Books by Josef Hanzlik

Josef Hanzlik (1938-2012) was one of the leading middle-generation Czech poets. Born in Neratovice, he spent his childhood in Tabor and from 1946 lived in Nejdek near Karlovy Vary. In 1963 he studied psychology at the Faculty of Arts in Prague. He was the editor of the monthly Plamen from 1964 until its suspension in 1969 following the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Then he changed jobs, working in the film studio in Barrandov where he worked on a series of films for younger audiences. He published his first poems in 1959 in the magazine Kultura, later also writing poetry for children. He also published short stories, including a number with science fiction themes. From 1991 he devoted himself only to literature and translation. His poetry was published in English translation in Three Czech Poets: Vitezslav Nezval, Antonin Bartusek, Josef Hanzlik (Penguin, 1971) and in his own Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 1993).