Jan Zahradníček was a Czech poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 of the early and mid-20th century. Because of his writings and Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 orientation he was imprisoned as an enemy of Communists after their coup in 1948.

From 1919 to 1926 he studied at Classical Grammar School in Třebíč. He then studied literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

 and comparative literature

Comparative literature

Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...

 at Prague University (among his professors were František Xaver Šalda and Václav Tille). In 1936 he moved to Uhřínov to become a free poet and translator. From 1940 until 1948 he was editor of Akord Revue in Brno

Brno

Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...

. He then became editor

Editing

Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...

 of Brněnské tiskarny (a publishing house) in 1945.

In June 1951 he was arrested by Communist secret state police (StB

STB

STB is an acronym that can mean:* Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus – Bachelor of Sacred Theology* Set-top box – a television device that converts signals to viewable images* Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP -- a law firm...

) and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. In 1960 he was granted amnesty due to his tragic health situation and died the same year. He had four children, two daughters died from mushroom poisoning

Mushroom poisoning

Mushroom poisoning refers to harmful effects from ingestion of toxic substances present in a mushroom. These symptoms can vary from slight gastrointestinal discomfort to death. The toxins present are secondary metabolites produced in specific biochemical pathways in the fungal cells...

 in the time of his imprisonment.

Published works

• 1930 − Pokušení smrti, poems, published
• 1933 − Jeřáby published
• 1935 − Žíznivé léto published
• 1937 − Pozdravení slunci published
• 1940 − Korouhve published
• 1947 − La Saletta published
• 1948 − book of poems Znamení moci − prohibited by Communists; translation of Dante Alighieri
  Dante Alighieri
  Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
  
  's Divina comedia can't be published under Zahradníček's name.

Verse books from prison Čtyři léta and Dům strach were published in exile

Exile

Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...

 (Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

) during the 1970s.