Miloslav Švandrlík

Miloslav Švandrlík (10 August 1932 – 26 October 2009) was a Czech writer and humourist. He also used the pseudonym Roman Kefalín.

Life and work

Miloslav Švandrlík was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1932. After finishing secondary school, Švandrlík took a number of jobs and also completed a two-year teaching course at a music college in Prague. Subsequently in 1950, he obtained his matura diploma. Between 1951 and 1953, he studied at the Faculty of Theatre in Prague, but left after two years.

After completing his studies, Švandrlík became an assistant director at the in Prague. He joined the Auxiliary Technical Unit of the Czechoslovak Army (compulsory at the time) in October 1953. He left in the winter of 1955, and worked as a teaching assistant for Korean children in Liběšice before becoming a professional writer. Most of his work was humorous and satirical, but he is also known for his science fiction and children's books.

One of his most famous books, titled Černí baroni (Černí Baroni aneb Válčili jsme za Čepičky), is based on stories from the time he served in the military service. It portrays the irony and absurdity of life under Communism. The novel was adapted to film in 1992 under the title Černí baroni.

Švandrlík contributed regularly to a number of magazines and newspapers, such as and also to theatre. In his written work, he often cooperated with Jiří Winter Neprakta, mostly coming up with texts for Winter's drafted jokes. He also wrote a number of screenplays and radio plays.

Švandrlík died in Prague on 26 October 2009 and was buried at the in Kutná Hora.

Selected publications

Z chlévů i bulvárů (1960) Krvavý Bill viola (1961) Od Šumavy k Popokatepetlu (1962) Kovbojská romance (1964) Hrdinové a jiní podivíni (1969) Drakulův švagr (1970)

On 21 April 2010, a field bordered by Skřivanova, Lažanského, Švabinského, and 7. května streets in Chodov was named after the writer. A bust of Švandrlík by Czech artist was unveiled there on 14 October 2010.