Sun 1/2 18:00
Lubomír Tichý • Sufian Massalema

Author readings by two distinctive voices of contemporary Czech poetry.

Sufian Massalema (*1999) was born in Jablonec nad Nisou. Alongside his studies, he focuses on slam poetry and writing poems. His texts have been awarded in the Vladimír Vokolek Literary Prize and the Václav Hrabě Literary Competition in Hořovice. His debut poetry collection Možnosti přehlíženého (Possibilities of the Overlooked) was nominated for the Jiří Orten Prize. On the one hand, his work depicts the inhospitable Sudeten landscape and his own sense of not belonging there; on the other, it presents images from a journey to the land of his ancestors. The language of his poems combines standard Czech with elements of colloquial speech and Arabic, expanding the semantic space of the text. He moves freely between epochs, geographies, and cultural traditions without giving in to romanticization.

Lubomír Tichý (*2003) is a poet of the younger generation and the author of the debut collection Místní. For this book, he received the Jiří Orten Prize last year and was also nominated for the Magnesia Litera Award in the Debut of the Year category. In his poetry, he draws on the experience of growing up in the countryside, specifically in the village of Rozběřice near Hradec Králové, where he still lives today. His poems create detailed micro-worlds in which rural reality intertwines with the digital age and online environments. Characteristic of his work is the linking of motifs of nature, maps, local details, and technologies such as social networks or computer games. He began reading and writing poetry relatively late, at the age of sixteen; a key influence on him was the poet Petr Borkovec. Tichý’s language is economical and shy, yet lyrically confident, often working with subtle humor and distance. His texts tend to pose questions rather than offer clear answers. Tichý is considered one of the most interesting literary hopes of contemporary Czech poetry.

www.instagram.com/lubtich
www.instagram.com/smassalema

The event is an accompanying programme to the exhibition Poezie je! and takes place within the framework of the Textconnexion 2026 project, with financial support from the Statutory City of Pardubice and the Pardubice Region.

Admission: CZK 100 (the event takes place at the Gallery of the City of Pardubice – GAMPA; tickets will be available at the venue).