Karel Konrád (22 March 1899 – 11 December 1971) was a Czech writer and journalist.

Biography

Konrád was born on 22 March 1899 in

Louny Louny (; ) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument ...

. He was born in the family of a flour trader. He studied at the Louny school together with his friend Konstantin Biebl, where he graduated in 1917. He had to enlist in to the army practically immediately after graduation. After the First World War, he took part as a volunteer in the occupation of Slovakia by the Czechoslovak army. He studied chemistry at the Technical University, then history and geography at Charles University, none of which he completed. For a short period he worked as a teacher but was dismissed for his left-wing convictions. From 1923 Konrád devoted himself exclusively to journalism and literature. He became a member of the

Devětsil The Devětsil () was an association of Czech people, Czech avant-garde artists, founded in 1920 in Prague. From 1923 on there was also an active group in Brno. The movement discontinued its activities in 1930 (1927 in Brno). History Founded as Um ...

where he became a representative of the Poetist movement and from 1925, worked as an editor in the Communist daily newspaper ''

Rudé právo ''Rudé právo'' ( Czech for ''Red Justice'' or ''The Red Right'') was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. History and profile ''Rudé právo'' was founded in 1920 when the party was splitting from the social demo ...

'', but left the editorial office in 1930. In the same year he was a co-founder of the magazine ''Trn'', which he edited until 1933. In December 1939, he married Milena Polanová, the daughter of the literary critic and poet Bohumil Polan. From 1945 until 1948 he again worked for ''Rudé právo''. In 1946 he joined

Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Barrandov has made several major Hollywood productions, including ''Mission: Impossible (film), ...

, where he served on various advisory boards until 1957, when he retired. Konrád traveled to France and Italy in 1930, and after 1945 to Yugoslavia, the USSR and Poland. He wrote reports about post-war travels.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konrád, Karel 1899 births 1971 deaths People from Louny Czech journalists Czech science fiction writers 20th-century Czech novelists 20th-century Czech poets Communist Party of Czechoslovakia members