Zdeněk Rotrekl
Zdeněk Rotrekl (1 October 1920 – 9 June 2013) was a
Rotrekl was born in 1920 in Brno, Czechoslovakia.[1] He published his first full volume of poetry when he was just 20 years old.[1] He enrolled at Faculty of Arts in Brno in the aftermath of World War II, where he pursued studies in Sanskrit, history, and art history.[1] However, he was expelled from the university following the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état for supporting democracy.[1] Prior to 1948, Rotrekl had published three books of poetry.[1]
Following his expulsion from his university, Rotreki was sentenced to death in a 1949 show trial.[1] His sentence was later commuted to life in prison, ultimately spending thirteen years imprisoned by Czechoslovakia's Communist authorities.[1]
Rotreki worked in blue collar positions after his release. The government banned him from publishing his work for more than 40 years, from 1948 to 1989.[1] He was only able to release his writings through the samizdat, or dissident, networks.[1]
He completed his undergraduate degree during the late 1960s, and was hired as a journalist for Obroda (Renewal) magazine.[1] Rotreki was removed from his positions following the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia which crushed the Prague Spring.[1] He was essentially blacklisted by the Communist government throughout the 1970s and 1980s.[1]
He also received the Jaroslav Seifert Prize, a Czech literary award, in 2001.[2]Zdeněk Rotrekl died in Brno, Czech Republic, on 9 June 2013, at the age of 92.[1] His funeral was held at St Thomas Church in Brno on 15 June 2013.[1]
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