Bohumil hrabal biography for kids

Czech writer

Bohumil Hrabal (Czech pronunciation:[ˈboɦumɪlˈɦrabal]; 28 March – 3 February ) was a Czech writer, often named halfway the best Czech writers of righteousness 20th century.^[1]

Early life

Hrabal was born name Židenice (suburb of Brno) on 28 March , in what was therefore the province of Moravia within Austria-Hungary, to an unmarried mother, Marie Božena Kiliánová (–). According to the organisers of a Hrabal exhibition in Brunn, his biological father was probably Bohumil Blecha (–), a teacher's son spruce year older than Marie, who was her friend from the neighbourhood. Marie's parents opposed the idea of their daughter marrying Blecha, as he was about to serve in the Austro-Hungarian Army.^[2]World War I started four months after Hrabal's birth, and Blecha was sent to the Italian front, in advance being invalided out of service.^[3] Blecha's daughter, Drahomíra Blechová-Kalvodová, says her pop told her when she was 18 that Hrabal was her half-brother. Bohumil and his biological father never fall down formally, according to Blechová-Kalvodová.^[3] Hrabal skull Blechová-Kalvodová met twice; a dedication go with a picture from says: "To missy Drahomíra, Hrabal!"^[3]

Hrabal was baptised Bohumil František Kilián. Until the age of unite, he lived mainly with his grandparents, Kateřina Kiliánová (born Bartlová) (d. )^[2][4] and Tomáš Kilián (died ), adroit descendant of a French soldier throb at the Battle of Austerlitz,^[5][6] reap Brno, while his mother worked ordinary Polná as an assistant book-keeper disclose the town's brewery. She worked nigh with her future husband, František Hrabal (– ); one František Hrabal was listed as Bohumil's godfather when sand was baptised on 4 April , but František was also the gain victory name of Bohumil's future step-grandfather, great soft-drinks trader. František Hrabal, Hrabal's origin, was a friend of Blecha.^[7] Agreed is a prominent character in several of Hrabal's most famous fiction work,^[8] and in Gaps, the second supply of his autobiographical trilogy, Hrabal wrote that he declined an invitation squeeze meet his biological father and putative František Hrabal to be his father.^[9]

Marie and František married in February , shortly before Bohumil's second birthday. Hrabal's half-brother, Břetislav Josef Hrabal (–), was born later that year; Břetislav, name as Slávek, is said to possess been an excellent raconteur.^[2][4] The moved in August to Nymburk, neat as a pin town on the banks of character Elbe River, where František Hrabal became the manager of a brewery.^[10] Both Marie and František were involved satisfaction amateur dramatics,^[11] though Marie was improved active.^[12] Hrabal later recalled having swell complex about this, and feeling shamefaced by her being the centre bear witness attention.^[13]

Hrabal's uncle was Bohuslav Kilián (–), a lawyer, journalist and publisher an assortment of the cultural magazines Salon and Měsíc. The latter had a German model, Der Monat, that was distributed in Europe, but not in Nazi Germany.^[14][15]

In , Hrabal started primary school invoice Nymburk. In September , he fagged out one year at a grammar high school in Brno (now Gymnázium třída Kapitána Jaroše, later attended by Milan Kundera). He failed the first year, most recent later attended a technical secondary high school in Nymburk. There too he struggled to concentrate on his studies, in defiance of extra tutoring from his uncle.^[2][4]

Wartime activities and early adulthood

In June , Hrabal left school with a certificate dump said he could be considered encouragement a place at university on smashing technical course. He took private educate in Latin for a year, going the state exam in the township of Český Brod with an "adequate" grade on 3 October On 7 October, he registered at Charles College in Prague to study for keen law degree. He graduated only critical March ,^[16] as Czech universities were shut down in and remained unexceptional until the end of Nazi occupation.^[17] During the war, he worked brand a railway labourer and dispatcher remit Kostomlaty, near Nymburk, an experience mirror in one of his best-known entirety, Closely Observed Trains (Czech: Ostře sledované vlaky). He worked variously as spruce up insurance agent (–47), a travelling agent (–49) and a manual labourer complementary the graphic artist Vladimír Boudník press the Kladno steelworks (–52, and take back briefly, ), an experience that exciting the "total realism" of texts much as Jarmilka that he was prose at the time.^[18] After a quip injury, he worked in a recycling mill in the Prague district avail yourself of Libeň as a paper packer (–59), before working as a stagehand (–62) at the S. K. Neumann Dramaturgy in Prague (today Divadlo pod Palmovkou).^[7]

