Ludvík Kundera (22 March 1920 – 17 August 2010) was a Czech writer, translator, poet, playwright, editor and literary historian. He was a notable exponent of Czech

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

literature and a prolific translator of German authors. In 2007, he received the Medal of Merit for service to the Republic. In 2009, he was awarded the ''

Jaroslav Seifert Jaroslav Seifert (; 23 September 1901 – 10 January 1986) was a Czech writer, poet and journalist. Seifert was awarded the 1984 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his poetry which endowed with freshness, sensuality and rich inventiveness provides ...

Award'', presented by the

Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members ...

Foundation. Kundera was a cousin of Czech-French writer

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera ( ; ; 1 April 1929 – 11 July 2023) was a Czech and French novelist. Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship ...

and nephew of the pianist and musicologist also named

Ludvík Kundera Ludvík Kundera (22 March 1920 – 17 August 2010) was a Czech writer, translator, poet, playwright, editor and literary historian. He was a notable exponent of Czech avant-garde literature and a prolific translator of German authors. In 2007, h ...

Biography

Kundera was born in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

, Czechoslovakia He studied at the Faculty of Arts of

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

and later continued his studies at

Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) (; ) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno, it now consists of ten faculties and 35,115 students. It is named after To ...

in Brno. During World War II, he was abducted to a forced labour in Germany. After the war, he worked as an editor in several newspapers and magazines, including ''Blok'', ''Rovnost'' and ''Host do domu''. In 1945, he co-founded the

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

group ''Skupina RA'' (Group RA). His first book of poetry, ''Konstantina'', was published in 1946. That same year he befriended the poet

František Halas František Halas (3 October 1901 – 27 October 1949) was a Czechs, Czech poet, translator and politician. He was one of the most significant Czech lyric poets of the 20th century. His poor background influenced his work as well as his communist v ...

, whom he considered his teacher and mentor. From the mid-1950s he concentrated solely on writing and translating. From 1968 to 1970 he worked as a dramaturgist in the Mahen Theatre, a part of the National Theatre in Brno. Additionally, he collaborated with the National Theatre as a playwright. In 2005, Mahen Theatre premiered his play about the Czech composer

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

. During the period of

normalization Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

(in the 1970s and '80s) Kundera was banned from being published. He left the Mahen Theatre in reaction to the dismissal of his collaborators ''V divadle pak Kundera zaujal místo dramaturga, ale odešel po vyhazovu svých spolupracovníků v roce 1970, kdy, jak píše, mu „začaly svízelné časy“.'' who openly expressed disagreement with the political transformation in Czechoslovakia after the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

. Because of that, he was labeled undesirable by the communist regime. In 1970 he was expelled from the Communist Party and gradually lost the possibility to continue his cultural activities in Czechoslovakia. To continue his work, he was forced to use

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s. From the 1970s he was an initiator and coordinator of

samizdat Samizdat (, , ) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the documents from reader to reader. The practice of manual rep ...

publishing activities in Czechoslovakia. He focused mainly on translations of German authors, such as

Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; ; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll received the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). Bio ...

Berthold Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

and

Hans Arp Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp (; ; 16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966), better known as Jean Arp in English, was a German-French sculptor, painter and poet. He was known as a Dadaist and an abstract artist. Early life Arp was born Hans Peter Wilhelm Ar ...

. Additionally, he translated important

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

and

dadaist Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

works. A significant part of his work was devoted to the literature of

German Romanticism German Romanticism () was the dominant intellectual movement of German-speaking countries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, influencing philosophy, aesthetics, literature, and criticism. Compared to English Romanticism, the German vari ...

. Kundera spent a large part of his life in the

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

n town of

Kunštát Kunštát (; ) is a town in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. Administrative division Kunštát consists of six municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 cens ...

. He died in

Boskovice Boskovice (; ) is a town in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. The area of the historic town centre, Jewish quarter, château complex and castle ruin is well preserved and is protec ...

