Riječi prijatelja
Recenzije, predgovori i riječi koje su o Ivanu Benaku napisali prijatelji, pjesnici i urednici, većinom za njegovu posljednju knjigu Stihom kroz život.
Words of friends
Reviews, forewords and tributes written about Ivan Benak by friends, fellow poets and editors, most of them for his last book, Through Life in Verse.
Iz recenzije
From the Review
Ova knjiga Ivana Benaka tematski je i stilom, zapravo nedjeljiva cjelina s njegovom prvom knjigom dječjih pjesama, Mali snovi, obje imaju svojih vrijednosti u onome što im je zajedničko u ovoga vještog književnika, rođenog pjesnika. Inzistiranje na rimi jedan je od rijetkih elemenata koji bi se mogli navesti kao negativni u vrijednostima Benakove poezije. No, pjesme za djecu teško je zamisliti bez rime, jer im ona daje poseban, prepoznatljiv „štih“, a te njegove rime onda sjednu na srce i kapnu na dušu – finim psihologiziranjem i tamo gdje običan čovjek ne vidi dublju dimenziju svakodnevnog. Teme niže jednakom lakoćom kao i rime, pa su mu pjesme, sve po redu, zapravo naslikane priče. Te priče imaju nježnost, poleta i žestine, i okrutnosti koliko i život, i on ih pred djecom ne krije.
This book by Ivan Benak is, in theme and in style, really one indivisible whole with his first book of children's poems, Little Dreams; both have their merits in what they share as the work of this skilful writer and born poet. His insistence on rhyme is one of the few things that might be counted as a weakness in Benak's poetry. Yet poems for children are hard to imagine without rhyme, for it gives them their own special, recognisable touch, and these rhymes of his settle on the heart and drop into the soul, with a fine sense of the human mind, even where an ordinary person sees no deeper dimension in everyday things. He strings his themes together as easily as his rhymes, so that his poems, every one of them, are really stories told in pictures. These stories have tenderness, zest and fierceness, and as much cruelty as life itself, and he does not hide them from children.
Na kraju knjige u čitatelju ostaje bezbroj sličica lijepih i čudnih, lakih i teških, zločestih i poučnih, kojih u njegovome životu, bez obzira na broj proteklih godina, kao da nije bilo. A zapravo, sve su bile tu, i mali ih čitatelji vide.
At the end of the book the reader is left with countless little pictures, lovely and strange, light and heavy, naughty and instructive, pictures that, for all his years, seem never to have been part of his life. And yet they were all there, and young readers see them.
Iz recenzije
From the Review
Sva je sreća da se Ivan Benak pojavljuje i s drugom knjigom dječjih pjesama. Pjesme su mu lake i lepršave, uostalom, takve se pjesme pamte, a posebno u dječjoj interpretaciji. Neke od pjesama Ivana Benaka mogle bi se naći čak i u početnicama ili dječjim časopisima. U preporuci da ovu zbirku treba tiskati zbog njene pjesničke vrijednosti i ambijenta kojega sve manje poznajemo, ističem i njenu poučnu vrijednost. U pojedinim pjesmama, Benak poput basnopisca daje poruku i poduku.
It is a real stroke of luck that Ivan Benak now comes before us with a second book of children's poems. His poems are light and airy, and that, after all, is the kind of poem people remember, especially when children recite them. Some of Ivan Benak's poems could even find a place in first readers or in children's magazines. In recommending that this collection be printed, for its poetic worth and for a way of life we know less and less, I would also stress its value as a teacher. In some of the poems Benak, like a writer of fables, offers both a message and a lesson.
Ivan Benak, dakle, i ovom zbirkom upozorava da je iskreni stvaralac za djecu. U svakom slučaju Zekina sreća zaslužuje da se nađe u svakoj dječjoj knjižnici i đačkoj torbi.
With this collection, then, Ivan Benak shows once again that he is a sincere writer for children. In any case, Bunny's Luck deserves a place in every children's library and every school bag.
