The Minotaur’s Daughter: Selected Poems

Poems from a new Slovak voice reminiscent of Rilke and Sharon Olds.

An evocative collection by Slovak poet Eva Luka, The Minotaur’s Daughter seamlessly melds the human and natural worlds, weaving motifs of mythology, nature, and personal freedom into a tapestry of vivid imagery and profound emotion. The poems traverse settings from Japan to mythic landscapes, exploring the complexities of sexuality, desire, and transition.

Central to Luka’s work is the theme of resistance--against societal pressures and psychic harm. Her poetic voice defies artistic conformity, merging human and animal identities to challenge gender norms and explore mutable identities. Through this innovative fusion, her poems capture both the terror and beauty of existence, drawing parallels to Rilke’s metaphysical explorations while grounding her work in the pantheistic and protoplasmic. Journeying through darkness and light, The Minotaur’s Daughter reveals an unwavering commitment to artistic and personal truth, establishing Luka as a formidable voice of resistance in contemporary European poetry.

Eva Luka is a Slovak poet, writer, translator, illustrator, and Japanologist. She has published four collections of poetry and two works of children’s literature, and she has translated numerous works from English--including Bob Dylan and Edgar Allan Poe--and Japanese--Banana Yoshimoto and Kóbó Abe--into Slovak. James Sutherland-Smith is a translator of Slovak and Serbian poetry, including Ján Buzássy, Mária Ferencuhová, Ján Gavura, Ivana Milankov, and Miodrag Pavlovic. He has also published eight collections of his own poetry.