Work

* ''Konstantina'', 1946 * ''Živly v nás'', 1946 * ''Napospas aneb Přísloví pro kočku'', 1947 * ''Letní kniha přání a stížností'', 1962 * ''Totální kuropění'', 1962 * ''Tolik cejchů'', 1966 * ''Fragment'', 1967 * ''Nežert'', 1967 * ''Odjezd'', 1967 * ''Labyrint světa a lusthauz srdce'', 1983 * ''Dada (Jazzpetit č. 13)'', 1983 * ''Chameleon'', 1984 * ''Hruden'', 1985 * ''Královna Dagmar'', 1988 * ''Ptaní'', 1990 * ''Napříč Fantomázií'', 1991 * ''Malé radosti'', 1991 * ''Ztráty a nálezy'', 1991 * ''Pády'', 1992 * ''Spád věcí a jiné básně'', 1992 * ''Řečiště'', 1993

Translations

* ''Nobi'', Ludwig Renn, Prague, ''Státní nakladatelství dětské knihy'' 1957. * ''Země snivců'' (Die andere Seite)

Alfred Kubin Alfred Leopold Isidor Kubin (10 April 1877 – 20 August 1959) was an Austrian artist, printmaker, illustrator, and occasional writer. Kubin is considered an important representative of Symbolism and Expressionism. Biography Kubin was born i ...

; R, ''Nakladatelství mladých'',

Kladno Kladno (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 70,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and has a rich industrial history. Administrative division Kladno consists of six municipal parts ...

1947 * ''Proměna'' (Die Fahrt nach Stalingrad)

Franz Fühmann Franz Fühmann (15 January 1922 – 8 July 1984) was a German writer who lived and worked in East Germany. He wrote in a variety of formats, including short stories, essays, screenplays and children's books. Influenced by Nazism in his yout ...

, Prague, ''Naše vojsko'' 1957. * ''Trini'', Ludwig Renn, Prague, Mladá fronta 1957. * ''Mrtví nestárnou'', (Die Toten bleiben jung),

Anna Seghers Anna Seghers (; born ''Anna Reiling,'' 19 November 1900 – 1 June 1983), is the pseudonym of German writer Anna Reiling, who was notable for exploring and depicting the moral experience of the Second World War. Born into a Jewish family and mar ...

, Prague, SNKLHU 1957. * ''Nox et solitudo'' (Nox et solitudo), Ivan Krasko, Prague, SNKLHU 1958. * ''Píseň o lásce a smrti korneta Kryštofa Rilka'',

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

, Prague, ''Naše vojsko'' 1958. * ''Myšlenky'' (selection),

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

Prague, ''Československý spisovatel'' 1958. * ''Dvanáct nocí'',

Peter Huchel Peter Huchel (April 3, 1903 – April 30, 1981), born Hellmut Huchel, was a German poet and editor. Life Huchel was born in Lichterfelde (now part of Berlin). From 1923 to 1926, Huchel studied literature and philosophy in Berlin, Freiburg and ...

, Prague, ''Mladá fronta'' 1958. * ''Sto básní. Výbor z lyriky'',

, Prague, SNKLHU 1959. * ''Lukulův výslech'', (Das Verhör des Lukullus),

, ''Divadelní hry 2'', Prague, SNKLHU 1959. * ''Raubíři'' (Die Räuberbande),

Leonhard Frank Leonhard Frank (4 September 1882 in Würzburg – 18 August 1961 in Munich) was a German expressionist writer. He studied painting and graphic art in Munich, and gained acclaim with his first novel ''The Robber Band'' (1914, tr. 1928). When a Be ...

(Raubíři, Ochsenfurtské kvarteto, Prague, SNKLHU 1959; Raubíři, Ochsenfurtské kvarteto, Dvanáct spravedlivých, Prague, Odeon 1983) * ''Kulatolebí a špičatolebí'', (Die Rundköpfe und die Spitzköpfe),

, ''Divadelní hry 2'', Prague, SNKLHU 1959. * ''Horáti a Kuriáti'' (Die Horatier und die Kuriatier),

, ''Divadelní hry 2'', Prague, SNKLHU 1959. * ''Kdes byl, Adame?'' (Wo warst du, Adam?),

, Prague, ''Naše vojsko'' 1961. * ''Pohraniční stanice'' (Kameraden),

, Prague, ''Naše vojsko'' 1961. * ''Domácí postila Bertolta Brechta'' (Bertolt Brechts Hauspostille),

, Prague, ''Mladá fronta'' 1963. * ''Vojcek'' (Woyzeck),

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...