Uz ponovljeno izdanje Zekine sreće
On the New Edition of Bunny's Luck
Prigodom izdavanja posljednje Benakove knjige Žablji sastanak 2005. godine rečeno je gotovo sve o njegovom dječjem stvaralaštvu. Od tada se nije ništa promijenilo i nema ničega novoga što ne znamo o autoru kao i o njegovim radovima. Jedina novost je (to zapravo i nije novost) da Benakove dječje knjige nalaze put do novih generacija koje otkrivaju njegovo stvaralaštvo. Benakove se dječje pjesme uče napamet u predškolskim ustanovama i u osnovnim školama. One se čitaju i recitiraju u raznim prigodama, od priredbi u vrtićima i školama te u programima radiopostaja. Mnogi su se kritičari poodavno složili da je Ivan Benak najbolji upravo u dječjem pjesništvu, da su njegove dječje pjesme zaslužile uvrštavanje u udžbenike i slična izdanja jer imaju poučnu vrijednost. Te se tvrdnje potvrđuju i ponovljenim izdanjem Zekine sreće koja je objavljena još 1990. godine.
When Benak's last book, The Frogs' Meeting, came out in 2005, almost everything was said about his writing for children. Nothing has changed since then, and there is nothing new that we do not already know about the author and his work. The only news (and it is not really news) is that Benak's children's books are finding their way to new generations, who are discovering his work for themselves. Benak's children's poems are learned by heart in kindergartens and primary schools. They are read and recited on all kinds of occasions, from kindergarten and school performances to radio programmes. Many critics agreed long ago that Ivan Benak is at his best precisely in poetry for children, and that his children's poems deserve a place in textbooks and similar publications, because they have value as teaching. These claims are borne out by this new edition of Bunny's Luck, which was first published as long ago as 1990.
Riječ prijatelja
A Friend's Word
Rano proljeće 30. 03. 2009. godine. Toga dana kao da me nešto tjeralo da uzmem telefon i nazovem svog prijatelja i kolegu pjesnika gospodina Ivana Benaka iz Valpova, tek toliko da ga upitam o zdravlju i nešto o pjesničkom radu. Čovjeka za koga gotovo svi pjesnici širom Lijepe naše kažu kako je upravo on legenda slavonskog pjesništva.
Early spring, March 30, 2009. That day something seemed to urge me to pick up the telephone and call my friend and fellow poet, Mr Ivan Benak of Valpovo, just to ask after his health and a little about his poetry. He is the man of whom almost all the poets throughout our beautiful homeland say that he, above all others, is the legend of Slavonian poetry.
I sam tako mislim, jer sam pročitao gotovo sve njegove pjesme, koja su vrhunska djela. Pjesnik koji je spreman svojim nastupima, čitajući, razveseliti i staro i mlado.
I think so too, for I have read almost all his poems, and they are works of the highest order. He is a poet always ready, with his readings, to bring joy to young and old alike.
Toga dana kao dar sa neba čuo sam riječi: „Božidare, bi li htio nešto napisati o meni, o mom dosadašnjem radu u kulturi?“ Dobiti takvo povjerenje pjesnika kao što je Benak, nije mala stvar, ali je velika čast, čovjeka kojemu se dive pjesnici diljem Slavonije, jer su njegove pjesme, pogotovo za djecu, vrijedne divljenja. I zbog toga, čast mi je da se moje ime nalazi u njegovoj knjizi, pogotovo kao kritičar njegovih djela.
That day, like a gift from heaven, I heard the words: “Božidar, would you like to write something about me, about my work in culture so far?” To be given such trust by a poet like Benak is no small thing; it is a great honour, coming from a man admired by poets all over Slavonia, for his poems, especially those for children, are worthy of admiration. And so it is an honour for me that my name should appear in his book, and all the more so as a critic of his work.
Stari pjesnik
The Old Poet
U malenoj sobi, od dugoga rada,
otkucaji sata zauvijek su stali.
U četiri davno obojena zida,
pjesnik svoju petrolejku pali.
In a little room, worn out from long running,
the ticking of the clock has stopped for good.
Within four walls painted long ago
the poet lights his paraffin lamp.
Za njeg vrijeme kao da je stalo,
i sat mu izmoren na zidu šuti.
Pored trepteće petrolejke male,
nesnosnu tugu u sebi ćuti.
