Tomáš Janovic (22 May 1937 – 14 December 2023) was a Slovak writer, songwriter, journalist and poet. He was best known as an

aphorist An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by trad ...

Biography

Tomáš Janovic was born on 22 May 1937 in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

in a nonobservant Jewish family. His father was a government official. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the family faced persecution because of their Jewish heritage and had to hide in a hut in the woods close to the village of

Čierny Balog Čierny Balog (until 1927 also Balog, or Čierny Hronec; hu, Feketebalog) is a municipality in Brezno District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. History The village arose after 1882 (1888 mentioned as ''Feketebalog'') by a mer ...

. Janovic was educated at a grammar school in

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...

and studied Slovak language and history at the

Comenius University Comenius University in Bratislava ( sk, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave) is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is name ...

. After his graduation in 1960 he joined the editorial team of the satirical weekly ''Roháč'', where he remained until 1991. From then until his death, he was an independent writer, contributing typically short aphorisms to various newspapers and magazines. Following the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

, Janovic was often the target of ire of nationalists due to his Jewish background and liberal, cosmopolitan worldview. The most severe incident happened in 2012 when Janovic and his wife were beaten by the nationalist writer Drahoslav Machala at a post office. The case was prominently featured in the media because Machala was an advisor and speech writer of the prime minister

Robert Fico Robert Fico (; born 15 September 1964) is a Slovak politician who served as the prime minister of Slovakia from 2006 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2018 (when he resigned). He has been the first leader of the Direction – Social Democracy (SMER-SD) p ...

and president

Ivan Gašparovič Ivan Gašparovič (; born 27 March 1941) is a Slovak politician and lawyer who was third president of Slovakia from 2004 to 2014. He was also the first and currently the only Slovak president to be re-elected. Biography Ivan Gašparovič was ...

. Machala denied the attack happened, but his guilt was proven by a camera recording. He was administratively sentenced for public disturbance and had to pay a fine.

Literary career

Janovic started publishing predominantly short forms in ''Roháč'' already as a student in 1954. In 1959 he published his first book of poems ''Život je biely houb''. In 1973, he received the ''Bratislava lyre'' award for lyrics of the song ''Chvála humoru'' performed by Karol Duchoň and Eva Kostolányiová. For nearly the entirety of his career, he closely cooperated with and wrote texts for the actors

Milan Lasica Milan Lasica (; 3 February 1940 – 18 July 2021) was a popular Slovak comedian, actor, singer, writer, lyricist and satirist. Active from 1961 up to his death, he was known mainly from his double act with Július Satinský and their collaborat ...

and

Július Satinský Július Satinský (20 August 1941 in Bratislava – 29 December 2002 in Bratislava) was a Slovak actor, comedian, singer, showman and writer. He is mostly remembered in Slovakia as a member of the legendary comedian duo Milan Lasica - Júli ...

. In addition, he was well known as an author of radio plays for children and young adults. In 2017 Janovic was awarded

Pribina Cross Slovakia has a system of orders and decorations for citizens who do great deeds for the country. With the exception of the Order of the White Double Cross, all the orders are reserved for Slovak citizens. Below is a list of national decorations, ...

, 2nd class by the president

Andrej Kiska Andrej Kiska (; born 2 February 1963) is a Slovak politician, entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist who served as the fourth president of Slovakia from 2014 to 2019. He ran as an independent candidate in the 2014 presidential election in whic ...

for his lifelong contributions to Slovak literature and development of democracy and human rights in Slovakia.

Personal life and death

Janovic lived his entire adult life in Bratislava. He died on 14 December 2023, at the age of 86. After his death, many Slovak writers as well as the minister of culture Martina Šimkovičová paid homage to his life.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Janovic, Tomas 1937 births 2023 deaths Slovak lyricists Slovak dramatists and playwrights Slovak poets 20th-century Slovak writers Writers from Bratislava Comenius University alumni Slovak Jews 21st-century Slovak writers Aphorists