Bohuslav Reynek
Encyclopedia
Bohuslav Reynek was one of the most important Bohemian poets, writers, painters and translators of the 20th century.
in Jihlava
(German
Iglau), Bohemia
. There he learned both French
and German
. After a short time studying at Prague University, he left Prague
for Petrkov. In 1926 he married the French poet Suzanne Renaud
, who he would later translate into Czech. In 1914 started his long-time and close cooperation with Josef Florian
in the town of Stará Říše
translating, illustrating and publishing his own poetry. In 1949 his farmstead was confiscated by the new Communist state (he and his family were allowed to live on in Petrkov), and the publishers that had heretofore published his work were closed down. He died in 1971 on his farmstead, and was buried nearby in Svatý Kříž in the family grave.
. What is noteworthy is the delicate way in which religious themes are refracted through images of his immediate surroundings; the poems invest everyday objects and scenes (such as the farm animals, their byres, the rhythms of the working week) with a spiritual luminescence, a bright edge, and this is done so delicately that at no point does it feel imposed. He employs, for the most part, traditional forms, with inventive rhymes.
Reynek was a graphic artist and a translator of French and German. Among the poets he translated was the German expressionist Georg Trakl
, and it is clear that he learnt much from Trakl's techniques.
After the communist revolution of 1948, Reynek's manor was confiscated and devastated, his books were prohibited and those of public libraries liquidated because of Reynek's Christian faith. He died poor with his works banned but became a hero to young Czech poets of the 1960s and 1970s, the most prominent of which were Ivan Martin Jirous
, Zbyněk Hejda
and Ivan Diviš
. His work was published in exile and after 1989 a critical edition of his poems was completed and edited by Torst Publishing House, Prague. The French author Sylvie Germain
wrote Bohuslav Reynek à Petrkov (1998), a meditation on his life and art.
posthumously:
selected poems:
definitive edition of the poems:
Education and personal life
In 1904-1911 he studied at Grammar SchoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Jihlava
Jihlava
Jihlava is a city in the Czech Republic. Jihlava is a centre of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava river on the ancient frontier between Moravia and Bohemia, and is the oldest mining town in the Czech Republic, ca. 50 years older than Kutná Hora.Among the principal buildings are the...
(German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Iglau), Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
. There he learned both French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. After a short time studying at Prague University, he left Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
for Petrkov. In 1926 he married the French poet Suzanne Renaud
Suzanne Renaud
-Life:Suzanne Renaud was a French poet and translator. She moved from her native Lyon to Grenoble in 1894, and during the war she worked at the military infirmary there. In 1926 she married the Czech poet Bohuslav Reynek in Grenoble, who had come to seek her permission to translate her poetry in...
, who he would later translate into Czech. In 1914 started his long-time and close cooperation with Josef Florian
Josef Florian
Josef Florian was a Czech book publisher and translator.He was famous for the high quality of books he published in his small publishing company in Stará Říše...
in the town of Stará Říše
Stará Říše
Stará Říše is a small town in Jihlava District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic.The town covers an area of , and has a population of 694 ....
translating, illustrating and publishing his own poetry. In 1949 his farmstead was confiscated by the new Communist state (he and his family were allowed to live on in Petrkov), and the publishers that had heretofore published his work were closed down. He died in 1971 on his farmstead, and was buried nearby in Svatý Kříž in the family grave.
Poetry
His poems are meditative and inspired by the Bohemian landscape, rural life in the manor and deep Christian humanismHumanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
. What is noteworthy is the delicate way in which religious themes are refracted through images of his immediate surroundings; the poems invest everyday objects and scenes (such as the farm animals, their byres, the rhythms of the working week) with a spiritual luminescence, a bright edge, and this is done so delicately that at no point does it feel imposed. He employs, for the most part, traditional forms, with inventive rhymes.
Reynek was a graphic artist and a translator of French and German. Among the poets he translated was the German expressionist Georg Trakl
Georg Trakl
Georg Trakl was an Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists.- Life and work :Trakl was born and lived the first 18 years of his life in Salzburg, Austria...
, and it is clear that he learnt much from Trakl's techniques.
After the communist revolution of 1948, Reynek's manor was confiscated and devastated, his books were prohibited and those of public libraries liquidated because of Reynek's Christian faith. He died poor with his works banned but became a hero to young Czech poets of the 1960s and 1970s, the most prominent of which were Ivan Martin Jirous
Ivan Martin Jirous
Ivan Martin Jirous was a Czech poet, best known for being the artistic director of the Czech psychedelic rock group The Plastic People of the Universe and later one of the organizers of the Czech underground during the communist regime...
, Zbyněk Hejda
Zbynek Hejda
Zbyněk Hejda is a Czech poet, essayist and translator , generally recognised as one of the most important Czech writers after the Second World War. He studied philosophy and history at the Charles University...
and Ivan Diviš
Ivan Diviš
Ivan Diviš was a significant Czech poet and essayist of the 2nd half of the 20th century.- Biography :...
. His work was published in exile and after 1989 a critical edition of his poems was completed and edited by Torst Publishing House, Prague. The French author Sylvie Germain
Sylvie Germain
-Early life and education:During her childhood, with her three brothers and sisters, she moved from city to city, depending on the assignments her sub-prefect father received....
wrote Bohuslav Reynek à Petrkov (1998), a meditation on his life and art.
Work
- Žízně (Thirst) (1921), poems
- Rybí šupiny (Fish Scales) (1922), poems in prose
- Had na sněhu (Snake on the Snow) (1924), poems in prose
- Smutek země (Earth's Sorrow) (1924), poems
- Rty a zuby (Lips and Teeth) (1925), poems
- Setba samot (1936), poems
- Pieta (1940), poems
- Podzimní motýli (Autumn Butterflies) (1946), poems
posthumously:
- Odlet vlaštovek - samizdatSamizdatSamizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
(1978), in exile (Munich 1980), many editions after 1989.
selected poems:
- Vlídné vidiny, ed. Jaromír Zelenka (Odeon, 1992)
definitive edition of the poems:
- Básnické spisy (Poetic Works), ed. Marie Chlíbcová (Archa/Petrkov, 2009)