Jan Pelc (born 15 April 1957,

Podbořany Podbořany (; ) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,300 inhabitants. The town is known for producing hops. Administrative division Podbořany consists of 13 municipal parts (in brackets ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

. Between 1980 and 1989, he had been in emigration in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Since 1993, he has lived in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. His highlight is the

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

''...a bude hůř'' (first published in 1985 by Index in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, first published in the Czech Republic by Panorama in 1990).

Biography

After finishing school, where he was learning to become a locksmith, Pelc worked in a power plant. He was exposed to Czech

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * Buenos Aires Underground, a rapid transit system * London Underground, a rapid transit system * ...

when he was still a teenager, when he was attending concerts forbidden in

, such as

The Plastic People of the Universe The Plastic People of the Universe (PPU) is a Czech rock band from Prague. They are considered the foremost representatives of Prague's underground culture (1968–1989), which defied Czechoslovakia's Communist regime. Members of the band o ...

. During the 70s and 80s he was co-editing the Prague magazine "Vokno: časopis pro druhou i jinou kulturu". In 1981 he emigrated to the west, escaping from his trip to

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Between 1980 and 1989 he lived in

, editing emigration magazine "Svědectví". Currently he lives in

. Published in Cologne in 1985, his debut novel ''. ..a bude hůř'' caused a discussion among the Czech emigration society and Czech opposition - accusations were made about book's lack of patriotism and pornography. In 1985 Pelc came second in

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

's contest for the most popular Czech writer. In 2007, ''...a bude hůř'' was filmed. Director Petr Nikolaev decided that film should be black and white.

Work

* ''...a bude hůř'' (1990) * ''Bez ohňů je underground'' (1992) * ''Basket flora'' (1995) * ''...a máš mě rád?'' (1999) * ''...a to mi nemůžete udělat'' (2000) * ''...a výstupy do údolí'' (2000) * ''...a golpotoni táhnou'' (2002) * ''Šmírák'' (2002) * ''...a vyberte si'' (2004) * ''Basket flora I, – Šéf přichází'' (2004) * ''Basket flora II, – Démon zločinu kandiduje'' (2006) * ''...a poslední kouř'' (2006) * ''Kauiai'' (2009)

References

External links

…a výstupy do údolí
– review
Author's Home page
1957 births Living people People from Podbořany Czech male writers {{CzechRepublic-writer-stub