The Modern Novel

Biography

Jiří Gruša was born in 1938 in Pardubice. His father was a technical official who was forced to w0rk a mine after the war as part of the recruitment of working intelligentsia.. Jiří Gruša moved to Prague where he studied at Charles University.
He first studied Czech language and history , and after a year he transferred to the Faculty of Arts to study philosophy and history. He worked as an editor on various literary magazines. He regularly sent his poetry to the editorial offices of Prague newspapers, where they were always met with a negative response from the editors due to their intellectual content and failure to meet the necessary ideological requirements. He graduated from university in 1962. when his poetry collection Torna was published . In the same year, Gruša married Anna Goldstückerová. He continued to write poetry and articles but soon got into trouble with the authorities.

He moved to his parents in law’s and made a sort of a living translating and writing reviews under a pseudonym. He did get a job as a proofreader and then worked for the magazine Zítřek. He worked at various jobs but once again got into trouble with the authorities particularly after the 1968 Soviet invasion.

After publication of his novel Dotazník (Questionnaire) he was sent to prison but released after international pressure.

He received a literary scholarship in the US and was allowed to leave the country. He planned to return to Cçzechoslovakia but was warned against it and went to Germany where he obtained German citizenship and lived for some time. His Czech citizenship was removed. Ater the fall of communism, he returned to Czechoslovakia and became a diplomat, including ambassador in Germany. He died in 2011.

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Jiří Gruša

Interview
Obituary