Zdeněk Rotrekl

Zdeněk Rotrekl (1 October 1920 – 9 June 2013) was a Czech Catholic poet, literary historian and writer. He was severely persecuted for his work and Roman Catholic beliefs during Czechoslovakia's Communist era from 1948 to 1989, including thirteen years in prison. The Communist government also banned his work for more than forty years. The Prague Daily Monitor has called him "one of the most distinguished personalities of the Catholic stream in Czech poetry of the latter half of the 20th century."

Life Rotrekl was born in 1920 in Brno, Czechoslovakia. He published his first full volume of poetry when he was just 20 years old. He enrolled at Faculty of Arts in Brno in the aftermath of World War II, where he pursued studies in Sanskrit, history and art history. However, he was expelled from the university following the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état for supporting democracy. Prior to 1948, Rotrekl had published three books of poetry.

Zdeněk Rotrekl died in Brno, Czech Republic on 9 June 2013, at the age of 92. His funeral was held at St Thomas Church in Brno on 15 June 2013.