For him it is as if time itself stood still,
and his weary clock is silent on the wall.
Beside the little flickering lamp
he feels an unbearable sorrow within.
Čudna mu tišina tijelo šiba,
suze i znoj kupaju mu lice,
naslonjen na stol u kutu sobe,
iz daljine čuje pjev poznate ptice.
A strange silence lashes at his body,
tears and sweat are bathing his face;
leaning on the table in the corner of the room,
from far away he hears a familiar bird's song.
Olovku trošnu u ruci drži
i možda posljednju pjesmu piše,
drhtava mu ruka stihove niže,
a umorno tijelo već jedva diše.
He holds a worn-down pencil in his hand
and writes what may be his last poem;
his trembling hand strings the lines together,
and his tired body can barely breathe.
Dobrom pjesniku, dragom čovjeku Ivanu Benaku
To a Good Poet and a Dear Man, Ivan Benak
Veoma sam se uzradovao kad mi je gosp. Ivan Benak ukazao čast da s nekoliko rečenica budem sudionikom ove njegove divne knjige. Nije lako pisati o pjesničkoj legendi, o književniku koji spada u sam vrh stihotvora.
I was overjoyed when Mr Ivan Benak did me the honour of letting me take part, with a few sentences, in this wonderful book of his. It is not easy to write about a legend of poetry, about a writer who stands at the very top among the makers of verse.
Ivana Benaka sam upoznao 1987. god. u Vinkovcima na predstavljanju zbornika Pučko stvaralaštvo Slavonije i Baranje kojeg je izdalo DHK – ogranak Vinkovci. Od tada traje naša suradnja i prijateljevanje. Bili smo zajedno na stotine promocija, književnih večeri, recitala poezije. Gosp. Benak je uvijek plijenio pažnju drugih svojim nastupima. On je iznjedrio neizbrisiv književni trag koji je drugim pjesmotvorima postao nepogrešiv smjerokaz.
I met Ivan Benak in 1987 in Vinkovci, at the launch of the anthology Pučko stvaralaštvo Slavonije i Baranje (Folk Writing of Slavonia and Baranja), published by the Vinkovci branch of the Croatian Writers' Association. Our work together and our friendship have gone on ever since. We have been together at hundreds of book launches, literary evenings and poetry recitals. Mr Benak always captured everyone's attention with his performances. He has left an indelible literary mark that has become an unerring signpost for other makers of poems.
Njegov stih je ritmički snažan – pjevno muzikalan, slatkoljubivo tečan i za sve uzraste raskošno duhovit. Stoga je dobro upoznati (i imati pjesnika kao što je on) djelo književnika koji nam nudi darove srca nastale u pravom trenutku vremena. Lijepa riječ je danas svima potrebna. Najljepše riječi ukoričenih knjiga naći ćemo u stihovima gosp. Ivana Benaka koji nam u sivoj i olovnoj svakodnevici razgaljuje srce i dušu. Njegova rima donosi blaženstvo svih dimenzija koje smiruju vjetrove nerazuma. Kao takav, Benak je svojim stihom bogato ukrasio kulturnu razglednicu Valpovštine, Slavonije i šire.
His verse is rhythmically strong: melodious and musical, sweetly and lovingly fluent, and richly witty for readers of every age. That is why it is good to know the work (and to have a poet like him) of a writer who offers us gifts of the heart, born at just the right moment. Everyone today needs a kind word. The loveliest words ever bound between covers we shall find in the verses of Mr Ivan Benak, who warms our hearts and souls amid the grey, leaden everyday. His rhyme brings a bliss of every dimension, one that calms the winds of unreason. As such, Benak has richly adorned with his verse the cultural postcard of the Valpovo region, of Slavonia and beyond.
Njegovo sebedarje stihom oslobađa od suvišnog tereta kušnje svih vrsta. On je nezaobilazan subjekt lirike koji nam je kao zrak potreban. Zato je Benak pjevan na festivalima, čitan u školama (dječje pjesme) i omiljen kod prijatelja poezije jer se nesebično poklanja svemu što voli i koga voli. Mnoge su pjesme označile pjesnički opus gosp. Benaka. Izdvojit ću samo neke: Ne budi me majko rano, Zelene su oči tvoje, Pod granama jorgovana, Da li je to bila šala, Djeda Mraz, Đačka torba, Dječji vrtić MAZA Valpovo (koja je himna istog vrtića).
