Jáchym Topol is a Czech poet, novelist, musician and journalist who became a laureate of the State Prize for Literature in October 2017 for his novel Sensitive Man.
Life
Jáchym Topol was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, to Josef Topol, Czech playwright, poet, and translator of Shakespeare, and Jiřina Topolová, daughter of the famous Czech Catholic writer Karel Schulz. Topol's writing began with lyrics for the rock bandPsí vojáci, led by his younger brother, Filip, in the late '70s and early '80s. In 1982, he cofounded the samizdat magazine Violit, and in 1985 Revolver Revue, 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. He was also a signatory of the Charter 77human rights declaration. During the 1989 Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, Topol wrote for the independent newsletter Informační servis, which later became the investigative weekly Respekt. As of October 2009, he was on the staff of the daily Lidové noviny. He currently lives in Prague with his wife, Barbara, and their two daughters, Josefína and Marie.
/ Topol's first collection of poetry, published in samizdat, received the Tom Stoppard Prize for Unofficial Literature ; first non-samizdat edition published by Atlantis in 1990.
V úterý bude válka
/ 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
/ Received the 1995 Cena Egona Hostovského, awarded for a "novel which artistically exceeds the standard production" / English translation Alex Zucker: City Sister Silver / Polish translation Leszek Engelking: Siostra / Also translated into German and Hungarian
Anděl
/ German translation Peter Sacher: Engel Exit / French translation Marianna Canavaggio: Ange exit / Turkish translation Martin Alaçam: Andel / Also translated into Hungarian
Noční práce
/ French translation Marianna Canavaggio: Missions nocturnes / Polish translation Leszek Engelking: Nocna praca / English translation Marek Tomin: Nightwork / Also translated into Croatian, Dutch, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish
Kloktat dehet
/ French translation Marianna Canavaggio: Zone cirque / Polish translation Leszek Engelking: Strefa cyrkowa / English translation David Short: Gargling with Tar / Also translated into Dutch, German, Italian.
Chladnou zemí
/ Received the 2010 Cena Jaroslava Seiferta / Swedish translation Tora Hedin: Kallt land / Dutch translation Edgar de Bruin: De werkplaats van de duivel / Italian translation Letizia Kostner: L'officina del diavolo / English translation Alex Zucker: The Devil's Workshop
