Milan Děžinský

Milan Děžinský is a Czech poet, translator, and author of several collections of poetry. In 2021, his collection A Secret Life, translated into English by Nathan Fields, was published by Blue Diode Press. In 2018, he won the Magnesia Litera Award for poetry for his book Obcházení ostrova (“Walking Around the Island;” Host, 2017)*. 

His collections include Šestý prst (“The Sixth Finger;” Host, 2022), Hotel po sezóně (“Hotel After the Season;” Host, 2020), Tajný život (“A Secret Life;” Host, 2012), Přízraky (“Ghosts;” Host, 2007), Slovník noci (“Dictionary of the Night;” Host, 2003), Kašel mé milenky (“My Lover's Cough;” Host, 1997), and Černá hodinka (“Black Clock;” Velarium, 1996). 

His poems, reviews, and translations have been published in Host, Weles, Aluze, Tvar, Pandora and in various anthologies. His poems have also been regularly featured in the annual Best Czech Poems yearbook (Nejlepší české básně) published by Host. 

In 2014, Děžinský was nominated for the Dresden Lyric Prize, and in 2016 he became the first laureate of the international Václav Burian Poetry Prize.

His book of translations include Sharon Oldsová: Papežův penis a jiné básně (“Sharon Olds: The Pope's Penis and Other Poems;” Host, 2014) completed with Yveta Shanfeld. 

Děžinský’s work expands on the tradition of DeepImage and is influenced by poets such as James Wright, Tomas Tranströmer, and Sylvia Plath. His work has been translated into English, German, and Polish.

Děžinský graduated from Univerzita Jana Evangelisty Purkyně v Ústí nad Labem (UJEP) with a teaching degree. He also co-edited the student magazine Okruh. 

He lives in Roudnice nad Labem where he is an English teacher and also a town councilor. 

*All title translations into English are approximate