His giving of himself in verse frees us from the needless burden of trials of every kind. He is an indispensable presence in lyric poetry, one we need like air. That is why Benak is sung at festivals, read in schools (his children's poems) and loved by friends of poetry, for he gives himself unselfishly to everything and everyone he loves. Many poems have marked Mr Benak's work as a poet. I shall single out just a few: Don't Wake Me Early, Mother, Green Are Those Eyes of Yours, Beneath the Lilac Boughs, Was It All Just a Joke?, Grandfather Frost, The School Bag and Maza Kindergarten, Valpovo (which is that kindergarten's anthem).
Pjesnik koji je objavio pet samostalnih zbirki pjesama, koji je uvršten u preko 80 skupnih zbirki, zastupljen u mnogim časopisima, bogat je stihom čovjek. Mi njegovi prijatelji smo bogati njime i njegovim knjigotvorima.
A poet who has published five collections of his own, who has been included in more than 80 joint anthologies and has appeared in many magazines, is a man rich in verse. We, his friends, are rich in him and in his books.
Ja sam ponosan jer za prijatelja imam pjesnika čija čarolija riječi odzvanja u svima koji su ga čitali.
I am proud to have as my friend a poet whose magic of words echoes in everyone who has read him.
«Prijatelju, živi dugo živi
u svom stihu u kom život cvjeta
ti nisi zadnji, al' zato si prvi
pjesnik što krasi tužnu stranu svijeta.»
“Friend, live long, live on and on
in your verse, where life is flowering;
you are not the last, but you are the first,
the poet who graces the sad side of the world.”
Pjesme za srce i dušu
Poems for the Heart and Soul
U ovom recesijskom vremenu uistinu je teško biti vedar i raspoložen, no čitajući poeziju Ivana Benaka čovjek se jednostavno, htio ne htio, mora makar malo oraspoložiti. Većina njegovih pjesama zrači tom toliko željenom vedrinom koja nam je u ovom sumornom vremenu potrebna kao melem na ranu.
In these times of recession it is truly hard to be cheerful and in good spirits, and yet, reading the poetry of Ivan Benak, one simply has to cheer up at least a little, like it or not. Most of his poems radiate that longed-for brightness which, in these gloomy times, we need like balm on a wound.
Ivan Benak velika je i topla pjesnička duša koja poput zvijezde tako jasno blista na pjesničkom nebu ovih naših slavonsko-baranjskih prostora... Gotovo da nema pjesničkog susreta na kojemu nije bio Ivan Benak, a ukoliko bi katkada izostao, tada sam osobno osjećao veliku prazninu pitajući se: „Gdje li je Benak?“
Ivan Benak is a great and warm poetic soul who shines like a star, so clearly, in the poetic sky of our Slavonian and Baranjan lands... There is hardly a poets' gathering at which Ivan Benak has not been present, and if ever he was missing, I personally felt a great emptiness and asked myself: “Where can Benak be?”
Posebno mjesto u Benakovom pjesničkom opusu imaju pjesme namijenjene djeci. Kao što su me do suza nasmijale i oduševile Gardaševe pjesme iz njegove Plavokrile ptice, ništa manje me nisu nasmijale Benakove pjesme iz Zekine sreće kao i brojne druge.
A special place in Benak's poetic work belongs to his poems for children. Just as Gardaš's poems from his Plavokrila ptica (The Blue-Winged Bird) delighted me and made me laugh till I cried, Benak's poems from Bunny's Luck, and many others besides, made me laugh no less.
