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Vladimír Holan (Czech:[ˈvlaɟɪmiːrˈɦolan]; September 16, 1905 – March 31, 1980) was a Czechoslovak poet famous for employing obscure language, dark topics and pessimistic views in his poems. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in the late 1960s.
Holan was born in Prague, but he spent most of his childhood outside the capital. When he moved back in the 1920s he studied law and started a job as a clerk, a position that was a large source of dissatisfaction for the poet. He lost his father and in 1932 married Věra Pilařová. In the same year he published the collection of poems Vanutí (Breezing), which he considered his first piece of poetic art (there were two books preceding it: Blouznivý vějíř /1926/ and Triumf smrti /1930/). It was his only collection to be reviewed by the knight of Czech critics, František Xaver Šalda, who compared Holan favorably with the French poet Stéphane Mallarmé.
In the 1930s Holan continued writing obscure lyrical poetry and slowly started to express his political feelings (reacting to the Spanish Civil War at first). Political poems Odpověď Francii (The Reply to France), Září 1938 (September 1938) and Zpěv tříkrálový (Twelfth Night Song) were reactions to the situation in Czechoslovakia from September 1938 till March 1939. They also made him more intelligible and popular. The poem called Sen (The Dream) is a presage of a cruel war (published in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia in April 1939). During the war he published several poetic stories in verse inspired by national humiliation. After the war he published an apocalyptic record of events in his Panychida and chanted about the Red Army in Tobě (To You), Rudoarmějci (Red Army Soldiers) and Dík Sovětskému svazu (Thanks to the Soviet Union). He left the Catholic Church and became a member of the Communist Party.
In 1949 after the communist takeover he and Jaroslav Seifert were involved in an argument in which they criticized Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky. As a result, they were both banned from publishing new works. He left the Communist Party and re-entered the Catholic Church.
In the 1950s and 1960s he wrote longer poems mixing reality and lyrical abstraction. He is best known in English for his postwar works, both the often teasingly obscure longer poem Noc s Hamletem (A Night with Hamlet, 1964) which became the most often translated Czech poem,[1] and his short, gnomic lyrical reflections, with occasional submerged notes of political protest. He became a legendary poet-recluse.
He had a daughter, Kateřina, born in 1949 in his bad years and in addition to the social problems she had Down syndrome. He wrote a poem called Bajaja for her, which with Jaroslav Seifert's Maminka, is one of the cornerstone of Czech children's poetry. The book was illustrated by Jiří Trnka. When his daughter died in 1977, Holan lost his will to live and ceased writing. He died in a flat in Prague's riverfront Kampa district in 1980 and was buried in Olšany Cemetery.
When crossing over from nature to existence, walls are rather unkind, walls wet from the urine of talents, walls bespattered by eunuchs revolting against the spirit, walls not diminished even though they may not yet be born, and still walls already rounding out the fruit of the womb...
