Marek Toman: History and its narrators

– Czechia

A poet and a translator, Marek Toman has gradually shifted towards journalism, prose and books for children and young readers. He was born in 1967 in Prague, where he studied philosophy at Charles University. He has worked in Czech Radio and since 1998, he has been employed with the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His latest works include: Oko žraloka (The Eye of the Shark, 2018), Neptunova jeskyně (Neptune’s Cave, 2018), Cukrárna U Šilhavého Jima (Cross-Eyed Jim’s Confectionary, 2018), Chvála oportunismu (The Praise of Opportunism, 2016) and Veliká novina o hrozném mordu Šimona Abelese (The Shocking Story of the Terrible Murder of Šimon Abeles, 2014). He gets inspired by topics related to Czech history and his narrators and characters are often very unusual, such as the statue of Neptune, the god of lakes and seas living in the Grébovka gardens in Prague, the Baroque Cernin Palace at the Loreta Square, or Mirek Klecan, a member of the international brigades and later the resistance who was executed together with Julius Fučík.