Jakub Řehák: No need to understand
– Czechia
A poet, critic, essayist, editor born in 1978 in Uherské Hradiště. He graduated from Zlín Film College, currently he works at the Municipal Library of Prague. Jakub Řehák has published five poetry collections (Světla mezi prkny (Light between the Planks), 2008; Past na Brigitu (A Trap for Brigita), 2012; Dny plné usínání (The Days Full of Falling Asleep), 2016; Obyvatelé (Citizens), 2020; Konkrétní poštolka (The Specific Kestrel), 2024) and a collection of journalistic texts Poezie ve věku vnějškovosti. Eseje, recenze a jiné texty z let 2007–2022 (Poetry in the Age of Outwardness: Essays, Reviews and Other Texts from 2007–2022; 2022). “There is no need to understand, it is necessary to sense the poem and to participate in it emotionally,” the author declared in an interview.