When Poetry Crosses Languages and Borders: A Czech and British Poetry Evening

Join us for an evening where poetry transcends languages and borders, featuring renowned poets Petr Hruška (Czech Republic), Christopher Reid, and Kathryn Gray (UK). This special event marks the London launch of I Caught Sight of My Face, Hruška’s latest poetry collection, illustrated by Jakub Špaňhel (transl. Joshua Mensch, Kulturalis 2024). Transforming the saga of Magellan’s voyage into an unsettling exploration of human nature, the book has been praised by Ilya Kaminsky for its lyrical precision and depth.

Christopher Reid, acclaimed poet and former poetry editor at Faber & Faber, and Kathryn Gray, a T.S. Eliot Prize nominee, will join Hruška in discussing poetry’s power to connect cultures. From Cold War influences to German-language poetics, they’ll explore how international voices shape their work.

Moderated by Jan Zikmund, this event promises insightful discussions, captivating readings, and a celebration of poetry’s boundless reach. Don’t miss this unique literary gathering!

Petr Hruška is a poet and literary historian whose work has earned numerous awards, including the Czech State Award for Literature (Darmata, 2012) and the Magnesia Litera Award (I Caught Sight of My Face, 2022). His poetry, often exploring history and human nature, has been translated into multiple languages. In 2023, his first volume of poems in English, Everything Indicates: Selected Poems(transl. Jonathan Bolton, Blue Diode), was published. In addition to writing, he co-organises literary events, publishes a magazine, and advocates for environmental and cultural preservation. He works at the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, specialising in modern Czech poetry.

Christopher Reid is an acclaimed poet and former poetry editor at Faber & Faber. His collection A Scattering (2009), exploring the loss of his first wife, won the Costa Book of the Year, while The Song of Lunch (2009) was adapted into a BBC2 film starring Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson. Robert Bathurst has performed both works on stage as Love, Loss & Chianti. Reid’s recent books include Old Toffer’s Book of Consequential Dogs (2018), The Late Sun (2020), Poems of London (2021), and Toys / Tricks / Traps (2023), reflecting on his childhood. He also edited The Letters of Seamus Heaney (2023) at the request of the Heaney family.

Kathryn Gray is the author of The Never-Never, shortlisted for both the T.S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. Her second collection, Hollywood or Home, was named a Sunday Times Poetry Book of 2023. She also published the pamphlet Flowers(2017) and co-edits the digital poetry journal Bad Lilies with Andrew Neilson.

Joshua Mensch is a poet, literary translator, and founding editor of the Prague-based journal B O D Y. His debut, Because: A Lyric Memoir (2018), was a finalist for Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award in Poetry. His translations include Petr Hruška’s I Caught Sight of My Face (2024) and Pavla Melková’s The Gravitational Field of the Inexpressible (2022), a collaboration with British sculptor and visual artist Antony Gormley. Originally from Nova Scotia, he has lived in the Czech Republic since 2003.

Jan Zikmund is an editor at Karolinum Press and the English-language literary magazine B O D Y. From 2018 to 2025 he worked for the Czech Literary Centre, where he was primarily responsible for the promotion of Czech literature in English-speaking countries. He translates poetry from English and he is now compiling an anthology of contemporary American poetry for Czech publishing house Odeon.

Jakub Špaňhel is a leading contemporary Czech visual artist. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he studied under Milan Knížák and Jiří David, his work has been highly sought after by collectors. Since the 1990s, his art has drawn inspiration from history, literature, and classical painting. Known for his expressive brushwork and minimal form, he distils the essence of his subjects while reinterpreting traditional themes with personal significance.

I CAUGHT SIGHT OF MY FACE,Petr Hruška, translation by Joshua Mensch, illustrations by Jakub Špaňhel
Published by Kulturalis 2024
PRICE: £19.95
LANGUAGE: English
BINDING: Hardback
PAGE EXTENT: 76pp
ISBN: 978-1-83636-008-7

The book will be available at the event for the special reduced price of £15.

ADMISSION: £5 (plus Eventbrite fee)
BOOK HERE:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/when-poetry-crosses-languages-and-borders-tickets-1256419908769?aff=oddtdtcreator