spent her childhood in the Czech city of Bílovec. She’ll always cherish memories of this beautiful small town and the nearby farms of both of her grandparents, where she stayed often, helping with the farm animals and working on the land.

Her teachers at the University of Ostrava and Olomouc in North Moravia were an important influence on her maturation in the Czech language, literature, music, and pedagogy.

She always enhanced her teaching and educational career with creative interests. As a longtime editor of the county magazine for children and youth, she was encouraged to write short pieces for children produced on the radio in Ostrava.

The year 1984 was a turning point in her life. She followed her husband to the United States and settled in California. Soon she accepted a position at Stanford University.

Her free time is devoted to writing and to the study of comparative literature.  Two books written in Czech were broadcast over Czech radio. 

As a representative of the P.E.N. Center USA West and the Society of Czech Writers she participated in several writer’s conferences in Europe and Australia.

Living in America and writing also in English, she realizes how difficult it is to express herself in a language other than the one she was born with. She’s trying out a new audience.