Where is my home?

Poet, novelist and journalist, Svatava Antošová was born in Teplice in 1957, where she lives today. She started publishing in samizdat in the 70s, and was a member of the XXVI group. She has been published extensively in Czech journals and magazines and is active in both Prague and regional literary readings and activities. Her publications include both poetry and prose and include: Říkají mi poezie (1987), Ta ženská musí být opilá (1990), Tórana (1994), ...aniž ťala hlavou (1994), Kalendář šestého smyslu (1996) Dáma a švihadlo, 2004, Nordickou blondýnu jsem nikdy nelízala, 2005, Ještě mě nezabíjej!, 2005.

Born in Spain in 1969. Studied Physics at university and came to Prague in 1996 to pursue doctoral studies in the Czech Academy of Sciences. She combines her academic work with her literary activities - writing, translating, working to support Spanish literature projects on the internet and organising Spanish literary evenings.

She has published short stories as well as poetry and has won awards for both. She has two collections of poems A través de los senderos infinitos and Desconcierto para peregrinos and has had her work published widely in Spanish literary magazines. She writes a column Walks in Prague for the Spanish virtual magazine Luke (www.espacioluke.com).

She has also translated contemporary Czech authors into Spanish; Václav Hrabě's poetry collection Blues and Alexandra Berková's novel Temná láska.

She is one of the organisers of the Spanish literary evenings Luces de Bohemia, which are supported by the Instituto Cervantes and the Spanish Embassy.

The writer and musician Vojtěch Fabián was born in 1949 in Vlčany near Nové Zámky, the oldest son of the writer and poet Tera Fabiánová. Now he lives in Prague with his family, plays a number of musical instruments and performs with the group Trival. Her writes his poetry in both Romani and Czech, many of them originating as song lyrics. His poetry appeared in the collection of Romani poetry Romské písně / Romane giľa (1979). He is an artist as well as a writer an musician. In his language one can detect elements of „Hungarian“ Romany vernacular, a trait inherited from his mother.

Viola Fischerová was born in 1935 in Brno. She studied Polish and Czech in Brno and at the Charles University, Prague and later worked for Czech radio. In September 1968 she left for Switzerland, where she held various jobs and studied German and history at Basle University. She moved to Germany following the death of her first husband, Pavel Buksa, who was known as a Czech writer under his pseudonym Karel Michal. From 1985 she lived in Germany and in 1994 settled in Prague. Although she began writing in the 1950s, her poetry had to wait until the Velvet revolution to be published. She is the author of collections Záduaní básne za Pavla Buksu (Requiem poems for Pavel Buksa), 1993, Babí hodina (Hag's Hour), 1994, and Jak pápioí (As Feather down), 1995.

Jarlath Henderson, from Dungannon, County Tyrone, has been playing the Uilleann pipes since he was 10 years old. A talented and versatile musician, Jarlath also plays whistle, classical and traditional flute and guitar and has a keen interest in traditional song. He is a three times 'All-Ireland Champion' Uilleann Piper, teaches music with the renowned Armagh Pipers Club and has both taught and performed at a number of international piping festivals on television.

The poet and columnist Petr Hruška was born in Ostrava on 7 June 1964. He took a degree in Czech language, literature and literary studies at Ostrava. He works in the Institute of Czech Literature of the Academy of Sciences, in Brno, and also teaches literature at Masaryk University, in Brno. He is on the editorial board of Host, a literature monthly, and lives in Ostrava. His works include, Obývací nepokoje, 1995, Měsíce, 1998, Vždycky se ty dveře zavíraly, 2002, and Zelený svetr, 2004.

Orsolya Karafiáth is an established voice in the newest generation of Hungarian poets. Her poetry has appeared in numerous publications in Hungary, from literary journals to newspapers; in her own collection, The Secret Song of Lotte Lenya; in translation in The Hungarian Quarterly, and upcoming in Modern Poetry in Translation. The translations here, along with the originals in Hungarian, are upcoming in August 2003 in Stigma: Poems by Heather Hermant, written for The Shamans theatre production of the same title (Terasz.hu Kft, bilingual edition). Karafiáth translated the collection. Karafiáth's arts journalism appears online, in print and she is often seen on television. She lives in Budapest, where she sometimes performs with her noise band, Elektrik BUGI Kommando.

Jane Kirwan was born in England of Irish parents but now lives in Prague. Themes of exile, barriers, boundaries permeate her writing. She has written short stories and two novels as well as poetry. Her second poetry collection, The Man Who Sold Mirrors, explores amongst other things, her relationship with a Czech ex-political prisoner. As the back cover says, it follows a narrative that begins with desire, ends with displacement.

