KLÍMA, IVAN

KLÍMA, IVAN (1931– ), Czech writer, playwright, and publicist. Born in Prague, Klima spent three and a half years in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. After finishing his studies at the Faculty of Philosophy at Charles University in Prague (Czech language and literary criticism), he worked as an editor in a publishing house and in many literary magazines until they were banned by the Communist regime. After his return in 1970 from a year's teaching in the U.S. at the University of Michigan, he was expelled from all literary organizations, lost his job, and the publication of his books was prohibited. Until 1990, his works appeared only abroad or in samizdat. He served as president of the Czech Pen Club (1989–1993) and, from 1993, as its vice president. He was a member of the Club of Rome. Klíma lived in Prague. Klíma's novels, short stories, plays, and essays have been translated into 29 languages. His published work includes the novels An Hour of Silence (1963); The Ship Named Hope (1970);The Summer Affair (1987); Judge on, Trial (1991); Waiting for the Dark, Waiting for the Light (1994); Love and Garbage (1990);The Ultimate Intimacy (1998); Neither Saints nor Angels (2001); and the plays The Castle (1964); The Master (1967); Sweetshop Miriam (1968); and The Jury (1968), Franz and Felice (1985), America (the dramatization of a novel (with P. Kohout) – all three inspired by franz kafka . Klíma's Jewish origin, his experience in Theresienstadt, feelings of responsibility of an individual for the collective, the loss of trust in God, problems of injustice, alienation and feeling like a social outcast are reflected in his literary characters. He was awarded the Egon Hostovský Prize and the Franz Kafka Prize. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Čulík, Knihy za ohradou. Česká literaturav exilových nakladatelstvích 1971–1989 (s. d.); P. Kubínová, Čeští spisovatelé – Czech Writers (1999); J. Lehár et al., Česká literatura od počátků k dnešku (1998); V. Menclová et al., Slovník českých spisovatelů (2000); A. Mikulášek et al., Literatura s hvězdou Davidovou, vol. 1 (1998); Slovník českých spisovatelů (1982). (Milos Pojar (2nd ed.) )