Education
He studied Ceramics Secondary school in Carlsbad (he left in 1959) and has since done many jobs, mostly manual.
He studied Ceramics Secondary school in Carlsbad (he left in 1959) and has since done many jobs, mostly manual.
In 1961, after publishing his debut poetry book, he quickly established himself as one of the best and most loved writers of his generation. During the 70s and 80s he prepared many radio shows about famous poets of the world (in which he often – true to his interest in mystifications – wrote many of the poems himself), but his books could not be published officially. After the Velvet revolution he worked in a newspaper.
Now he works as an editor in the Current Czechoslovakian Library.
He is also a renowned translator from German, Dutch, Italian, Latin, French and Russian. His work as an editor is focused mainly on forgotten Czechoslovakian poets of the last three centuries.
Ivan Wernisch lives in Prague.