Ivan Benak piše pjesme razumljive svakom čovjeku pazeći pri tome da ne odluta u banalnost pa se možda upravo u toj činjenici krije vrijednost njegove poezije. Pisati poeziju jednostavnim izrazom, gotovo svakodnevnim govorom, vrlo je riskantno, no Benaku to polazi za rukom, jer gotovo u svakoj njegovoj pjesmi krije se pjesnička toplina koja pjesmu čini pjesmom. Iz Benakove duše te pjesme jednostavno teku poput bistrih potoka ne zaustavljajući se ni pred kakvim zaprekama. Brojne su i uglazbljene kao primjerice Ne budi me majko rano, Zelene su oči tvoje... Iz tih pjesama jednostavno izvire glazba pa su ih glazbenici zamijetili i uglazbili. Ta glazbenost njegovim pjesmama daje dodatnu toplinu i čar. Čini mi se da su upravo te uglazbljene pjesme donijele pjesniku najviše radosti. Njegova duša je poput prostrane slavonske ravnice u kojoj odzvanjaju oni sitni umilni zvuci bisernica, u kojoj neobuzdano trče razigrani vranci i bijelci, u kojoj djevojke i snaše podvriskuju u šokačkom kolu...
Ivan Benak writes poems that anyone can understand, taking care all the while not to stray into banality, and perhaps it is precisely here that the value of his poetry lies. To write poetry in simple language, in almost everyday speech, is very risky, but Benak manages it, because in almost every poem of his there is a poetic warmth that makes a poem a poem. These poems simply flow out of Benak's soul like clear streams, stopping at no obstacle. Many of them have been set to music, for instance Don't Wake Me Early, Mother and Green Are Those Eyes of Yours... Music simply springs from these poems, and so musicians noticed them and set them to music. This musicality gives his poems added warmth and charm. It seems to me that it was precisely these songs that brought the poet the greatest joy. His soul is like the wide Slavonian plain, where the small, sweet notes of the bisernica ring out, where playful black and white horses run unbridled, where girls and young wives whoop and cry out in the Šokac kolo...
Benakove pjesme su rimovane. Većinom je to „bd“ rima kao primjerice u pjesmi Slavonija. Navodim posljednju meni najdojmljiviju strofu te pjesme:
Benak's poems are rhymed. Mostly it is a “b–d” rhyme, the second line with the fourth, as for instance in the poem Slavonia. I quote its last stanza, the one that moves me most:
U edenu tom zemaljskom,
eto, tu sam rođen i ja.
Tu življahu moji preci:
to je moja Slavonija.
In this earthly Eden, see,
here I too was born and grown;
here my forefathers once lived:
this is my Slavonia, my own!
Ivan Benak često koristi klasični „deseterac“ kao primjerice u pjesmi Šokica, čija prva strofa glasi ovako:
Ivan Benak often uses the classic deseterac, the ten-syllable folk line, as for instance in the poem Šokica, whose first stanza goes like this:
Nema ljepše cure do Šokice:
tankog stasa, umiljatog glasa,
usta medna i obraza jedra,
obla bedra i prkosna njedra.
Fairer girl there's none than a Šokica:
slender figure, voice so soft and tender,
honeyed lips, and cheeks so fresh and glowing,
rounded hips, a bosom proudly showing.
U svojim pjesmama često i, rekao bih, rado koristi arhaizme, što će mu možda netko od suvremenika zamjeriti, no meni osobno ti arhaizmi ne smetaju, dapače, lijepo se stapaju s ostalim riječima u tim osmercima, desetercima... Nabrojit ću tek nekoliko iz već navedene pjesme Slavonija („usta medna“, „dika“, „rujno vino“...). Ti arhaizmi se jednostavno nameću i čini mi se da pjesma ne bi imala onu toliko željenu pjesničku čar upravo bez tih starih riječi. Ne zaboravimo da Ivan Benak često pjeva o „Staroj Slavoniji“, o prošlim minulim vremenima pa je i to razlog više što u njegovim pjesmama često nailazimo na te stare već pomalo zaboravljene riječi.
In his poems he often, and I would say gladly, uses archaisms, which some of his contemporaries may hold against him; but personally these archaisms do not bother me at all, on the contrary, they blend beautifully with the other words in those eight- and ten-syllable lines... I will list just a few from the poem Slavonia already mentioned (“usta medna”, honeyed lips; “dika”, the beloved; “rujno vino”, ruby wine...). These archaisms simply insist on their place, and it seems to me that the poem would lack that much-desired poetic charm without precisely these old words. Let us not forget that Ivan Benak often sings of “Old Slavonia”, of times long gone, and that is one more reason why we so often come across these old, already half-forgotten words in his poems.
