Jáchym Topol (born 4 August 1962) is a Czech poet, novelist, musician and journalist who became a laureate of the Czech State Award for Literature in October 2017 for his novel ''Sensitive Man''.

Life

Jáchym Topol was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, to

Josef Topol Josef Topol (1 April 1935 – 15 June 2015) was a Czech playwright. In 1965, he co-founded ''Divadlo za branou'', a theatre in Prague which was closed in 1972 after being banned by Czechoslovak government. In 1977 he signed Charter 77. He was m ...

, Czech playwright, poet, and translator of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and Jiřina Topolová, daughter of the famous Czech Catholic writer Karel Schulz. Topol's writing began with lyrics for the rock band Psí vojáci, led by his younger brother,

Filip Filip () is a masculine given name and a surname, cognate to Philip. In Croatia, the name Filip was among the most common masculine given names in the 2000s. Notable people with the name include: ; Given name * Filip Barović (born 1990), Montene ...

, in the late '70s and early '80s. In 1982, he cofounded the

samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...

magazine ''Violit'', and in 1985 ''

Revolver Revue ''Revolver Revue'' is a Czech Republic, Czech quarterly literary magazine published in Prague, Czech Republic. The magazine was an underground periodical and issued legally after the Velvet Revolution. History and profile ''Revolver Revue'' was e ...

'', a samizdat review that specialized in modern Czech writing. Because of his father's dissident activities, Topol was not allowed to go to university. After graduating from gymnasium he worked as a stoker, stocker, construction worker, and coal deliveryman. Several times he was imprisoned for short periods, both for his samizdat publishing activities and for his smuggling across the Polish border in cooperation with members of Polish

Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti ...

. He was also a signatory of the Charter 77 human rights declaration. During the 1989

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, Topol wrote for the independent newsletter ''Informační servis'', which later became the investigative weekly ''

Respekt ''Respekt'' is a Czech weekly newsmagazine published in Prague, the Czech Republic, reporting on domestic and foreign political and economic issues, as well as on science and culture. History and profile ''Respekt'' was founded very s ...

''. As of October 2009, he was on the staff of the daily ''Lidové noviny''. He lives in Prague with his wife, Barbara, and their two daughters, Josefína and Marie.

Works

Poetry

* ''Miluju tě k zbláznění'' (I love you madly; samizdat, 1988)
/ Topol's first collection of poetry, published in samizdat, received the Tom Stoppard Prize for Unofficial Literature (founded in 1983 by

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and polit ...

and awarded by the Charta 77 Foundation in Stockholm); first non-samizdat edition published by Atlantis in 1990. * ''V úterý bude válka'' (The war will be on Tuesday; Edice 13x18, 1992)
/ Five poems from this collection were published in Alex Zucker's translation in the Spring 1994 issue of ''Trafika: an international literary review''.

Novels

* ''Sestra'' (Sister; Atlantis, 1994)
/ Received the 1995 Cena Egona Hostovského (Egon Hostovský Prize), awarded for a "novel which artistically exceeds the standard production"
/ English translation Alex Zucker: '' City Sister Silver'' (Catbird Press, 2000)
/ Polish translation

Leszek Engelking Leszek Engelking (2 February 1955 – 22 October 2022) was a Polish poet, short story writer, novelist, translator, literary critic, essayist, Polish philologist, and literary academic, scholar, and lecturer. Engelking translated a vast amount ...

: ''Siostra'' (Wydawnictwo W.A.B., 2002)
/ Also translated into German and Hungarian * ''Anděl'' (Angel; Hynek, 1995)
/ German translation Peter Sacher: ''Engel Exit'' (Volk und Welt, 1997)
/ French translation Marianna Canavaggio: ''Ange exit'' (J'ai lu, 2002)
/ Turkish translation Martin Alaçam: ''Andel'' (Norgunk, 2005)
/ Also translated into Hungarian * ''Noční práce'' (Nightwork; Hynek, 2001)
/ French translation Marianna Canavaggio: ''Missions nocturnes'' (Laffont, 2002)
/ Polish translation

