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Ewald Murrer Czech Republic    PWF 1996

From 1985 to 1990, he worked as a gardener for the Czech President’s Office. In the early 1990s, he turned to literature, first working for the magazine Iniciály, later in the publishing house Mladá fronta, the private broadcasting station Rádio Echo, and national Czech Radio. In 1997, he became an editor-in-chief of Lidové noviny magazine, later he worked for Mladá fronta Dnes, and since 2000, he has worked for Quo magazine.

In the 1980s, Muer published in samizdat. His first widespread work was a book of poetry Holub na střeše (1980). However, his first printed work came ten years later – an almanac by four authors entitled Básně (together with B. Chlíbec, P. Kolmačka and M. Salava). His official debut, Mlha za zdí, a collection of his samizdat production, appeared in 1992. The collection consists primarily of short lyrical poems, unlike his second book of poetry Vyznamenání za prohranou válku (1992), which is composed of cycles of poetic prose.

His work includes a lyrical prose text Zápisník pana Pinkeho (1993), a book of poetry Situace (1995), and a short-story collection Sny na konci noci (1996). In 1995, Prague publishing house Twisted Spoon Press published a translation of his Zápisník pana Pinkeho, and in 1999, Sny na konci noci. Currently, Murrer’s poetry and prose can be found in magazines and anthologies around the world. Ewald Murrer’s most recent book, Nouzové zastavení času, appeared in 2007.

Ewald Murrer has always been inspired by folk poetry, fairy-tales, myths and legends. He “borrows” their symbolism and intertwines it with contemporary ideas, creating a fragile story not meant to tell its own tale, but to encourage the reader to perceive his own.