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,
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 band
Psí 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 77 human 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 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 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.[1]
Novels
Sestra (Sister; Atlantis, 1994) / Received the 1995 Cena Egona Hostovského[2] (Egon Hostovský Prize), awarded for a "novel which artistically exceeds the standard production" / English translation
Alex Zucker: City Sister Silver (Catbird Press, 2000)[3] / Polish translation
Leszek Engelking: Siostra (Wydawnictwo W.A.B., 2002) / Also translated into German and Hungarian
Anděl (Angel; Hynek, 1995)[4] / 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)[5] / French translation Marianna Canavaggio: Missions nocturnes (Laffont, 2002) / Polish translation
Leszek Engelking: 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
Leszek Engelking: Strefa cyrkowa (Wydawnictwo W.A.B., 2008) / English translation
David Short: Gargling with Tar (Portobello Books, 2010)[6] / Also translated into Dutch, German, Italian, Norwegian.
Chladnou zemí (Through a chilly land; Torst, 2009) / Received the 2010 Cena Jaroslava Seiferta[7] / Swedish translation Tora Hedin: Kallt land (Ersatz, 2009)
ISBN978-91-88858-95-5 / Dutch translation Edgar de Bruin: De werkplaats van de duivel (Anthos, 2010) / Italian translation Letizia Kostner: L'officina del diavolo (Zandonai, 2012)
ISBN978-88-95538-83-9 / 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)