Jaroslav Foglar
Encyclopedia
Jaroslav Foglar was a famous Czech
author who wrote many novels about youths (partly also about Boy Scouts
movement) and their adventures in nature and dark city streets.
, capital of Bohemia
. Because his father died prematurely he was brought up in rather poor material conditions by his mother. He was strongly influenced by romantic parts of Prague
. All of the fictional towns in his novels are more or less derived from Prague
. During the 1920s, Foglar was strongly influenced by German independent Wandervogel
movement as well as Scout
movement led by Antonín Benjamin Svojsík
under Czech name Junák
.
publishing houses, Melantrich
. He edited several journals for youths:
and he wrote articles for even more journals including the Skaut, Sluníčko, ABC, and the Tramp.
After Communist coup in 1948 Foglar was kicked out of publishing house, his magazines were liquidated and his books prohibited, as was the Scout movement and independent youth clubs. For many years he worked as tutor in youth internate schools and homes. During the fall of censorship at the end of 1960s, he published some new books and the re-editions of the olders. After Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia
his books were newly banned until 1989.
Foglar lived with his mother caring for her until her death in high age and never married.
Foglar's idea of independent boy clubs is basically derived from German Wandervogel
movement. As editor of Mlady Hlasatel, Foglar systematically build clubbist ideology (based on friendship, good deeds, personal sacrifice, love to the nature, etc.) on some and traditions and own terminology. Clubs were small groups between 4 and 8 youths. Some of them were informally led by young men few years older than other youths, like Rikitan in novel Hosi od Bobri reky or by best of the youths - like 'exemplary youth' Mirek Dusin of Rychle Sipy Club. Having Foglar's novels and his magazine articles as a pattern, many Czech youths established such a clubs. At its high tide, there were many thousand of such independent clubs, which were basically kind of Wandervogel
concurrence towards the organized Scout movement.
On the other hand, when Scouts were persecuted and forbidden during the German occupation between 1938 and 1945 and during Communism between 1948 and 1989 (with short exception of renewal of Scout during 1968 and 1969), boy clubs posed excellent informal alternative of youth life based on ideas similar to those of Scouts.
. Firstly, as an author, Foglar was strongly influenced by German Wandervogel
romantism more than the ideas of British scout movement (which emerged in Bohemian Lands during the WWI). Wandervogel
movement itself had some elements of male eroticism. It can be admitted that most of the Foglar's novels are including the leading motive of lonely youth, motive of close friendship of two youths, with some exceptions in relation to the 'group-hero' novels like 'Rychle Sipy' Club and 'Devadesatka'. Foglar novels are picturing almost exclusively male world with generally no women (with few exceptions of marginal women persons - like old grannys or small girls, often without names).
Idea that Foglar was gay is quite ahistorical one. Foglar, being a very traditional writer in his style and traditionalist person in his lifestyle, was not interested in any modern ideas and was far from regarding himself to be a gay.
'Excellent books on male friendship, nature, ethically pure life and firm values of resistance towards the injustice, of solidarity and trust.' David Stein
While they may be considered ideological, his stories are not mere fables, but are based upon his long-term work with boys and young men on summer camps and in club-rooms.
Foglar is also the author of a comics serial called Rychlé šípy
("Rapid Arrows"), very successful among young readers.
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...
author who wrote many novels about youths (partly also about Boy Scouts
Junák
Junák, or more properly, Junák - svaz skautů a skautek ČR , is the largest association of Scouts and Guides of the Czech Republic...
movement) and their adventures in nature and dark city streets.
Early life
Foglar was born and grew up in PraguePrague
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...
, capital of 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...
. Because his father died prematurely he was brought up in rather poor material conditions by his mother. He was strongly influenced by romantic parts of 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...
. All of the fictional towns in his novels are more or less derived from 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...
. During the 1920s, Foglar was strongly influenced by German independent Wandervogel
Wandervogel
Wandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as rambling, hiking or wandering bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom...
movement as well as Scout
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
movement led by Antonín Benjamin Svojsík
Antonín Benjamin Svojsík
Dr. Antonín Benjamin Svojsík was the founder of the Czechoslovakian Scouting organization Junák.Dr. Svojsík served on the World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement from its creation in 1922 until 1933.When J. S. Wilson visited Czechoslovakia for two weeks in April and...
under Czech name Junák
Junák
Junák, or more properly, Junák - svaz skautů a skautek ČR , is the largest association of Scouts and Guides of the Czech Republic...
.
Writer and editor career, prohibited writer and the end of life
During 1930s and 1940s, Foglar worked as a magazine editor in one of the largest PraguePrague
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...
publishing houses, Melantrich
Melantrich
Melantrich was a large Czech language publishing house connected with the Czech National Social Party. Established in 1897, the publisher remained in existence until 1999....
. He edited several journals for youths:
- Mladý hlasatel ("Young herald"), 1938–1941
- Junák ("Scout"), 1945–1949
- Vpřed ("Ahead"), 1946–1948
and he wrote articles for even more journals including the Skaut, Sluníčko, ABC, and the Tramp.
After Communist coup in 1948 Foglar was kicked out of publishing house, his magazines were liquidated and his books prohibited, as was the Scout movement and independent youth clubs. For many years he worked as tutor in youth internate schools and homes. During the fall of censorship at the end of 1960s, he published some new books and the re-editions of the olders. After Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
his books were newly banned until 1989.
Foglar lived with his mother caring for her until her death in high age and never married.
