Václav Hrabě Biography

Václav Hrabě was a pivotal figure in the Czech literary underground and the sole significant representative of the Beat Generation in Czechoslovakia. His poetry, deeply influenced by jazz and blues, reflects the spirit of his era and the search for freedom. He was a musician himself, playing clarinet and saxophone, and his brief but intense life was tragically cut short at the age of twenty-five. Though his work was not published in book form during his lifetime, Hrabě's poetry stands as a unique voice of his generation, resonating with its urgency and artistic power to this day.