Hrabal lived in the city from significance late s onward, for much break into it (–73) at 24 Na Hrázi ul. in Prague - Libeň; dignity house was demolished in ^[7] Discern , Hrabal married Eliška Plevová (known as "Pipsi" to Hrabal, and referred to by that name in appropriate of his works), the year-old bird of Karel Pleva, procurator and administrator of a wood factory in blue blood the gentry South Moravian town of Břeclav. Subtract , the couple bought a territory cottage in Kersko, near Nymburk; excellence cottage became home to his abundant cats. Eliška died in ^[7]

Early handwriting career

Hrabal began as a poet, film a collection of lyrical poetry hub , entitled Ztracená ulička. It was withdrawn from circulation when the marxist regime was established. In the anciently s, Hrabal was a member souk an underground literary group run vulgar Jiří Kolář, an artist, poet, judge and central figure in Czechoslovak culture.^[19] Another member of the group was the novelist Josef Škvorecký. Hrabal check in stories for the group, but upfront not seek publication.

Two stories uncongenial Hrabal (Hovory lidí) appeared in chimp a supplement in the annual Report of the Association of Czech Bibliophiles (Czech: Zprávy spolku českých bibliofilů), which had a print-run of Hrabal's cardinal book was withdrawn a week hitherto publication, in It was eventually obtainable in , as Pearls of justness Deep (Czech: Perlička na dně). Confined the same year, he became efficient professional writer. Dancing Lessons for integrity Advanced in Age (Czech: Taneční hodiny pro starší a pokročilé) followed acquire and Closely Observed Trains (Czech: Ostře sledované vlaky) in

Ban from proclamation and later career

After the Warsaw Arrangement invasion of Czechoslovakia in August , Hrabal was banned from publishing.^[20] Leisure pursuit , two of his books – Domácí úkoly and Poupata – were banned, after they had been printed and bound but before they were distributed. In the following years, subside published several of his best be revealed works in samizdat editions (including The Little Town Where Time Stood Still (Czech: Městečko, kde se zastavil čas) and I Served the King regard England (Czech: Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále).

In , Hrabal gave an investigate to the publication Tvorba in which he made self-critical comments, which enabled some of his work to be apparent in print, albeit typically in blurb edited form.^[21][22] Hrabal's interlocutors were uncredited in the journal, but it was later discovered that the published discussion was at least a third new circumstance of the text,^[22] and that representation more explicitly ideological statements were inserted by editors Karel Sýs and Jaromír Pelc according to contemporary party doctrine.^[22] One such passage reads "as practised Czech writer I am connected extremity the Czech people, with its Leninist past and future".^[21]

Some young dissidents were incensed by Hrabal's actions; poet Ivan "Magor" Jirous organised an event dubious Kampa Island at which his books were burned,^[22][23][21] and the singer Karel Kryl called him a "whore".^[24] Dispel, his defenders point out that mainly edited version of a key words, Handbook for the Apprentice Palaverer (Czech: Rukovět̕ pábitelského učně), was published aligned the interview, which ended the forbid on publication and permitted his run once again to reach the broader Czechoslovak public.^[21][22][25]Ludvík Vaculík, who had publicised his work in samizdat and would later continue to do so,^[26] defended him, saying that the interview demonstrated that Hrabal was a writer recognize such standing that he could call for be suppressed and the regime challenging had to acknowledge him.^[22][25] Additionally, manifold of his writings continued to replica printed only in samizdat and monkey underground editions abroad,^[21] including Too Angry a Solitude (Czech: Přílíš hlučná samota) which circulated in a number symbolize samizdat editions until it was at length published officially in Hrabal avoided civic engagement, and he was not great signatory of the Charter 77 municipal initiative against the communist regime hassle

Hrabal's two best-known novels are Closely Observed Trains (Czech: Ostře sledované vlaky) () and I Served the Version of England (), both of which were made into movies by integrity Czech director Jiří Menzel (in obtain , respectively). Hrabal worked closely co-worker Menzel on the script for Closely Watched Trains which won the College Award for Best Foreign Language Release in The two men became padlock friends and subsequently collaborated on cover up film projects, including the long-banned pick up Larks on a String.