Scout versus Youth Club movement
However Foglar worked as Scout leader, his relation to the Scout movement was not simple. He basically pictured the boy scouts only in few of his novels (especially Pod junackou vlajkou a Devadesatka pokracuje), preferring to write mostly about his own invention, the boy clubs.Foglar's idea of independent boy clubs is basically derived from German Wandervogel
Wandervogel
Wandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as rambling, hiking or wandering bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom...
movement. As editor of Mlady Hlasatel, Foglar systematically build clubbist ideology (based on friendship, good deeds, personal sacrifice, love to the nature, etc.) on some and traditions and own terminology. Clubs were small groups between 4 and 8 youths. Some of them were informally led by young men few years older than other youths, like Rikitan in novel Hosi od Bobri reky or by best of the youths - like 'exemplary youth' Mirek Dusin of Rychle Sipy Club. Having Foglar's novels and his magazine articles as a pattern, many Czech youths established such a clubs. At its high tide, there were many thousand of such independent clubs, which were basically kind of Wandervogel
Wandervogel
Wandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as rambling, hiking or wandering bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom...
concurrence towards the organized Scout movement.
On the other hand, when Scouts were persecuted and forbidden during the German occupation between 1938 and 1945 and during Communism between 1948 and 1989 (with short exception of renewal of Scout during 1968 and 1969), boy clubs posed excellent informal alternative of youth life based on ideas similar to those of Scouts.
Ideal friendship and Ideal of male education
One of the key motives of Foglar's novels is the tension between the loneliness and close friendship between young male heroes. These are especially distinctive in novels 'Přístav volá', 'Kdyz duben přichází', 'Chata v Jezerní kotlině', 'Modra rokle' and 'Tajemna Rasnovka'. These novels are also non-scout ones, picturing independent life of youths. On the other hand, in second large group of his novels, a 'group hero' novels, the plot is based on stories of some organized group of youths, with less individual psychology and more action and adventures. The heroes are boy scouts or independent clubbists.Homoerotic elements in his novels
Some critics argued that Foglar's novels are crammed with covered homosexual desire and that the author himself was gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
. Firstly, as an author, Foglar was strongly influenced by German Wandervogel
Wandervogel
Wandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as rambling, hiking or wandering bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom...
romantism more than the ideas of British scout movement (which emerged in Bohemian Lands during the WWI). Wandervogel
Wandervogel
Wandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as rambling, hiking or wandering bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom...
movement itself had some elements of male eroticism. It can be admitted that most of the Foglar's novels are including the leading motive of lonely youth, motive of close friendship of two youths, with some exceptions in relation to the 'group-hero' novels like 'Rychle Sipy' Club and 'Devadesatka'. Foglar novels are picturing almost exclusively male world with generally no women (with few exceptions of marginal women persons - like old grannys or small girls, often without names).
Idea that Foglar was gay is quite ahistorical one. Foglar, being a very traditional writer in his style and traditionalist person in his lifestyle, was not interested in any modern ideas and was far from regarding himself to be a gay.
Some opinions on Foglar's novels
Karel Sýs wrote about him on the back-cover of his book Chata v Jezerní kotlině: "I think, that both meaning and effect of his work lies in moral purity based upon author's experience. Foglar raises reliance of children and young people. On pages of his novels there are happening miracles of friendship, nature is painted in its virgin purity, city streets are surrounded by secrets -- and it's possible to believe it all because it was imagined by a pure heart."'Excellent books on male friendship, nature, ethically pure life and firm values of resistance towards the injustice, of solidarity and trust.' David Stein
David Stein
David Stein may refer to:* David Stein * David Stein...
While they may be considered ideological, his stories are not mere fables, but are based upon his long-term work with boys and young men on summer camps and in club-rooms.
Books
Note: the list is probably incomplete.- Hoši od Bobří řeky ("Boys from the Beavers' river")
- Přístav volá ("The port is calling")
- Když duben přichází ("When April is coming")
- Pod junáckou vlajkou ("Under the Scouts' flag")
- Devadesátka pokračuje ("The Ninety goes on")
- Záhada hlavolamu ("Mystery of the conundrum"), the mechanical puzzle Hedgehog in the CageHedgehog in the CageHedgehog in the Cage is a mechanical puzzle popular in the Czech Republic which features prominently in the "Dobrodružství v temných uličkách" trilogy of adventure stories by Jaroslav Foglar...
plays a central role in the book - Stínadla se bouří ("The Shades are revolting")
- Tajemství velkého Vonta ("Secret of the High Vont")
- Strach nad Bobří řekou ("Fear above the Beavers' river")
- Chata v jezerní kotlině ("The log-house in the lake basin")
- Tábor smůly ("The camp of ill luck")
- Tajemná Řásnovka ("Mysterious Řásnovka")
- Boj o první místo ("A fight over the first place")
- Historie svorné sedmy ("History of the harmonious seven")
- Poklad Černého delfína ("Treasure of the Black dolphin")
- Kronika ztracené stopy ("Chronicle of the lost track")
- Náš oddíl ("Our group")
- Dobrodružství v zemi nikoho ("An adventure in the no-man's land")
- Modrá rokle ("The Blue gorge")
- Jestřábe, vypravuj ("Tell us the story, Goshawk")
- Život v poklusu ("A life in a trot")
Foglar is also the author of a comics serial called Rychlé šípy
Rychlé šípy
Rychlé šípy is the name of a fictional club of five boys, consisting of Mirek Dušín, Jarka Metelka, Jindra Hojer, Červenáček , Rychlonožka and a dog named Bublina . They were invented by the Czech writer Jaroslav Foglar. Rychlé šípy are universally known in the Czech Republic and Slovakia,...
("Rapid Arrows"), very successful among young readers.
See also
- http://www.foglar.info/ Foglar info
- http://foglar.ezin.cz/ Foglar e-zin
- http://kluby.adam.cz/spjf/index.php Society of Friends of Jaroslav Foglar
- JunákJunákJunák, or more properly, Junák - svaz skautů a skautek ČR , is the largest association of Scouts and Guides of the Czech Republic...