Czech poetry has been enjoying something of a renaissance in the new millennium. Following a decline in the 1990s, in the past two decades poetry has been shaped by lively literary activity, revolving around literary cafés, festivals and public poetry readings.
Despite being a marginal genre, poetry has been receiving significant publicity in dedicated literary magazines and websites, but also in special radio programmes and poetry awards.
Describing the present-day Czech poetry scene is quite difficult, as it is not dominated by poetic trends or schools, but rather by a number of distinctive individuals.
Among the leading contemporary poets are those who made their debuts in the 1990s but also during the first decade of the new millennium. What connects most of these authors is the predominance of free verse.