When the solemnly enlivening RETURNS represent the crystallized culmination of an authentic poet’s unique body of work – Review of the work of Jozef Daník

Abstract

Jozef Daník is again knocking on the hearts and minds of the Slovak soul longing for wisdom, truthfulness, tenderness and sincerity. No, we are not wrong. He comes convincingly, courageously and humanly with the aim of a credible testimony about times past, and present, but also those that repeat themselves in the individual stages of our life cycle and present themselves always in a different, deeply humanly felt, understood, but also painful form. Whatever Danik’s life experiences, opinions and attitudes were influenced by a furore of not exactly the most optimistic, often very diverse, complicated and dramatic experiences, but nevertheless the gifts of life, which understandably include not only joy, wellbeing, but also sadness, fears and sorrow, in his artistic world clearly prevails an inexhaustible desire for a full, harmonious, dignified, optimistic and nonconflicting earthly existence. Daník is a sensitive poet and invites us nonviolently into the world of his thoughts, experiences, feelings and attitudes. He does not impose himself, but the stamp of his personality, his artistic vision of the world does not leave us indifferent.