Otokar Březina

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Otokar Březina

Otokar Březina (born September 13, 1868 in Počátky , Austria-Hungary ; died March 25, 1929 in Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou ; actually Václav Jebavý ) was one of the most important Czech poets.

Life

Březina was the second son of Ignaz Jebavý and his third wife Katharina Fáková. After graduating from secondary school in Telč , he was a teacher in Jinošov from 1887 to 1888 . In 1888 he passed his teacher examination and taught as a primary school teacher until 1901 in Nová Říše , then until 1925 in Jaroměřice. In 1919 he received an honorary doctorate from Charles University and in the same year became a member of the Czech Academy . In 1925 he left the teaching post, which he regarded as a necessary evil. In 1928 he received the national prize for literature, while studying philosophy and modern natural sciences and writing for the Modern Revue . He died of a congenital heart defect. Březina was nominated twice (1924, 1928) for the Nobel Prize in Literature . Březina belonged to the literary circle Česká moderna .

Works

He began as a symbolist under the influence of Baudelaire , who gave this international art movement a specifically Czech note. But soon he overcame his initial pessimism and turned to a metaphysical idealism, which was expressed in mystical-ecstatic hymns of great beauty and symbolism. He expected a general amalgamation of the contradicting earthly appearances in a future metaphysical union. In addition to his poetry, Březina also wrote philosophical essays, which he introduced as a new genre in Czech literature.

  • Tajemné dálky , Poems 1895 (Geheime Widen ) - Emotional poetry. In it he expresses his own pain, the unfulfilled love for his dead mother. The central figure is the poet.
  • Svítání na západě , Poems 1896 (Sunrise in the West)
  • Větry od pólů , cycle of poems 1897 (German winds from noon to midnight, 1920, translation by Emil Saudek and Franz Werfel )
  • Stavitelé chrámu , poems 1899 (German master builder at the temple, 1920, translation by Emil Saudek and Franz Werfel)
  • Ruce , Poems 1901 (German hands, 1908)
  • Hymns, German 1917
  • Hudba pramenů , Essays 1903, expanded 1919 (German: Music of the Sources, 1923, translation by Franz Werfel) is a collection of philosophical essays that were published in magazines.
  • Nine poems. Consecration of life. On the 60th birthday of the poet on September 13, 1928

German translations in anthologies and selections

literature

See also

Web links

Commons : Otokar Březina  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Březina, Otokar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Václav Jebavý
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czech poet
DATE OF BIRTH September 13, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH Počátky
DATE OF DEATH March 25, 1929
Place of death Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou