Jan Čarek was a Czech

Czech language

Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...

 poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, essay

Essay

An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...

ist, and literary critic

Literary criticism

Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...

. He was greatly popular in his day for his children's books a "rural" poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

.

Biography

From 1910 to 1918 he studied at the gymnasium

Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...

 in Písek

Písek

Písek is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has a population of 29 909 .-About:Písek is usually called "The Athens of the South", although Athens is much more southerly, because it has many high schools and schools of higher education, e.g. the Film School in Písek...

. He was initially working as a railway

Rail transport

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

 clerk. Since 1946 he started his professional writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 career.

Since the 1920's he regularly published his works in a number of Czech literary magazine

Literary magazine

A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...

s. After 1948 he devoted himself almost exclusively to children's literature

Children's literature

Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

.

Works

• Vojna, 1920
• Chudá rodina z Heřmaně, 1924
• Temno v chalupách, 1926
• Smutný život, 1929
• Tři baldy o válce, 1934
• Hvězdy na nebi, 1934
• Balada o Kýrovi, 1934
• Všechny chalupy,. 1936
• Tváří k vesnici, 1938
• Svatozář, 1939
• Devítiocasá kočka, 1936
• Básně rolníků, 1939
• Temno v chalupách, 1941
• O životě a literatuře, 1941
• Maminka, 1941
• V zemi české, 1942
• Na špičku nože, 1943
• Železná panna, 1946
• Mezi dvěma ohni, 1947
• Dopis na věčnost, 1947
• Ráj domova, 1948
• Jan Opolský, 1949
• Heřmaň, 1952
• Zvířátka – naši přátelé, 1953
• Zlatý dětský věk, 1953
• Bajky o nástrojích, 1953
• Radost nad radost, 1954
• Náš jeden rok, 1954
• Máš rád stromy? 1954
• Co si povídaly stroje, 1955
• Ovoce, ovoce na naší zahrádce, 1957
• Co zvířátka dovedou, 1957
• Bylo – nebylo, 1957
• Veselý věneček, 1958
• Svíce potěšení, 1958
• Dobrý den, zvířátka, 1958
• Od jehly k mašinkám, 1960
• Kreslíme rozprávku k medvídkovej chalúpke, 1960
• O veselé mašince, 1961
• Na polane, na lúke, 1961
• Kolo radovánek, 1961
• Dve mašinky, 1961
• Farby, farbičky, 1962
• 10 kuriatok, 1963
• Políčko, pole, 1963
• Nejkrásnější zvířátko, 1963
• Cose to děje? 1965
• Čarokruh, 1971
• Motýlí čas, 1978

External links

citarny.cz