Irena Dousková
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Irena Dousková (18 August 1964) is a contemporary
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 ...
author, who writes primarily
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 ...
s, but also short stories and
poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
.


Life

Irena Dousková was born Irena Freistadtová in
Příbram Příbram (; or ''Przibram'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It is known for its mining history, and more recently, its new venture into economic restructuring. The town is the t ...
in 1964. She grew up around the acting scene. Both her mom and stepfather were actors in the Příbram
Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
. Her father, Petr Freistadt, was a theater director, who emigrated to Israel in 1964. She changed her last name from her father's name to her mother's
maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" ...
, Dousková. In 1976, Dousková's family moved to Prague. After graduating high school, she worked as a librarian and secretary, before being accepted to the faculty of Law at
Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...
. She completed her degree in 1989, but never worked in law. Instead, she worked as a playwright, and then as a journalist for several newspapers, before becoming a full-time author. Dousková first emerged on the Czech literary scene through her poetry. She was a member of the group LiDi, and presented poetry through them starting in 1988. She also published in several magazines and newspapers. Only later did the focus of her work turn to prose.


Works

In 1992, Dousková published a collection of poems, ''Pražský zázrak'' (''Prague Miracle)''. In 1997, she published her first work of prose, ''Goldstein píše dceři (Goldstein Writes to His Daughter)'', followed by ''Hrdý Budžes'' in 1998. ''Hrdý Budžes'' is her most highly regarded work by literary critics, and also most popular among readers. It was also made into a play which became as popular as the original work. Dousková continues to write a new novel about once every three years, and has also published short stories and poems. Some hallmarks of Dousková's work include the use of irony and humor to address tragic themes. This allows her to describe dark periods in modern history, especially
communist Czechoslovakia The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá socialistická republika'', ČSSR) known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic (''Československá republika)'', Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, or simply Czech ...
and Jewish history, in ways that will attract readers. A trilogy of her works --- ''Hrdý Budžes, Oněgin byl Rusák (Onegin was a Russki'') and ''Darda''--- follows the story of a schoolgirl during the 1970s “
normalization Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...
” period in
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
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 ...
. Dousková was the same age as the protagonist during this time period, so she was able to use personal experience to add realism to the writing. Dousková is one of the most successful modern Czech authors abroad, having been translated into at least thirteen different languages. ''Hrdý Budžes'' was translated into English by Melvyn Clarke in 2016 (with the title ''B. Proudew''), and Clarke continues to translate her works into English.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dousková, Irena 1964 births Living people People from Příbram Czech poets