Jáchym Topol (born 4 August 1962) 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 ...

poet, novelist, musician and journalist who became a laureate of the Czech State Award for Literature in October 2017 for his novel ''A Sensitive Person'' and his life work to date.

Life

Jáchym Topol was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, to Josef Topol,

playwright, poet, and translator of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...

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

samizdat Samizdat (, , ) 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 documents from reader to reader. The practice of manual rep ...

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 A construction worker is a person employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its infrastructure. Definitions By some definitions, construction workers may be engaged in manual labour as unskilled or semi-skilled workers ...

, and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

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 or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

. He was also a signatory of the

Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...

human rights declaration. During the 1989

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

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 ...

, Topol wrote for the independent newsletter ''Informační servis'', which later became the investigative weekly '' Respekt''. He has also worked for the daily Lidové noviny. He currently works as program director for the Václav Havel Library in Prague. Topol has two daughters, Josefína and Marie, with his first wife, and a son, Vojtěch Eliáš, with his second.

Works

Poetry

* ''Eskymáckej pes'' (Eskimo dog) (samizdat, 1982) * ''Stěhovavá tvář'' (Migratory face) (samizdat, 1983) * ''Noty pro podzimní bytost'' (Notes for an autumn creature) (samizdat, 1984) * ''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 politi ...

and awarded by the Charta 77 Foundation in Stockholm); first non-samizdat edition published by Atlantis in 1990. / translation Анжелина Пенчева (Anželina Penčeva): ''Обичам те до лудост'', Парадокс, Sofie (2020, Bulgarian) * ''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''. * ''Děsivý spřežení'' (Horrifying dog team) (Revolver Revue, 2016) – selection of poems from three samizdat collections plus the short story ''Venezuela''. * ''Udržuj svou ledničku plnou. Písňové texty a zhudebněné básně 1979-2021'' (Keep your refrigerator full: Song lyrics and poems set to music, 1979-2021) (Torst, 2021)

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 Maria 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 ...

: ''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'' (A Sensitive Person; Torst, 2017)
/ Received the State Prize for Literature in 2017 for this novel and his life work to date
/ Polish translation Dorota Dobrew: ''Wrażliwy człowiek'', wydawnictwo czarne, Sękowa (2019)
/ German translation Eva Profousová: ''Ein empfindsamer Mensch'', Suhrkamp (2019)
/ Italian translation Laura Angeloni: ''Una persona sensibile'', Keller editore, Rovereto (2020)
/ Dutch translation Edgar de Bruin: ''Een gevoelig iemand'', Uitgeverij Voetnoot, Antwerpen (2020, )
/ Macedonian translation Соња Стојменска-Елзесер (Sonja Stojmenska-Elzeser): ''Чувствителен човек'', Артконект,

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

(2020)
/ French translation Marianne Canavaggio: ''Une personne sensible'', Noir sur Blanc

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

(2021)
/ Serbian translation Uroš Nikolić: ''Osetljivi čovek'', Heliks, Beograd (2021)
/ Lithuanian translation Vaida Braškyté Němečková: ''Jautrus žmogus'', Aukso žuvys,

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

(2021)
/ Croatian translation Mirna Stehlíková Đurasek: ''Osjetljiv čovjek'', V.B.Z., Zagreb (2022) / Swedish translation Marie Wenger: ''En Känslig Själ'', Rámus förlag, Malmö (2022) / English translation Alex Zucker: ''A Sensitive Person'', Yale University Press (2022)

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

* ''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

Plays

* '' Cesta do Bugulmy'' (Road to Bugulma) (Svět a divadlo no. 4, 2006) ::Productions: :::staged reading: Divadlo v Dlouhé Praha, režie: Karel Král, premiéra 23. 1. 2007 :::production: Divadlo Na zábradlí Praha, režie: Jiří Pokorný, premiere 15 June 2007 ::German translation Eva Profousová: ''Die Reise nach Bugulma'', henschel SCHAUSPIEL (2006) ::Polish translation

: ''Droga do Bugulmy'', Dialog no. 11 (2005), wydawnictwo czarne (2006)

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; 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. * Citlivý člověk (A Sensitive Person, 2023), directed by Tomáš Klein

Other

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

Awards and honors

*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 ''A Sensitive Person'' and life work to date

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