Vítězslav Nezval

[Stewart]

Vítězslav Nezval (May 26, 1900, Biskoupky – April 6, 1958, Prague) was one of the most prolific Czech writers.

A son of a teacher in the village of Biskoupky, he attended high school in Třebíč. In 1920 he started his university studies in Prague, but soon left. He worked as a secretary of Masarykův naučný slovník for a year. From 1928 to 1929 he was a dramaturgist of the Osvobozené divadlo. From 1945 to 1951 he was a director of the Film Department of the Ministry of Information. He was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and later worked as a professional writer of communist propaganda poetry.

Since 1922 he was a member of the avant-garde group of artists Devětsil (literally "Nine Forces," the Czech name of the Butterbur plant), he was a founding figure of the Poetism movement. His output consists of a number of poetry collections, experimental plays and novels, memoirs, essays, and translations. His best works are from the interwar period. Along with Karel Teige, Jindřich Štyrský, and Toyen, Nezval frequently traveled to Paris, engaging with the French surrealists. Forging a friendship with André Breton and Paul Eluard, he was instrumental in founding The Surrealist Group of Czechoslovakia in 1934 (the first group of this kind outside France), serving as an editor of the group's journal Surrealismus.


BIBLIOGRAPHY (partial)

• Antilyrik and Other Poems [poetry]
• Sexual Nocturne
• Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders

These are just the works, as far as I know, that have been translated from Czech to English.

RELATED LINKS

• Vítězslav Nezval on Wikipedia
• Author page at Twisted Spoon Press

[Stewart]

I thought I'd just start a thread on Nezval purely because he seems a bit obscure and also because I was just thumbing through Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders, which is lovely little edition with folding cover flaps and illustrations by Kamil Lhoták. It reminds me of those old adventure books you used to get where a sentence is extracted from the text and used underneath the illustration.

[Howard]

The 1970 film of Valerie and her Week of Wonders, which I've never seen but many people say is a great fantasy film, is being reissued on DVD on the Second Run label in the next couple of weeks.

[Stewart]

Originally Posted by Howard

The 1970 film of Valerie and her Week of Wonders, which I've never seen but many people say is a great fantasy film, is being reissued on DVD on the Second Run label in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks, Howard. I only found out there was a film a few weeks ago when having an online discussion about what-the-hell-was-that? movies and someone mentioned this. I'll have to look out for it, but it will have to be a case of book first, as always.