Pjesma Sjećanja kao i brojne druge uvrštavaju Ivana Benaka u pokret hrvatskog neoromantizma. Taj pjesnički pokret je iz dana u dan sve snažniji, a ukoliko postane dominantan u hrvatskom pjesništvu, tada će zacijelo i pjesme Ivana Benaka biti znatno više cijenjene. Navest ću drugu strofu prethodno spomenute pjesme koja me se posebno dojmila:
The poem Memories, like many others, places Ivan Benak in the movement of Croatian neo-Romanticism. That movement grows stronger by the day, and if it becomes dominant in Croatian poetry, then Ivan Benak's poems too will surely be valued far more highly. I shall quote the second stanza of the poem just mentioned, which moved me especially:
Sretni smo bili te noći,
u igri k'o djeca mala,
ljubeći snene ti oči,
zvijezda je tiho sjala.
We were happy on that night,
playing like small children do;
and I kissed your drowsy eyes,
in the sky a star shone through.
Mogao bih uistinu citirati još tisuće stihova Ivana Benaka, no smatram da je i ovo dovoljno kako biste, dragi čitatelji, zaključili da su njegove pjesme vrijedne vaše pozornosti. Upravo ćete vi vrednovati ne samo pjesme Ivana Benaka, već i pjesme ostalih pjesnika koji stvaraju u ovom našem vremenu koje baš i nije previše naklonjeno poeziji. Ako u trenucima čitanja osjetite radost, ushit, tugu, čežnju... Ako na trenutak na krilima stihova odletite izvan ovoga našega materijalnog svijeta, tada su ti stihovi uistinu vrijedni.
I could truly quote thousands more of Ivan Benak's lines, but I think this is enough for you, dear readers, to conclude that his poems are worth your attention. It is you who will judge the worth not only of Ivan Benak's poems but also of the poems of other poets writing in this time of ours, which is not exactly kind to poetry. If, as you read, you feel joy, rapture, sorrow, longing... If for a moment you fly on the wings of verse beyond this material world of ours, then those lines are truly worthy.
Ovoj knjizi želim da se nađe u društvu prihvaćenih i rado čitanih knjiga, a pjesniku Ivanu Benaku dobro zdravlje i pjesničko nadahnuće kako bi i nadalje mogao usavršavati svoj izraz te na taj način stvarati nove pjesme koje će nas ispunjavati još većom radošću i vedrinom. Neka nam i nadalje podaruje pjesme za srce i dušu.
I wish this book a place among well-loved and gladly read books, and I wish the poet Ivan Benak good health and poetic inspiration, so that he may go on perfecting his expression and so create new poems that will fill us with still greater joy and brightness. May he go on giving us poems for the heart and soul.
O Ivanu Benaku
On Ivan Benak
Družeći se s kolegom pjesnikom Ivanom Benakom, naučio sam da prošlost u poeziji treba koristiti kao odskočnu dasku, a na starom iskustvu graditi što bolje međusobne odnose. Njegova poezija je zapravo istančana komunikacija kojom se snaga mašte pretvara u zabavu i igru. Ljubav u svim pjesmama mu je iskrena i poštena. Ta svojstva imaju samo veliki pjesnici.
Keeping company with my fellow poet Ivan Benak, I have learned that in poetry the past should be used as a springboard, and that on old experience we should build the best relations we can with one another. His poetry is, in truth, a finely tuned form of communication in which the power of imagination turns into amusement and play. The love in all his poems is sincere and honest. Only great poets have these qualities.
Sposoban je jednako dobro pisati za običan narod i za inteligenciju. Poezija mu je samo lijepa istina, a On (Ivan Benak) u njoj osjeća patnje drugih kao svoju patnju i radost drugih kao svoju radost. Uvijek osobnu maštu zna kanalizirati u pozitivnom smislu. U svojim pjesmama čitatelju nudi više zdrava razuma nego svi filozofi. Posebno je prepoznatljiv kao pisac dječje poezije. Imam čast, zadovoljstvo i privilegiju družiti se s Benakom te tako upoznati mnoge pučke pjesnike, ali i neke poznate naše književnike. Bez sumnje, poeziju ćemo po njegovoj zamisli svi zajedno njegovati i razvijati, a ne ni na koji način zapostavljati ili uništavati. On je velik i neka svaka zavist pred njim gmiže. Hvala mu, uz poštovanje.