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This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Vladimir Holan news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2022 Vladimir Holan Czech ˈvlaɟɪmiːr ˈɦolan September 16 1905 March 31 1980 was a Czechoslovak poet famous for employing obscure language dark topics and pessimistic views in his poems He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in the late 1960s Vladimir HolanVladimir Holan in the middle Born 1905 09 16 September 16 1905Prague Kingdom of Bohemia Austria HungaryDiedMarch 31 1980 1980 03 31 aged 74 Prague CzechoslovakiaNationalityCzechOccupation s Poet Writer TranslatorYears active1926 1977Notable workTriumph of DeathA Night with HamletPanychida Commemorative plaque on a house U Luzickeho seminare 18 where Holan spent last years of his life Contents 1 Life 2 Work 2 1 Poetry 2 1 1 First poems 2 1 2 Experimental lyricism in the 1930s 2 1 3 Political poems 2 1 4 Poems celebrating Liberation 2 1 5 Lyrical poems after WWII 2 1 6 Epic poetry 2 2 Prose 3 As a translator 4 References 5 External linksLife editHolan was born in Prague but he spent most of his childhood outside the capital When he moved back in the 1920s he studied law and started a job as a clerk a position that was a large source of dissatisfaction for the poet He lost his father and in 1932 married Vera Pilarova In the same year he published the collection of poems Vanuti Breezing which he considered his first piece of poetic art there were two books preceding it Blouznivy vejir 1926 and Triumf smrti 1930 It was his only collection to be reviewed by the knight of Czech critics Frantisek Xaver Salda who compared Holan favorably with the French poet Stephane Mallarme In the 1930s Holan continued writing obscure lyrical poetry and slowly started to express his political feelings reacting to the Spanish Civil War at first Political poems Odpoved Francii The Reply to France Zari 1938 September 1938 and Zpev trikralovy Twelfth Night Song were reactions to the situation in Czechoslovakia from September 1938 till March 1939 They also made him more intelligible and popular The poem called Sen The Dream is a presage of a cruel war published in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia in April 1939 During the war he published several poetic stories in verse inspired by national humiliation After the war he published an apocalyptic record of events in his Panychida and chanted about the Red Army in Tobe To You Rudoarmejci Red Army Soldiers and Dik Sovetskemu svazu Thanks to the Soviet Union He left the Catholic Church and became a member of the Communist Party In 1949 after the communist takeover he and Jaroslav Seifert were involved in an argument in which they criticized Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky As a result they were both banned from publishing new works He left the Communist Party and re entered the Catholic Church In the 1950s and 1960s he wrote longer poems mixing reality and lyrical abstraction He is best known in English for his postwar works both the often teasingly obscure longer poem Noc s Hamletem A Night with Hamlet 1964 which became the most often translated Czech poem 1 and his short gnomic lyrical reflections with occasional submerged notes of political protest He became a legendary poet recluse He had a daughter Katerina born in 1949 in his bad years and in addition to the social problems she had Down syndrome He wrote a poem called Bajaja for her which with Jaroslav Seifert s Maminka is one of the cornerstone of Czech children s poetry The book was illustrated by Jiri Trnka When his daughter died in 1977 Holan lost his will to live and ceased writing He died in a flat in Prague s riverfront Kampa district in 1980 and was buried in Olsany Cemetery When crossing over from nature to existence walls are rather unkind walls wet from the urine of talents walls bespattered by eunuchs revolting against the spirit walls not diminished even though they may not yet be born and still walls already rounding out the fruit of the womb Vladimir Holan A Night with HamletWork editPoetry edit First poems edit Blouznivy vejir 1926 Triumf smrti 1930 1936 1948 Experimental lyricism in the 1930s edit Vanuti 1932 Oblouk 1934 Kameni prichazis 1937 Political poems edit Zari 1938 Odpoved Francii written 1938 released 1945 Sen 1939 Zahrmoti 1940 Prvni testament 1940 Zpev trikralovy Chor Poems celebrating Liberation edit Dik Sovetskemu svazu 1945 Panychida 1945 Tobe 1947 Rudoarmejci 1947 Lyrical poems after WWII edit Bolest Strach Toskana 1963 Mozartiana 1963 Noc s Hamletem 1964 Noc s Ofelii 1970 Bajaja 1955 Bez nazvu 1963 Na postupu 1964 Na sotnach 1967 Asklepiovi kohouta 1970 Predposledni 1982 Sbohem 1982 Epic poetry edit Terezka Planetova 1943 Cesta mraku 1945 Pribehy 1963 Prose edit Kolury Lemuria Hadry kosti kuze TorzoAs a translator editHolan translated poems from French German Russian Polish and other languages Among the poets whose works he translated are Rainer Maria Rilke Mikhail Lermontov Charles Vildrac Charles Baudelaire Jean de La Fontaine Pierre de Ronsard Nikolaus Lenau Adam Mickiewicz or Juliusz Slowacki References edit nbsp Wikisource has original works by or about Vladimir Holan Jiri Rulf Vladimir HolanExternal links editHolan s biography source for this article 9 poems in English Persian translation of A Night with Hamlet A website dedicated to Holan s poetry in Persian Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Vladimir Holan amp oldid 1163368621, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
