Otakar Bystřina (real name Ferdinand Dostál; 23 May 1861 – 18 July 1931) 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 and lawyer. He wrote humorous stories related to 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 ethnographic regions, especially to his native region of

Haná Haná or Hanakia ( or ''Hanácko'', or ''Hanakei'') is an ethnographic region in central Moravia in the Czech Republic. Etymology The region was named after the Haná (river), Haná River. Description Its core area is located along the ep ...

Biography

Otakar Bystřina was born Ferdinand Dostál on 23 May 1861 in Věrovany,

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

, to the innkeeper's family. He studied at gymnasium in

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

, but in 1878 he was expelled from school for disorderly conduct and completed his studies in

Chrudim Chrudim () is a town in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest town of the region. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#M ...

. His stepfather wanted him to study theology, but Bystřina preferred to break up with his family and entered the Faculty of Law of Charles University 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 ...

, which he graduated in 1885. During his studies, he earned money in various ways, including as a typist and as a literary contributor to various magazines (e.g. ''Květy'', ''

Zlatá Praha ''Zlatá Praha'' (''Golden Prague'') was a Czech illustrated literary magazine. Founded by poet Vítězslav Hálek, it was published separately from 1864 to 1865 before it was restarted again in 1884 by publisher Jan Otto, with Ferdinand Schulz, ...

'' and ''Švanda dudák''). After school, he was a trainee at the court and then worked as a legal assistant and attorney in various Moravian cities and towns. He is most closely associated with

Nový Jičín Nový Jičín (; ) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic centre of Nový Jičín is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservati ...

, where he had a law office in 1893–1921 and in 1927–1931. In 1921, he and his family moved to

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 ...

, but due to a lack of legal cases, he returned to Nový Jičín. A close friend of Bystřina was the poet

Petr Bezruč Petr Bezruč () was the pseudonym of Vladimír Vašek (; 15 September 1867 – 17 February 1958), a Czech poet and short story writer who was associated with the region of Austrian Silesia. His most notable work is ''Silesian Songs,'' a co ...

, other his friends included

Joža Uprka Joža Uprka (26 October 1861, Kněždub – 12 January 1940, Hroznová Lhota) was a Czech painter and graphic artist whose work combines elements of Impressionism and Art Nouveau to document the folklife of Southern Moravia. Biography Uprka wa ...

and Josef Svatopluk Machar. Bystřina and Bezruč together bought a house in Staré Hamry in 1920, where they went for the summer months. Bystřina died on 18 July 1931 in Ostravice while on a hiking trip with Bezruč, at the age of 70.

Work

Otakar Bystřina was primarily interested in writing humorous short stories. Most of his books are collections of these short stories. He drew inspiration mainly from his native ethnographic region of

, but also from other

n regions (

Moravian Slovakia Moravian Slovakia, also called Slovácko (, older ''Moravské Slovensko'') is a cultural region in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic. It lies in the historical region of Moravia, on the border with Slovakia (the Slovak region of Záho ...

and

Moravian Wallachia Moravian Wallachia (, or simply ''Valašsko''; ) is a mountainous ethnoregion located in the easternmost part of Moravia in the Czech Republic, near the Slovakia, Slovak border, roughly centered on the cities Vsetín, Valašské Meziříčí and ...

). The Haná dialect is often used in his works. The short story ''Hanácká legenda'' ('Hanakian Legend'; first published in 1904) is often considered the pinnacle of Bystřina's work. His works include: *''Na vsi'' (1889) – collection of short stories *''Hanácké figurky'' (1890) – collection of short stories *''Hanačka v Praze'' (1896) *''Hanácká legenda'' (1904) – short story *''Pápení'' (1912) – collection of short stories; extended in 1926 and published as ''Přes tři řeky'' *''Bystřinův smích'' (first part 1917, second part 1926) – two collections of short stories *''Jak se naši škádlívají'' (1924) – collection of short stories *''Súchovská republika'' (1926) – collection of

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 inspired by the story of the painter

*''Humor Otakara Bystřiny z jeho spisů'' (1927)

Honours

A street in

Brno-Královo Pole Brno-Královo Pole (, lit. 'Brno-King's Field') is a city district of Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europ ...

is named Bystřinova after Otakar Bystřina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bystrina, Otakar 1861 births 1931 deaths 20th-century Czech writers Czech male writers People from Olomouc District Writers from Austria-Hungary