- Jan Neruda
Jan Nepomuk Neruda (pronounced|ˈjan ˈnɛpomuk ˈnɛruda) (
July 9 ,1834 –August 22 ,1891 ) was a Czech journalist, writer and poet, one of the most prominent representatives of Czech Realism and a member of "the May school".Jan Neruda was born in
Prague ,Bohemia , son of a small grocer who lived in theMalá Strana (Lesser Quarter) district of Prague. After studying philosophy and philology, he worked as a teacher until 1860, when he became afreelance journalist and writer. Neruda never married but had a close relationship to the writerKarolína Světlá .In his work Neruda promoted the idea of rebirth of Czech patriotism. He participated in all the central cultural and political struggles of his generation, and gained a reputation as a sensitive critic. Neruda became, with
Vítězslav Hálek , the most prominent representative of the new literary trends.Neruda was known for his satirical depiction of the petty bourgeois of Prague. His most popular prose work is "Povídky malostranské" (1877, Tales of the Little Quarter), a collection of short stories, which was translated into English in 1957 by the novelist and mystery writer
Ellis Peters . Neruda's stories take the reader to the Lesser Quarter, to its streets and yards, shops, churches, houses, and restaurants.He died in 1891 and was interred in the
Vyšehrad cemetery in Prague. After his death, one of the streets in Lesser Quarter ("Ostruhová Street" well known from his books), now "Nerudova ulice" ("Neruda Street"), was named after him.The Chilean poet Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto (
Pablo Neruda ),Nobel Prize in Literature 1971, took his pseudonym after Jan Neruda.Principal works
* "Hřbitovní kvítí" ("Cemetery Flowers"), 1857
* "Knihy veršů" ("Books of Verses"), 1867
* "Zpěvy páteční" ("Friday Songs"), 1869
* "Povídky malostranské" ("Tales of the Little Quarter"), 1877, ISBN 0-8371-9344-3
* "Písně kosmické" ("Cosmic Songs"), 1878
* "Balady a romance" ("Ballads and Romances)", 1878–83
* "Prosté motivy" ("Plain Themes / Simple Motifs"), 1883External links
* [http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jneruda.htm Short biography]
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