He can write equally well for ordinary people and for the educated. His poetry is simply a beautiful truth, and in it He (Ivan Benak) feels the sufferings of others as his own suffering and the joy of others as his own joy. He always knows how to channel his own imagination in a positive direction. In his poems he offers the reader more common sense than all the philosophers. He is especially known as a writer of poetry for children. I have the honour, the pleasure and the privilege of keeping company with Benak, and through him of getting to know many folk poets, as well as some of our well-known writers. Without doubt, following his vision, we shall all together cherish and develop poetry, and in no way neglect or destroy it. He is great, and let all envy crawl before him. My thanks to him, with respect.
Ivan Benak
Ivan Benak
Što napisati o čovjeku u kojem kuca dječačko srce pa je napisao toliko poznatih, dječjih pjesama, čovjeku koji ima dušu širu od Slavonije i Cvelferije zajedno, čovjeku koji u svojim zlatnim godinama ne da zaspati bećaru u sebi, čovjeku kojega je život nagnao da učini puno lijepih i manje lijepih stvari protiv svoje volje, a on i dalje, bez zadrške, vjeruje u njega.
What is there to write about a man in whom a boy's heart beats, so that he has written so many well-known children's poems; a man whose soul is wider than Slavonia and Cvelferija put together; a man who in his golden years will not let the bećar in him fall asleep; a man whom life drove to do many fine and some less fine things against his will, and who still, without reserve, believes in life.
Ne samo da vjeruje, Ivan pjeva, njegove uglazbljene pjesme pjevaju: Ivo Pattiera i Zlatni dukati, Blanka Došen i Nevenka Fiala (ponosna sam što i Nenu osobno poznam i što se savršeno uklapa u ovaj milje).
Not only does he believe, Ivan sings: his poems set to music are sung by Ivo Pattiera and Zlatni dukati, Blanka Došen and Nevenka Fiala (I am proud that I know Nena personally too, and that she fits so perfectly into this circle).
Napisala sam nekoliko redaka o Ivanu i nije bilo niti lako, niti jednostavno, ali ne zato što se nema što reći i što se možda nešto učinilo manje važnim, naprotiv!
I have written a few lines about Ivan, and it was neither easy nor simple, but not because there is nothing to say, or because something might have seemed less important; quite the contrary!
Pišući ovaj tekst, postala sam svjesna, koliku sam sreću imala upoznati ga, stisnuti mu ruku pri svakom susretu, imala čast da je zahtijevao da mu kažem TI.
Writing this, I became aware how lucky I have been to know him, to shake his hand at every meeting, and to have had the honour of his insisting that I call him ti, the familiar “you”.
Ne znam jedino, je li Ivan svjestan mjesta koje zauzima među nama i vlastitog značenja?!
The only thing I do not know is whether Ivan is aware of the place he holds among us, and of what he himself means?!
Benak prijatelj i legenda
Benak, Friend and Legend
Benak Ivan. Što reći o tom čovjeku? Upoznala sam ga družeći se sa pjesnicima i od tada sam bogatija za jedno izuzetno poznanstvo. Rekli su mi: „moraš upoznati legendu“. Razmišljala sam „legenda mora biti netko s kime ja neću znati ni razgovarati“. Iznenadilo me kad sam vidjela jednog sasvim običnog čovjeka, čovjeka koji je malo govorio o sebi ali je uvijek bio spreman pomoći.
Benak, Ivan. What can one say about this man? I met him while spending time among poets, and ever since I have been the richer for one exceptional acquaintance. They told me: “You must meet the legend.” I thought, “A legend must be someone I won't even know how to talk to.” I was surprised when I saw a perfectly ordinary man, a man who said little about himself but was always ready to help.
Lijepo je biti pjesnik jer pjesnici nikad ne stare i nikad ne umiru, oni se uvijek mogu u svojim pjesmama vratiti u bilo koje razdoblje svoga života. Benakova poezija je za to očiti primjer.
