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Miroslav Holub | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1923-09-13)13 September 1923 |
| Died | 14 July 1998(1998-07-14) (aged 74) |
| Occupation | poet, immunologist |
| Language | Czech |
| Nationality | Czech |
| Alma mater | Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences |
| Years active | 1958–96 |
Miroslav Holub (pronounced[mɪrɔslafɦɔlʊp]; 13 September 1923 – 14 July 1998) was aCzechpoet andimmunologist.[1]
Holub's work was heavily influenced by his experiences as an immunologist, writing many poems using his scientific knowledge to poetic effect. His work is almost alwaysunrhymed, so lends itself easily totranslation. It has been translated into more than 30 languages and is especially popular in theEnglish-speaking world. Although one of the most internationally well-known Czech poets, his reputation continues to languish at home.
Holub was born inPlzeň. His first book in Czech wasDenní služba (1958), which abandoned the somewhat Stalinist bent of poems earlier in the decade (published in magazines).
In English, he was first published in theObserver in 1962, and five years later aSelected Poems appeared in the Penguin Modern European Poets imprint, with an introduction byAl Alvarez and translations byIan Milner and George Theiner. Holub's work was lauded by many, includingTed Hughes andSeamus Heaney (eg there are five poems by Holub in their 1982 anthologyThe Rattle Bag),[2] and his influence is visible in Hughes' collectionCrow (1970).
In addition to poetry, Holub wrote many short essays on various aspects of science, particularly biology and medicine (specifically immunology) and life. A collection of these, titledThe Dimension of the Present Moment, is still in print. In the 1960s, he published two books of what he called 'semi-reportage' about extended visits to the United States.
Under the fictitious name "Jaromil," Holub figures prominently in Patricia Hampl's memoir of her Czech heritage,A Romantic Education, first published in 1981 and reissued in 1999 with an Afterword revealing his real name.
Theminor planet7496 Miroslavholub, anouter main belt asteroid, is named in his honour.