R.V Bailey said of the first collection, Stealing the Eiffel Tower, "she is a fine, exciting, feet-off-the-ground poet. The poet George Szirtes calls The Man who Sold Mirrors a "“mixture of romantic sensuality and intellect."

Poet, fiction writer, essayist and translator, Petr Král was born in Prague on 4 September 1941. He took a degree in dramaturgy from the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU), Prague, and later became an editor at Orbis publishers, in charge of the Film and Filmmakers series. In the wake of the Soviet-led intervention of August 1968 he left for France, where he found employment in a gallery and a photo-laboratory; later, he was an editor in the Gallimard publishing house. He has also worked as an interpreter, translator, screenwriter and reviewer. In 1984 he lived in Québec, Canada. In 1990–91 he was the Czechoslovak cultural attaché in France. Since 2006 he has been living in Prague. He translates into French, mainly modern Czech verse, and has edited a number of poetry anthologies.

Born in Duchcov in 1973, poet, prose writer, artist, film-maker, organiser of cultural happenings. He lives in Teplice and his works include: Čítanka český Jazyk, 1998 Měsíční povídky / Opárno, 2003, Větrné mlýny, 2005 Napsáno v trenýrkách, 2006.

Gearóid Mac Lochlainn , a Belfast-based poet and musician, is the author of Babylon Gaeilgeoir (An Clochán 1997), Na Scéalaithe (Coiscéim 1999) and the bi-lingual Sruth Teangacha/Stream Of Tongues, translated by various fellow poets such as Ciaran Carson, Medbh Mc Guckian, Gabriel Rosenstock, Frank Sewell, and Pearse Hutchinson. Thrice the recipient of Arts Council NI bursaries for poetry and numerous poetry prizes, he has gained a reputation for his bi-lingual readings/performances which are passionate verbal flights, a fiery, bold and challenging mixture of music, poetry and drama. He currently works with the Irish language unit of the BBC in Belfast and has produced and presented radio programmes on Irish language and literature.

Born 1940, Romania. Poet, editor, philosopher. A prolific and highly-regarded poet, Malancioiu has published nine volumes of verse since her first collection was released in 1961. Politically active and outspoken, Malancioiu has received numerous awards for her work, including the Poetry Prize of the Romanian Writers Union. She edits the monthly literary journal Viata Romaneasca.

Tomás Míka was born in 1959 in Prague, Czech Republic. He studied English and Czech at Charles University, Prague and later worked as a teacher and translator from English. For many years he played the saxophone (and occassionally wrote lyrics) for a number of rather obscure Czech bands. Currently he works as a freelance translator. Among the writers he translated into Czech are the 17th century classic John Bunyan (The Pilgrim’s Progress, Grace Abounding), James Hogg (Confessions of the Justified Sinner), Samuel Beckett (Watt). For some of his translations he received literary awards.

His original work includes a book of poetry "Nuceny vysek" (Destruction of Animals), 2003 in Prague. His book of short stories Und was published in September 2005 (Argo Publishers). In 2004, Tomas Mika was the winner of the Prague round of the national Slam Poetry competition.

Dr. Vladimir Olah was born in Stropkov, eastern Slovakia, on May 22, 1947. He spent time in his childhood living in a Romani settlement. He has always enjoyed prose and poetry and has taken part in various recital competitions. He attended the miner's secondary school in Banska Stiavnica, taking his graduation exams at the military secondary school in the end. During his service as a professional soldier, he completed correspondence courses at the P.J. Safarik University, Faculty of Philosophy in the adult education department. He left the army for health reasons.

Dr. Olah and his family are currently living in Prague, where, in addition to his participation in various socio-cultural activities (the Helsinki Committee, Tolerance Foundation, the Ecumenical Concil of Churches Commission for the Evangelism and Pastoration of Roma), he founded "Matice romska" (Romani Mother - a Christian and educational association, of which he is chairman). He is also co-author of a translation of Bible extracts published as the book "O Del vakerel ke peskere chhave" (God Speaks to his Children). He is studying theology as an external student. He is a philosopher, a pedogogue, and a strong believer in the Christian faith.

Amir Or (Tel Aviv 1956) is a poet, translator, teacher, and editor. Or has published seven books of poetry, and his poems have also been published in translation, in the books Poetry Is a Criminal Girl (Arabic, Faradis Publishers, Paris 1995), Miracle (English\Hebrew, Poetry Ireland, Dublin 1998), Drowning, He Breathes Living Water (Macedonian, Peliades series of the SPE poetry festival, 2000), Language Says (English, PM Publications, Chattanooga, 2001), and Poem (English, Dedalus Publishing House, Dublin 2004). His poems have also been published in various anthologies and poetry magazines in more than 25 languages.

