Adolf Heyduk (6 June 1835 – 6 February 1923) was a distinguished Czech

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

and writer. Many of his poems were later set to music by

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist exampl ...

. The best known and most widely performed is the poignant and tender Songs My Mother Taught Me with its hauntingly exquisite setting, included in the repertoire of many renowned instrumentalists and vocalists.

Life

Born in Rychmburk (today Předhradí), he began his studies in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

in 1850. After finishing his studies in 1859, he became a teacher in Prague, and later in

Písek Písek (; german: Pisek) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 30,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Písek is colloquially called "''South ...

. In 1876, he began to teach at the Prague's gymnasium, and became the chairman of the literary section of the ''

Umělecká beseda The Umělecká beseda was a Czech artists' forum, bringing together creative artists in literature, music and fine art. First founded in 1863, it formed an important part of Czech cultural life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Under Comm ...

'' association. He married in Písek in 1877. His two daughters died.

Work

Lyric poetry *Básně *Hořec a srdečník *V zátiší *Zaváté listy *Na vlnách *Na černé hodince *Cimbál a husle *Lesní Kvítí Epic poetry *Dřevorubec *Dědův odkaz *Ptačí motivy 19th-century Czech poets Czech male poets 1835 births 1923 deaths People from Chrudim District Epic poets Lyric poets 19th-century male writers Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery {{CzechRepublic-writer-stub