Mourning a huge loss for Slovak literature. The name of literary scholar Marta Součková, who passed away unexpectedly on 12 August, may not be familiar for many in the English-speaking world. But it really ought to be, as she helped many contemporary writers whose works have appeared in English translation hone their style. Many of them acknowledged her huge contribution, sharing their grief and gratitude along with literary critics, publishers and her students (both at university and participants of the many creative writing workshops she led over the years) in an unprecedented outpouring of grief. All have benefited from her guidance and comments, sometimes harsh but always constructive, and her unwavering support and endless capacity for friendship. Drahá Marta, budeš nám všetkým nesmierne chýbať!
— Julia Sherwood, translator
Most of us have known literature only with Marta. She was our shield, protection and certainty, a dynamo tirelessly setting things in motion. We don’t know how we will go on without her. I feel like I have to learn to walk anew, speak anew and think anew. She was a bit of a mother and a bit of a sister – a bit of a teacher and a bit of a colleague. All this in one indivisible unity. This is a scar that will leave a permanent trace.
— Ján Gavura, colleague and co-founder of the publishing house FACE
Are you there, Marta?
Last time I phoned you to discuss the selection of participants for [the young writers’ summer school] the connection was lost in the middle of our conversation. I kept speaking into a void for a while until I realised that you’re no longer at the other end. Now I’m speaking into the void precisely because you are at the other end.
…
Marta’s passing is a painful loss not just for her loved ones but for the entire Slovak literary community. That this is not a mere cliché is evidenced by the first reactions to the news which I still find impossible to accept. In addition to being an extraordinary literary critic, Marta was an institution in Slovak literature in the best sense of the word. Versatility is almost inevitable in the arts but Marta seemed to push the boundaries of what was possible. Other than write literature of her own, she pursued almost every conceivable literary activity with a passion with which even those of us one or more generations her junior could not compete.
I don’t know anyone else who has helped form Slovak literature across generations the way she did: from Nicol Hochholczerová through Maroš Krajňak to Karol Horák. Her contribution to Slovak literature cannot be overestimated. So it won’t be an exaggeration to say that without her, Slovak literary works of the past decade would not be the ones we read following Marta’s countless manuscript edits, her feedback at literary competitions and creative writing workshops for emerging authors.