It is a fine thing to be a poet, because poets never grow old and never die; in their poems they can always go back to any time of their lives. Benak's poetry is a clear example of this.
Kakav je Benak pjesnik, to ja stvarno ne mogu prosuditi. Znam samo da mi se mnoge njegove pjesme sviđaju, a sve ostalo će vrijeme pokazati. Treba proći mnogo vremena da neki pjesnik postane legenda a Benak je jedan od rijetkih koji je postao legenda još za života.
What kind of poet Benak is, I really cannot judge. I only know that I like many of his poems, and time will show the rest. A great deal of time must pass before a poet becomes a legend, and Benak is one of the rare few who became a legend in his own lifetime.
O prijatelju Ivanu Benaku
About My Friend Ivan Benak
Biti obiteljski prijatelj doajena pučkog stvaralaštva, čovjeka kojeg pozna cijela Slavonija i šire, pa i glavni grad naše domovine, čovjeka koji piše knjige za sve uzraste, osnivača valpovačkih «Poeta 1905.», organizatora mnogih pjesničkih susreta, kao i gosta koji je rado viđen na svakom druženju. O tebi svaki pjesnik može napisati knjigu, pa zato mi je iskreno drago i s velikim zadovoljstvom pišem ove rečenice o pjesniku, prijatelju i nadasve čovjeku koji voli pisanu riječ, stih svakog pjesnika, zato imaš toliko prijatelja diljem Slavonije.
To be a family friend of the doyen of folk poetry: a man known throughout Slavonia and beyond, even in the capital of our homeland; a man who writes books for readers of every age; the founder of Valpovo's “Poeta 1905”, the organiser of many poets' gatherings, and a guest always welcome wherever people meet. Any poet could write a book about you, and so I am truly glad, and it is with great pleasure that I write these sentences about a poet, a friend and above all a man who loves the written word and the verse of every poet; that is why you have so many friends all over Slavonia.
I na kraju dodat ću strofu o svom prijatelju i druženju s čovjekom, kojega će mnogi pamtiti po pjesmi i djelu.
And to finish, I will add a stanza about my friend and about keeping company with a man whom many will remember for his poems and his work.
Imam jednog prijatelja,
u Valpovu živi,
dobar pjesnik,
a radi se o Benaku Ivi.
I have a certain friend,
in Valpovo he lives,
a poet, and a good one:
I'm speaking of Ivo Benak.
Poput Karašice
Like the Karašica
Poput Karašice, koja se provlači slavonskom ravnicom. Mirna i tiha, gotovo neprimjetna. Tako i Ivan tiho provlači svoje pjesme stranicama svojih zbirki. Pri tome mijenjajući teme, kao Karašica svoje vijuganje ravnicom.
Like the Karašica, which threads its way across the Slavonian plain: calm and quiet, almost unnoticed. In the same way Ivan quietly threads his poems through the pages of his collections, changing his themes as he goes, as the Karašica changes its winding course across the plain.
Ivanove pjesme postaju prepoznatljive, odišu blagim humorom koji često i zadovoljno nasmije čitatelja.
Ivan's poems become recognisable; they breathe a gentle humour that often makes the reader laugh with contentment.
Malo je njih koji znaju složiti riječi u jedan smiješni stih. Posebni senzibilitet osjeća prema djeci. Ti stihovi ostaju nezaboravni, neponovljivi i lako se pamte, sigurno su jača strana Ivanovog stvaralaštva. Ivan Benak svojim stvaralačkim radom, dubinom i širinom svog djela, ostaje posebno zabilježen i prepoznatljiv u svom vremenu.
There are few who know how to put words together into a funny line of verse. He has a special feeling for children. Those verses remain unforgettable, inimitable and easy to remember, and they are surely the stronger side of Ivan's work. Through his creative labour, and through the depth and breadth of his work, Ivan Benak remains especially marked out and recognisable in his time.
Zadovoljstvo mi je i čast družiti se s pjesnikom i prijateljem Ivanom Benakom.
It is a pleasure and an honour for me to keep company with the poet and my friend Ivan Benak.