Even though the poet, novelist, playwright and essayist František Listopad left the communist Czechoslovakia for Portugal after 1948, he has never lost touch with his native land, as evident in his revisitations of literature (through his newly published poetry works, he joined the ranks of post-89 poetry) or theatre (he taught at the academy in Brno). Listopad can not only be regarded as a classic author of poetry (which he writes exclusively in Czech) but also a writer of children’s books in Portuguese and prose works. In spite of his age, he remains highly active and interested in the happenings in the Czech Republic, an outstanding personality of Czech (as well as) Portuguese culture of the last fifty years. The publishing of the second book coincides with the author’s 90th birthday, the first book can be found here.
"You are practically fed on Czech language and simply cannot lose the grasp of it. Czech verse is thus imbued with the milk and fragrance of Czech women. I’ve never stopped to speak or write in Czech. This language is deeply embedded in my past, interconnected with the land, its colours and smells, whereas the French is a sophisticated langugage suited for thinking and expressing complex things. Even though I’m at ease with writing fiction and essays in French and Portuguese, I’m not able to write the Czech verse in any other language than Czech. I know that I’ll die as a Czech poet,“ (magazine interview, abridged)