: ''Nocna praca'' (Wydawnictwo W.A.B., 2004)
/ English translation Marek Tomin: ''Nightwork'' (Portobello Books, 2014)
/ Also translated into Croatian, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish * ''Kloktat dehet'' (Gargling tar; Torst, 2005)
/ French translation Marianna Canavaggio: ''Zone cirque'' (Editions Noir Sur Blanc, 2009)
/ Polish translation

: ''Strefa cyrkowa'' (Wydawnictwo W.A.B., 2008)
/ English translation David Short: ''Gargling with Tar'' (Portobello Books, 2010)
/ Also translated into Dutch, German, Italian, Norwegian. * ''Chladnou zemí'' (Through a chilly land; Torst, 2009)
/ Received the 2010 Cena Jaroslava Seiferta
/ Swedish translation Tora Hedin: ''Kallt land'' (Ersatz, 2009)
/ Dutch translation Edgar de Bruin: ''De werkplaats van de duivel'' (Anthos, 2010)
/ Italian translation Letizia Kostner: ''L'officina del diavolo'' (Zandonai, 2012)
/ English translation Alex Zucker: ''The Devil's Workshop'' (Portobello Books, 2013) * ''Citlivý člověk'' (Sensitive Man; Torst, 2017)

Novellas

* ''Výlet k nádražní hale'' (Outing to the train station concourse; Edice Slza, 1994, limited edition of 350)
/ English translation Alex Zucker: ''A Trip to the Train Station'' (Petrov, 1995; Albatros Plus, 2011; Czech-English bilingual edition)

Short Stories and Plays

* ''Zlatá hlava'' (Golden head; Torst, 2005) * ''Supermarket sovětských hrdinů'' (Supermarket of Soviet heroes; Torst, 2007) *
Trochu Medu
' (
A Little Honey
'), full text
The Short Story Project

Literary Reports

*
Zabitý idol Václav Švéda
' (The murdered idol Václav Švéda; Respekt Special IV/2015)
/ English translation Anthony Bartos:

'

2023)

Translations

* ''Trnová dívka'' (Thorn girl; Hynek, 1997)
/ A collection of Native American legends and myths, selected and translated into Czech from English by Topol

Song Lyrics

* Psí vojáci: ''Sestra: Jáchym Topol & Psí Vojáci'' (1994) * Monika Načeva: ''Možnosti tu sou'' (There are possibilities here; 1994) * Monika Načeva: ''Nebe je rudý'' (The sky is red; 1996) * Monika Načeva: ''Mimoid'' (Weirdo; 1998)

Films

* '' Anděl Exit'' (Angel Exit; 2000), directed by

Vladimír Michálek Vladimír Michálek (born 2 November 1956 in Mladá Boleslav) is a Czech film director and screenwriter. Life Michálek graduated from Czech film Academy ''FAMU'', Prague, in 1992. Starting during his academic study he was filming documentaries ...

; screenplay by Vladimír Michálek and Jáchym Topol. * ''Sestra'' (Sister; 2008), directed by Vít Pancíř; screenplay by Vít Pancíř based on the novel by Jáchym Topol; music by Psí vojáci.

Other

* ''Nemůžu se zastavit'' (I can't stand still; Portál, 2000)
/ A book-length interview with Topol by Tomáš Weiss

Awards and honours

*1995 – Egon Hostovský Prize for ''City Sister Silver'' *2010 – Jaroslav Seifert Prize for ''The Devil's Workshop'' *2015 – Vilenica Prize *2017 – Czech State Award for Literature for ''Sensitive Man'' and for lifetime achievement

References

External links

*
Jáchym Topol in ''Transcript: The European Internet Review of Books and Writing'', no. 6: Czech Writing.

Posted 28 July 2005. An interview with Jáchym Topol in five parts.
Jáchym Topol in ''Transcript: The European Internet Review of Books and Writing'', no. 22: Identity Revolutions.

Lyndsey Matthews: ''Journalism or Surrealism?''
Posted 16 October 2007. Jáchym Topol visits a journalism class.
Blog for ''City Sister Silver''
with links to reviews.
Jáchym Topol at Czechoslovak book network Baila.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Topol, Jachym 1962 births Czech novelists Czech male novelists Czech poets Czech male poets Czech journalists Writers from Prague Journalists from Prague Czech monarchists Living people