Michal Ajvaz

Michal Ajvaz (born 30 October 1949 in Prague) is a Czech novelist, poet and translator, an exponent of the literary style known as magic realism.

Michal Ajvaz, 2015

Biography

Born into a family of Russian exiles, Ajvaz studied Czech studies and aesthetics at Charles University in Prague. He currently works as a researcher at Prague's Centre for Theoretical Study and, in addition to fiction, has published an essay on Derrida and a book-length meditation on Borges. His novel Prázdné ulice was awarded the Jaroslav Seifert Prize for literary achievement (2005), the most prestigious literary award in the Czech Republic.

Bibliography

This incomplete list gives the titles of Ajvaz's works.

• 1989 – Vražda v hotelu Intercontinental (Murder in the Intercontinental Hotel)
• 1991 – Návrat starého varana (Return of the Old Komodo Dragon)
• 1993 – Druhé město (The Other City)
• 1994 – Znak a bytí
• 1997 – Tyrkysový orel (Turquoise Eagle)
• 1997 – Tajemství knihy
• 2001 – Zlatý věk (Golden Age)
• 2003 – Světelný prales
• 2003 – Sny gramatik, záře písmen. Setkání s Jorgem Luisem Borgesem
• 2004 – Prázdné ulice (Empty Streets)
• 2006 – Příběh znaků a prázdna
• 2006 – Padesát pět měst (55 Cities)
• 2007 – L´autre île (French translation of Zlatý věk)
• 2008 – Cesta na jih (Voyage to the South)
• 2009 – The Other City (English translation)
• 2010 – The Golden Age (English translation)
• 2011 – Lucemburská zahrada (The Garden of Luxembourg)

See also

• List of Czech writers

External links

• Jonathan Bolton's essay on "Reading Michal Ajvaz" in CONTEXT.
• Translation of prose piece from Padesát pět měst (in The Cafe Irreal)
• Author profile in English on czechlit.cz
• Michal Ajvaz: An annotated bibliography (of sorts, and with a brief commentary)