Bob Hýsek

• Name — Bob Hýsek • Birth Name — Robert Hýsek • Born — 4 July 1974 • Birthplace — Uherské Hradiště, Czechoslovakia • Citizenship — Czech Republic • Education — Palacký University Olomouc • Occupation — Translator, Editor, Publisher • Organization — Cannabis Therapy Magazine

He grew up in Orlová, and studied English and Czech at the Palacký University Olomouc Faculty of Arts (1992–1999). He currently teaches slam poetry and literary translation from English to Czech at his alma mater. Previously, he also taught poetry translation, American Studies, and science fiction there. He has translated poetry and prose from English into Czech, notably Philip K. Dick, Jack Kerouac, Nick Cave, Allen Ginsberg, and especially Charles Bukowski. He is also the author of the study Karel Bukowski - stary chachar ostravski [Karel Bukowski – Notes on a Dirty Old Ostrava Man], in which he reveals the "true" identity of the American writer as the Ostrava-born emigrant Karel Bukowski. In 2012, he started as the proofreader of the bi-monthly Legalizace magazine, and from 2017 to 2022 he was its managing editor. He is the co-founder (2018, with publicist Lukáš Hurt and publisher Robert Veverka) and editor of the popular-professional magazine Konopí [Cannabis] and editor-in-chief of its English version, Cannabis Therapy Magazine. He writes for cannabis periodicals under the pseudonym Bohumil Sazinka.

At the start of his translation career, he worked for the publishing house Pragma (translations of Osho, Bukowski); since 2003 he has been working in cooperation with the Prague publishing house Argo, becoming one of its house translators. He has been systematically translating the poetry and prose of Charles Bukowski for many years. He has contributed significantly to Czech editions of the American science fiction author Philip K. Dick; in addition to translations, editing PKD's short story collections. He has translated two collections of stories by Ted Chiang, and his translation of Nicholson Baker's erotic novel House of Holes (Czech: Libidárium) attracted considerable attention. He works with several Czech publishers as a freelance translator and editor. In 2001, he placed second in the national Jiří Levý competition for young translators for his translation of a section of John Fante's Ask the Dust [Czech: Zeptej se prachu], which he later translated in its entirety. With Olomouc American Studies scholars Matthew Sweney and Pavel Gončarov, and German Studies scholar Ingeborg Fialová, he founded the non-profit Ateliér uměleckého překladu [Literary Translation Atelier] in 2018. He remains its director.

In tandem with Matthew Sweney, he organised the international Ostrovy bez hranic / Islands Without Borders festival in Olomouc from 2006 to 2019 (the first two years as Slova bez hranic / Words Without Borders). In 2006, in order to attain that goal, they founded the non-profit Detour Productions, a nod to the classic film noir Detour by Olomouc native Edgar G. Ulmer. Since 2015, the non-profit has been specialising in slam poetry events, under new management.

Hýsek is one of the leading Czech organisers, moderators, and popularisers of slam poetry. Since 2006, he has been organising the regional Olomouc slam poetry rounds, and since 2015 with Tomáš Kůs, the Czech Slam Poetry championship. He is the originator and organiser of slam championships in special formats: since 2014 he has been running the Duoslam national slam doubles championship, and since 2016 the Femislam female slam championship. He also popularises and organises translators' slams. He is the editor of the slam poetry text collection Deset deka slamu (Průřez olomouckou slam poetry) [Slam on Rye: Slices of Olomouc Slam Poetry] and is the author of the electronic publication Slam poetry. Manuál k výuce performativní soutěžní poezie [Slam Poetry. A Manual for Teaching Performative Competition Poetry]. He teaches Slam Poetry as an optional subject at Palacký University Olomouc and mentors young slammers at the Olomouc Slam Poetry Club. He also cooperates with Czech slammers such as Ondřej Hrabal, Anatol Svahilec, and Dr. Filipitch in organising slam exhibitions.

• Karel Bukowski – Notes on a Dirty Old Ostrava Man. (Lecture series with poems, not yet published in book form).

• Deset deka slamu (Průřez olomouckou slam poetry) [Slam on Rye: Slices of Olomouc Slam Poetry]. Selected and with an introduction by Robert Hýsek. Olomouc: UP Press, 2015. Available online. • Bludné kořeny / Wayward Roots. (Anthology of contemporary Slavonic poetry.) Selected and translated by Robert Hýsek, Matthew Sweney, et al.. Olomouc: UP Press, 2014. Available online. • Prchavé domovy: Mezi vyhnanstvím a vnitřním exilem. / Fleeting Homes: Between Banishment and Inner Exile. Selected and translated by Robert Hýsek & Matthew Sweney. Olomouc: UP Press, 2010. Available online. • Festivalový sborník / Festival Anthology: Ostrovy bez hranic/Islands Without Borders 2008. Selected and translated by Bob Hýsek and Matthew Sweney. Olomouc: Detour Productions, 2008. • Festivalový sborník / Festival Anthology: Slova bez hranic/Words Without Borders 2007. Selected and translated by Bob Hýsek and Matthew Sweney. Olomouc: Detour Productions, 2007.