Štefan Krčméry

Infobox Person
name = Štefan Krčméry

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caption = slovak poet, journalist, literary critic and translator
birth_date = 26 December 1892
birth_place = Mošovce (Mosóc), Slovakia
death_date = 17 February 1955
death_place = Pezinok, Slovakia

Štefan Krčméry (pseudonyms "Eška", "Ján Jesom", "Ujo Štefan" et al.) (26 December 1892 - 17 February 1955) was a Slovak poet, literary critic, historian, journalist, translator, and administrator of Matica slovenská. He was born in Mošovce (Mosóc) and died in Pezinok.

Life

Krčméry was born in the family of a Lutheran preacher, the son of a member of the Štúr group, August Horislav Krčméry. He went to primary school in Jasenová (Alsójeszenő), secondary school in Banská Bystrica (Besztercebánya), and attended a Lutheran lyceum ( from 1907 to 1911) in Bratislava, where he also studied Lutheran theology (1911–1915).

For some time he worked as chaplain in Krajné (Krajna) and in Bratislava (Pozsony), but then left preaching and started working as a literary critic, journalist, poet, historian, theoretician, and organizer of Slovak cultural and awareness activities. From 1918 to 1919 Krčméry was the editor of Národné noviny, worked as the editor-in-chief of Slovenské pohľady, and acted as secretary of the reinstated Matica slovenská. From 1920 to 1921 Krčméry undertook a studying trip to Paris together with his wifr Hela. Upon his return, he once again worked as the secretary of Matica slovenská and was the editor of renewed Slovenské pohľady (1922–1932), Knižnica Slovenských pohľadov, and temporarily also Slovenský ochotník, Naše divadlo, Včielka and other magazines. In 1930 he left for 3 months to Prague, where he increased his qualification at the Charles University and received the PhDr. degree.

In the fall of 1931 he propagated symptoms of mental illness, and next year fell seriously ill. In the late 1932 Krčméry stopped editing Slovenské pohľady and in 1933 resigned from the post of secretary of Matica slovenská. However, he did not stop his literary work. He was also a member of several cultural and societal institutions (Matica hrvatska, Provençal Félibrige, Matica srpska etc.). He moved several times, but was undergoing treatment in Pezinok from 1949 until his death. He was buried in Bratislava, but his remains were later transferred to the National Cemetery in Martin.

Works

Krčméry started publishing in 1913, and contributed to several magazines (Slovenské pohľady, Dennica, Živena, Národné noviny, Mladé Slovensko e.a.). In addition to critical realism he also used elements of symbolism; his inspiration were Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav a the Štúr group, as well as European romantic poets. His most important theoretical work is the two-volume history of Slovak literature: "150 Years of Slovak Literature", where he mentions more and less significant personalities of the 18th and 19th century.

List of Works

Poetry

*1920 - "Keď sa sloboda rodila", celebrates the creation of Czechoslovakia
*1929 – "Herbárium"
*1930 - "Piesne a balady"
*1932 – "Slovo čisté"
*1944 – "Pozdrav odmlčaného básnika"

Prose

*1932 – "Oslobodenie"
*1957 – "Zimná legenda"
*1972 – "Ty a Ja", dedicated to his future wife, Hela Karlovská

Literary science

*1920 – "Prehľad dejín slovenskej literatúry a vzdelanosti"
*1927 – "Moyses a Kuzmány"
*1928 – "Ľudia a knihy"
*1936 – "Zo slovenskej kymnológie"
*1943 – "Stopäťdesiat rokov slovenskej literatúry"
*1976 – "Dejiny literatúry slovenskej"

Other works

*1925 – "Anthológia szlovák kőltőkből", anthology of Slovak poetry
*1925 – "Salome", translation of Oscar Wilde's rhymed drama
*1944 – "Z cudzích sadov", translation of European poetry
*1975 – "Estetické reflexie"

Articles, paragraphs, and reflections

*1922 – "Slovensko a jeho život literárny"
*1924 – "Literárne snahy slovenské"
*1926 – "O možnostiach rozvoja slovenskej literatúry"
*1931 – "Prozódia štúrovských básnikov"
*1932 – "Melódia vety a prízvuk v slovenčine"
*1935 – "Estetika krás prírodných"

Anthologies

*1975 – "Estetické reflexie"
*1977 – "Román bez konca"