Josef Holeček (27 February 1853 – 6 March 1929) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

writer of the

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *American Realism *Classical Realism *Liter ...

and ruralism movements. He wrote about his native

South Bohemian Region The South Bohemian Region () is an administrative unit (''Regions of the Czech Republic, kraj'') of the Czech Republic, located mostly in the southern part of its historical land of Bohemia, with a small part in southwestern Moravia. The western ...

. He was journalist and translator as well.

Biography

Holeček was born on 27 February 1853 in Stožice. He studied in

Písek Písek (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 31,000 inhabitants. The town is known for the oldest bridge in the country. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument z ...

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

and

Tábor Tábor (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...

(the oldest park there is named after him ''Holečkovy sady'') and since 1926 there is his monument there. Having befriended several

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...

in Tábor, he became interested in their

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

and also in literature, art and history in general. After his studies, he worked in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

and in 1875 he became a correspondent of the Prague newspaper ''Národní listy'' in

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. He was a Slavic patriot; in 1887 he visited Russia and in 1889 he travelled through

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and visited

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. He died on 6 March 1929 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, at the age of 76.

Works

His work focuses on the life in the countryside and emphasizes the power of love which can salve the bad things.

Fiction and non-fiction

* ''Černá Hora'' (Montenegro) * ''Černá Hora v míru'' (Montenegro during peace times) * ''Nekrvavé obrázky z vojny'' (Bloodless pictures from the war) –

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of , the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle ...

s which portray the nonsensical Austrian militarism; their style anticipates Švejk. * ''Za svobodu'' (For Freedom) * ''Junácké kresby černohorské'' (Sketches of Montenegro heroism) * ''Zájezd na Rus'' (Journey to Russia) * ''Ruskočeské kapitoly'' (Russo-Czech Chapters) * ''Podejme ruku Slovákům!'' (Let's offer hand to Slovaks!) – an attempt to solve problems between Czech and Slovak intellectuals which found many followers * ''Naši'' (Our people) – a ten-part chronicle in twelve books (1897–1930) which describes the life in the village of Stožice in the 19th century; unfinished. * ''Jak u nás lidé žijou a umírají'' (How our people live and die) – a peasant portrayed as a symbol of the national virtues; unlike in other writers' works, not only because he speaks Czech, but also because Holeček well understood the importance of the village life. * ''Frantík a Bartoň'' * ''Tragédie Julia Grégra'' (Tragedy of Julius Grégr) * ''Pero'' (Pen) – memoirs

Translations

* ''Písně hercegovské'' (Songs of Herzegovina) * ''Srbská národní epika'' (Serbian National Epic Poetry) * ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' () is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling a story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory ...

'' – his translation (which keeps the original rhythm) is still the only Czech one. It was the first full translation of this epic poem into a

Slavic language The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...

. Holeček was inspired to translate the work as he was generally interested in the art of the "small nations" (Josef Holeček, 1915Kalevala, afterword). With the help of Leopold Geitler and Bohuslav Čermák (

amanuensis An amanuensis ( ) ( ) or scribe is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In some aca ...

in the Prague library) he learned Finnish from Finnish-German vocabularies found in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

secondhand bookstores and from the 1818 German grammar book ''Finnische Sprachlehre für Finnen und Nicht-Finnen...'' by

Johan Stråhlman Johan may refer to: * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (1921 film), a Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (2005 film), a Dutch romantic comedy film * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Joh ...

which they found in Prague, as there was no bookshop connection between Prague and

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

then. The translation was published at Holeček's own expense (and a grant of 500

florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...

from the

Royal Czech Society of Sciences Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences (; ; ) was established in 1784 – originally without the adjective "royal" – which was granted as late as in 1790 by King and Emperor Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II – to be the scientific center ...

) between 1894 and 1895.

References

External links