Zdeněk Rotrekl

The Prague Daily Monitor has called him "one of the most distinguished personalities of the Catholic stream in Czech poetry of the latter half of the 20th century."

Zdeněk Rotrekl studied at Masaryk University and Masaryk University Faculty of Arts. The recorded working language is Czech. Places of work recorded in the authority are Brno. Residence is recorded at Jana Uhra. Distinctions recorded are Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, class III, South Moravian Region Award, Jaroslav Seifert Prize and Karel Havlíček Borovský Award.

Rotrekl was born in 1920 in Brno, Czechoslovakia. He published his first full volume of poetry when he was just 20 years old. 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. However, he was expelled from the university following the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état for supporting democracy. Prior to 1948, Rotrekl had published three books of poetry. Following his expulsion from his university, Rotrekl was sentenced to death in a 1949 show trial. His sentence was later commuted to life in prison, ultimately spending thirteen years imprisoned by Czechoslovakia's Communist authorities. Rotrekl 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. He was only able to release his writings through the samizdat, or dissident, networks. He completed his undergraduate degree during the late 1960s, and was hired as a journalist for Obroda (Renewal) magazine. Rotrekl was removed from his positions following the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia which crushed the Prague Spring. He was essentially blacklisted by the Communist government throughout the 1970s and 1980s. President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in 1995. He also received the Jaroslav Seifert Prize, a Czech literary award, in 2001. Zdeněk Rotrekl died in Brno, Czech Republic on 9 June 2013, at the age of 92. His funeral was held at St Thomas Church in Brno on 15 June 2013.

Zdeněk Rotrekl is recorded as having received Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, class III, South Moravian Region Award and Jaroslav Seifert Prize. Recognition and collections. Rotrekl received Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, class III, South Moravian Region Award, Jaroslav Seifert Prize, Karel Havlíček Borovský Award, City of Brno Award and honorary citizen of Brno.