Layne Pierce will present three poems by the 1984 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Joroslav Seifert.

The poems are:

1. Year of 1934,

2. The Place of Pilgrimage

3. Struggle with the Angel

The poems are available at: Jaroslav Seifert - Poems by the Famous Poet - All Poetry. They will be sent out to all registered participants in advance.

Jaroslav Seifert published his first collection of poetry in Czech in 1921 which launched his career as a poet. The Selected Poetry of Jaroslav Seifert was published in English in 1986 and The Poetry of Jaroslav Seifert was published in English in May 1998. He won tile Nobel Prize for Literature in 1984.

​​He was the first Czech to receive this high honor. He received the Nobel Prize for his poetry which endowed with freshness, sensuality and rich inventiveness provides a liberating image of the indominable spirit and versatility of man: Seifert became a major voice in 20th century Czech literature, know for his lyricism and reflections of life, love and Prague.

Born and raised in Kansas. Graduated from Emporia St. University with minor in Spanish. Veteran of the United States Army, graduate of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey California, with an emphasis on Czech language. Master's degree in German Languages and Literatures from the University of Kansas. Master's Degree in Library and Information Science from Emporia State University. Worked as reference Librarian at Bellevue University, and Reference and Community Outreach Librarian with the Lincoln City Libraries in Lincoln, Nebraska. Co-authored Czech language textbook with Dr. Miluse Saskova-Pierce.

​​He has taught Czech classes and tutored students in Czech at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. At present he is retired from the library, but continues to work as Czech translator. He is currently translating Frantisek Vavak's 18th Century Chronicle together with Dr. Mila Saskova-Pierce.

​​He is retired but continues to be active in American and Nebraska Czech organizations. He is President of the Czech Language Foundation, which supports the teaching of Czech language and culture classes at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Board Member of the Nebraska Czechs of Lincoln, and Treasurer of the Czech and Slovak Educational Center and Cultural Museum; and secretary of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, Nebraska Chapter.