In the August 31 issue, The Prague Post reviewed An Unchanging Blue: Selected Poems 1962-1975, a new selected volume of poems from the late German poet Rolf Dieter Brinkmann (1940-1975) translated by Mark Terrill. Colophon recently conducted this email interview with Terrill to discuss Brinkmann’s urbane, energetic poetry and what it has to say to us three decades after his death.

As The Prague Post reported Feb. 23, a transnational project entitled “Letters to Milosz” is underway throughout Europe under the auspices of HALMA, the European Association of Writing Centers. But just what is Milosz’s legacy, and is the Nobel Prize winning Polish poet, who died in 2004, still relevant today?

For readers who have facility with the Czech language, HOST has recently published an enjoyable anthology of the best Czech poems of 2010, a collection of poems gleaned from a number of books and journals. This 143 page anthology, expertly edited by Miloslav Topinka and Jakub Řehák, provides a cross section of contemporary Czech poetry.

Mark Terrill, an American poet living in Germany, has published a new chapbook of prose poems as part of Poetry Salzburg Review’s new chapbook series. Terrill is one of the most exciting American poets now living in Europe and the publication of this chapbook, entitled Laughing Butcher Berlin Blues, is a welcome edition to the literary landscape.

Chinese writer Liu Xiabo, winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, will soon be making waves in the English language literary world, as two prominent American publishers have announced forthcoming collections of Xiaobo’s work.

One of the greatest poets of the twentieth century, Rainer Maria Rilke, was born in Prague December 4, 1875. Rilke grew up at Jindrisska 19, just off Wenceslas Square. To commemorate the anniversary of the poet’s birth, Colophon presents two early Prague poems written by Rilke, translated by Prague-based poet Anne Brechin.

Lauded Polish poet Adam Zagajewski has won the 2010 European Poetry Prize, which is awarded annually by the Cassamarca Foundation in Treviso, Italy.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great Czech Romantic poet Karel Hynek Macha. The event is being celebrated with a series of concerts, exhibitions, performances and book launches which will take place throughout the year. Especially notable is the release of a new edition of Macha’s poem in English translation, published by Twisted Spoon Press.