, Praha, Dilia 1963; (Dílo G. Büchnera, Prague, ''Odeon'' 1987). * ''Silnice silnice'' (Chausseen, Chausseen),

, Prague, SNKLU 1964; 3. edition: Prague, ''Mladá fronta'' 1997. * ''Otevřená okna'' (Otvorené okná), Laco Novomeský, Prague, ''Československý spisovatel'' 1964. * ''Básně''

Georg Trakl Georg Trakl (; 3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914) was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem " Grodek", which h ...

, Prague, SNKLU 1965. * ''Poémy'', Laco Novomeský, Prague, ''Mladá fronta'' 1965. * ''Pronásledování a zavraždění Jeana Paula Marata předvedené divadelním souborem blázince v Charentonu za řízení markýze de Sade'' (Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielergruppe des Hospizes zu Charenton unter Anleitung des Herrn de Sade)

Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and '' The Investigation'' and h ...

, Prague, Orbis 1965; 2nd edition ''Větrné mlýny'', Brno, Host 2000. * ''Experiment Damokles'' (Experiment Damokles), Peter Karvaš, Prague, Dilia 1967. * ''Haló, je tady vichr - vichřice!. Antologie německého expresionismu'', Prague, ''Československý spisovatel'' 1969. * ''Songy, Chóry, Básně'',

, Prague, ''Československý spisovatel'' 1978. * ''Básně'', Bertolt Brecht, Prague, ''Odeon'' 1979. * ''Čítanka slovenské literatury'', Prague, ''Albatros'' 1982. * ''Společná přítomnost'' (Commune présence),

René Char René Émile Char (; 14 June 1907 – 19 February 1988) was a French poet and member of the French Resistance. Biography Char was born in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in the Vaucluse department of France, the youngest of the four children of Emile ...

, Prague, ''Odeon'' 1985. * ''Alžběta Anglická'' (Elisabeth von England, Ferdinand Bruckner, Prague, ''Dilia'' 1986. * ''Na jedné noze'',

, Prague, ''Odeon'', 1987. * ''Leonce a Lena'' (Leonce und Lena),

, Prague, ''Dilia'' 1984; (works of G. Büchner, Prague, ''Odeon'' 1987) * ''Don Carlos''

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

, Prague, ''Dilia'' 1987. * ''Básně'',

Gottfried Benn Gottfried Benn (2 May 1886 – 7 July 1956) was a German poet, essayist, and physician. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 1951. Biography and work Family and beginnings G ...

, Prague, ''Erm'' 1995. * ''Šebestián ve snu'',

Třebíč Třebíč (; ) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 35,000 inhabitants. The beginnings of the town's history are connected with the establishment of a Benedictines, Benedictine monastery, where the castle is loca ...

, ''Arca JiMfa'' 1998. * ''UMBRA VITAE'',

Georg Heym Georg Theodor Franz Artur Heym (30 October 1887 – 16 January 1912) was a German writer. He is particularly known for his poetry, representative of early Expressionism. Biography Heym was born in Hirschberg, Lower Silesia, in 1887 to H ...

, Zblov, ''Nakladatelství Opus'' 1999. * ''Palmström'',

Christian Morgenstern Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern (6 May 1871 – 31 March 1914) was a German writer and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on 7 March 1910. He worked for a while as a journalist in Berlin ...

, Prague, ''Vyšehrad'' 2001).

References

External links

Czech Literature Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kundera, Ludvik 1920 births 2010 deaths Czech male poets Czech male dramatists and playwrights Writers from Brno Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Masaryk University alumni 20th-century Czech poets 20th-century Czech dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Czech translators 20th-century Czech male writers Czechoslovak writers Milan Kundera