He has initiated and developed Helicon Poetry School and is editor of its journal, its series of poetry books, and "the Sha'ar Festival" for new Hebrew and Arabic poetry. Or is also local coordinator for "Poets for Peace" (the UN sponsored UPC venture).

Born in Chile in 1965, Jorge has been resident in Prague since 1988. He has been published in numerous Spanish language journals such as Artes y Letras v El Mercurio, La Nueva Republica in Chile, Archipielago in Mexico and also in Czech journals. He established the well-known bar and gallery La Casa Blu in 1996, which he still runs. His first book, Moving House and Other Movements, was published by Mladá fronta last year, and his second book, La Casa Blu, stories from the South American underworld, is to be published at the end of October.

Tímea Pénzes (1976) is a Hungarian author who studied at univeristy in Budapest and now lives in Prague. Her own work and her translations have been published in Bratislava and Budapest. She has been awarded bursaries in Hungary, Germany and Poland and has published four books (a collection of poems, short stories, a novel and a travel book. She translates from Czech and Slovak into Hungarian and also translates contemporary German fiction into Hungarian. She is currently working on her fifth book.

One of the most interesting of the younger generation of Romanian poets, Denisa Mirena Pişcu was born August 1980 and graduated from Bucharest University's Department of Romanian and English. She has worked as an editor, translator and journalist and has received numerous awards for her work and been included in a number of anthologies. Her first volume of poems was "Fluffy and Mechanical", Vinea Publishing House, Bucharest, 2003. She was a member in the organizing team of the "Poetry Library", an underground literary event organized at the Faculty of Letters, University of Bucharest.

Justin Quinn was born in Dublin in 1968. He has published two collections with Carcanet, The 'O'o'a'a' Bird (shortlisted for the Forward Prize 1995) and Privacy (1999). UCD Press published his Gathered Beneath The Storm: Wallace Stevens, Nature and Community in 2002. He is a founder editor of Metre, lecturer at the Charles University, Prague, and a translator of Czech poetry. He is married to Tereza Límanová and they have two sons, Finbar and Manus.

Igor Smirnov (1944), lives in Moscow. He graduated from the Arts College and since 1970 has worked as a designer, illustrator and cartoonist. He participates in national and international humour contests and has won awards at more than 40 international festivals.

Robert Şerban was born in Turnu Severin in 1970. He is writer, journalist, producer and presenter of the "Fifth Wheel" television programme and publishing director at Brumar Publishing House. He made his debut in 1994 with the collection of poetry Of course, I'm Overreacting (Romanian Writers' Union Prize for Debut). His other works include Odyssex (poems, 1996),On the Trail of the Great River/ Auf den Spuren des grossen Stroms (co-author, poetry and prose, 2002),The Pink Book of Communism (co-author, memoires, 2004), The Fifth Wheel (interviews, 2004) He has published poetry and articles in most of the cultural magazines in Romania.

One of the most outstanding of the younger generation of poets, Marie Šťastná was born in Valašské Meziříčí in 1981. She studied the history of art and culture at Ostrava University and has published two volumes of poetry: Jarním pokrytcům (1999) and Krajina s Ofélií (2003) for the latter of which she was awarded the prestigious Jiri Orten prize in 2004. Her third collection, Akt, is forthcoming in 2006.

Jan Štolba was born in Prague in 1957. At the beginning of his career, he played 1920's and 1930's jazz in Prague swing bands OPSO and Jazzphonic quintet. Later on, he also appeared on the Czech alternative rock scene of 1970´ and 1980's; he played with the drummer Alan Vitouš; he was a member of the art-rock "big band" Krasné nové stroje, or an avantgard–folk–rock group Mozart K. With various groups, he took part in jazz festivals throughout Europe and the U.S.A. He played on 15 albums; his last CD, entitled "Time after Time", was recorded in 2002 by his own jazz quartet. At present, he composes his own material. Besides his music activities, he is also interested in literature – he has published several books of fiction and poetry, and he often contributes with his criticism for literary journals.

A Russian poet, born in 1946 and living in Brno, is very active in regional cultural activities. Her collection Zrcadleni was published in 2003 with a translation by Taťána Kuxová.

(Germany), born 1979 in Berlin, where she still lives today. She studied German Literature, English, and Cultural Studies in Berlin and Krakow. In 2003, she was awarded the Wiener Werkstattpreis. Her first volume of poetry was published by kookbooks in 2005. In 2006, she was awarded the Peter-Huchel-Preis and the Dresdner Lyrikpreis.