Vilém Závada (2 May 1905, Hrabová, now part of

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

– 30 November 1982,

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 ...

) was a Czech poet, translator and journalist.

Biography

Závada was born in to the family of a metal worker, his father died during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, an event which left a huge impression on his future works. His mother raised Vilém and his two brothers in impoverished circumstances. Závada graduated from his doctorate in philosophy at the

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

and started his literary career. Initially a representative of

Poetism Poetism (in Czech language, Czech: ''poetismus'') was an artistic program in Czechoslovakia which belongs to the avant-garde; it has never spread abroad. It was invented by members of avant-garde association Devětsil, mainly Vítězslav Nezval and ...

, he broke with the literary style in favor of a more gloomy and pessimistic romanticism. In 1927 Závada wrote his most famous work, '' Panychida'', a work which was for the commoderation of the fallen of the First World War as well as a melancholic meditation on life itself. In the 30s Závada mostly worked as a magazine editor. After the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, he became more reclusive and wrote ''Hradní věž'', which was about his coming to terms with the fate of his country. After the German surrender Závada joined the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Cominte ...

however was not involved in party politics. After a period of simplistic acceptance of the optimism of post-war conditions, at the end of his life he returned to the poetry of existential depth and tragedy of life. In 1948 he was appointed the director of the National Library of Czechoslovakia, a position from which he resigned in 1949. In 1958 he was again temporarily appointed head of the library. in 1966 he was awarded the position of National Artist. In 1969, he was awarded in the anniversary of the 100th anniversary of

Otokar Březina Otokar or Otakar Březina (); pen name of Václav Jebavý; (13 September 1868 – 25 March 1929) was a Czech poet and essayist, considered the greatest of Czech Symbolists. Biography Březina was born in the small town of Počátky, Pelhřimov ...

's birthday. Závada died in 1982 in Prague at the age of 77 and was buried at the

Vyšehrad Cemetery Vyšehrad (Czech for "upper castle") is a historic fort in Prague, Czech Republic, just over 3 km southeast of Prague Castle, on the east bank of the Vltava River. It was probably built in the 10th century. Inside the fort are the Basilica ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zavada, Vilem 1905 births 1982 deaths Writers from Ostrava Czech male poets Czech poets Czech translators Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery Charles University alumni