Poetry

Pavel Zajíček wrote Kniha moří (The Book of Seas) in 1980 after he had been forced into a Swedish exile. Excerpts from this work were sporadically published in samizdat though the book has never appeared as a whole and remained a manuscript for thirty years. In spite of the fact that the title has been numerously quoted, especially in connection with the Czech underground of the Seventies and Eighties, readers haven’t yet been able to familiarize themselves with the book. The writing in Kniha moří can be classified as poetry even though it follows in mostly longer, prosaic vein and as such is similar to diary entries. An honest autobiographical account consisting of observations, emotions and feelings spawned by fortuitous life changes. Reflections of experienced and observed situations merge here with impressions that made their mark on the author. Kniha moří is published as a limited bibliophile edition and also encompasses original graphic design by David Němec and a CD by Zajíček’s band DG 307 which includes musicalized versions of Kniha moří.