Haiku (2000)
"Haiku in Dalmatia" (2001)
"White silence" haiku poetry (2003)
"Moonlight", haiku poetry (2003)
Selection of Anto’s haiku:
Procvale šljive.
Svaka krošnja zuji
istu melodiju.
Blossoming plums.
Every crown buzzing
the same tune.
Golub -
kljunom
broji korake.
A pigeon -
counting the paces
with its beak.
Skriven u travi
pod zrakom sunca oživi
komadić stakla.
Hidden in the grass
a piece of glass becomes alive
under the ray of sun
Sav je moj život
samo kapljica vode
i - ništa više.
My whole life is
just a drop of water
and - nothing more.
(From “The Moonlight Brightness”, Osijek, 2003)
***
Na nochnom nebu
glasovi divljih gusaka
puni j eseni.
In the night sky
voices of wild geese
full of autumn.
Topi se snijeg:
do koljena u vodu
mlada psenica.
The snow melts down:
young wheat
up to the knees in water.
Bljedolik Mjesec.
Svitanje ga zateklo
napola puti.
Pale Moon.
The dawn had caught it
half-way.
(From World Haiku Association, 2001)
Sources:
http://www.tempslibres.org/aozora/en/memo/memo08.html
http://www.worldhaiku.net/poetry/si/a.gardas/a.gardas.htm
http://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anto_Garda%C5%A1