Gustav Janouch

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Gustav Janouch (born March 1, 1903 in Marburg an der Drau , Austria-Hungary ; died March 7, 1968 in Prague ) was a Czech author .

Live and act

Gustav Janouch grew up in Prague. He studied there as well as in Elbogen (today: Loket) and Vienna . In his homeland he became known as a composer of light music and as the author of books on musical subjects and musicians' biographies. In the years of the Second World War he was engaged in the resistance fight. He was arrested in 1946 on account of suspicions raised against him.

Janouch translated Kafka's story Ein Traum into Czech, which appeared in 1929 as the introduction to a cycle of original etchings by Otto Coester ; other translations remained unprinted.

"Conversations with Kafka"

German first edition

Today, Janouch's name is primarily associated with his “Conversations with Kafka”. Under this title he published in 1951 in S. Fischer Verlag (in German) recordings of conversations he claims to have had with Franz Kafka in 1920, when he was seventeen . As Janouch himself explains, the writings date from a later period. In 1968 he presented the book in an expanded new edition, of which numerous translations appeared, including a. into Japanese.

The "conversations" are not an authentic source. Nevertheless, they made a significant contribution to Kafka's image. Not only in Hartmut Binder's fundamental "Kafka Handbook" (Volume 1, Stuttgart 1979), but until recently - despite all the criticism - they served as a biographical source.

Janouch's descriptions and quotes from Kafka cannot be understood as part of Kafka's work. Rather, they are testimony to the affection of a young admirer and reflect his personal view of the poet.

Works (selection)

  • Heckmeck . Prague night pieces. Berlin 1968
  • Jaroslav Hašek . The father of the good soldier Schweik . Francke Verlag, Bern and Munich 1966.
  • Franz Kafka and his world. A picture biography . Franz Deutsch Verlag, 1965
  • Prague encounters . Leipzig 1959
  • Conversations with Kafka . Comments and explanations Alma Urs. Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer, 1951
    • Extended edition: Frankfurt am Main 1968
    • New edition: onomato Verlag, Düsseldorf 2008 ISBN 978-3-939511-22-9

literature

  • Hartmut Binder (Ed.): Prague Profiles: Forgotten Authors in the Shadow of Kafka . Berlin: Mann 1991, pp. 44-58. Photo on page 56
  • Hartmut Müller: Franz Kafka. Life - work - effect . Düsseldorf 1985 ISBN 3-612-10038-6

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information from: [publisher]: About the author, in: Gustav Janouch: Conversations with Kafka. Notes and memories, Frankfurt am Main 1981, p. [2]
  2. ↑ Alena Wagnerová : “When Janouch came towards me: Franz Kafka - a case also for impostors and busy people” , in: NZZ , November 4, 2006
personal data
SURNAME Janouch, Gustav
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czech author
DATE OF BIRTH March 1, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Marburg an der Drau (today: Maribor)
DATE OF DEATH March 7, 1968
Place of death Prague