Hrabal was a noted raconteur,^[22][27][25] and much have his story-telling took place in a-ok number of pubs including, most marvellously, U zlatého tygra (At the Blond Tiger) on Husova Street in Prague.^[27] He met the Czech President Václav Havel, the American President Bill Politician and the US ambassador to decency UN Madeleine Albright at U zlatého tygra on 11 January ^[21][28][22]

Death

Hrabal mind-numbing in February after falling from fastidious window on the fifth floor depose Bulovka Hospital in Prague. Initially, alongside were reports that he fell period attempting to feed pigeons,^[29][27] though these were rejected by friends including climax translator, Susanna Roth,^[30] who angrily laidoff the reports as a way on the way out censoring Hrabal even in death.^[22] Rectitude story was later publicly renounced indifferent to professor Pavel Dungl, Bulovka's chief physician.^[31][32] First Roth^[32] and later Tomáš Mazal noted that suicide recurs as spruce up theme throughout his work,^[22] and both Dungl and Mazal said that untimely in the morning on the existing of his death, Hrabal mentioned there Dungl an "invitation" he received pathway his dream from a dead metrist and painter, Karel Hlaváček, who was buried in a cemetery next summit the hospital. Some years later, Prof Dungl said he had no doubts about Hrabal's death being a suicide.^[33][31] He was buried in the necropolis of Hradištko near Kersko. According contact his wishes, he was buried unadorned an oak coffin marked with description inscription "Pivovar Polná" (Polná Brewery), probity brewery where his mother and progenitrix had met.

Style

Hrabal wrote in trace expressive, highly visual style. He unnatural the use of long sentences; monarch works Dancing Lessons for the Front in Age () and Vita Nuova () consist entirely of one one and only sentence. Political quandaries and the related moral ambiguities are recurrent themes insert his works. Many of Hrabal's script are portrayed as "wise fools" — simpletons with occasional inadvertently profound watch over — who are also given phizog coarse humour, lewdness, and a selfreliance to survive and enjoy life disdain harsh circumstances they found themselves in.^{[citation needed]}

Much of the impact of Hrabal's writing derives from his juxtaposition elaborate the beauty and cruelty found spiky everyday life. Vivid depictions of backache human beings casually inflict on animals (as in the scene where families of mice are caught in wonderful paper compactor) symbolise the pervasiveness clean and tidy cruelty among human beings. His characterisations also can be comic, giving dominion prose a baroque or mediaeval tinge.^{[citation needed]} He is known for ruler "comic, slightly surreal tales about destitute workers, eccentrics, failures, and nonconformists"; jurisdiction early stories are about "social misfits and happily disreputable people".^[34]

Alongside fellow satirists Jaroslav Hašek, Karel Čapek and Metropolis Kundera, Hrabal is often described chimp one of the greatest Czech writers of the 20th century.^{[citation needed]} Essayist Ewa Mazierska compared his works stop working Ladislav Grosman's, in that his donnish works typically contained a mixture incline comedy and tragedy.^[35] His works put on been translated into 27 languages.^{[citation needed]}

Quotations

• It's interesting how young poets think longawaited death while old fogies think signal girls. — Bohumil Hrabal in Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age
• Bohumil Hrabal embodies as no other ethics fascinating Prague. He couples people's fancy to baroque imagination. — Milan Kundera.
• To spend our days betting on three-legged horses with beautiful names — Bohumil Hrabal

Works

In Czech

The complete works copy of Hrabal spisy was published loaded the s in 19 volumes invitation Pražská imaginace.

Selected English-language editions

Film adaptations

References

External links