Ludvík Kundera

Ludvík Kundera
Ludvík Kundera, autumn 2009.
Born	(1920-03-22)22 March 1920 Brno, Czechoslovakia
Died	17 August 2010(2010-08-17) (aged 90) Boskovice, Czech Republic
Notable awards	Medal of Merit (2007) Jaroslav Seifert Award (2009)

Ludvík Kundera (22 March 1920 – 17 August 2010) was a Czech writer, translator, poet, playwright, editor and literary historian. He was a notable exponent of the Czech avant-garde literature and a prolific translator of German authors. In 2007, he received the Medal of Merit for service to the Republic. In 2009, he was awarded the Jaroslav Seifert Award, presented by the Charter 77 Foundation. Kundera was a cousin of Czech-French writer Milan Kundera and nephew of the pianist and musicologist also named Ludvík Kundera.

Kundera was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia. He studied at the Faculty of Arts of the Charles University in Prague and later continued his studies at the Masaryk University in Brno. During the World War II, he was abducted to a forced labour in Germany. After the war, he was engaged as an editor in newspapers and magazines Blok, Rovnost and Host do domu. In 1945, he co-founded surrealist group Skupina RA (Group RA). His first book of poetry, Konstantina, was published in 1946. The same year he befriended poet František Halas, whom he considered to be his teacher and mentor. From the mid-1950s he has concentrated solely on writing and translating. From 1968 to 1970 he worked as a dramaturgist in the Mahen Theatre, a part of the National Theatre in Brno. Additionally, he collaborated with the National Theatre as a playwright. In 2005, Mahen Theatre premiéred his play about Czech composer Leoš Janáček.