Czech literature

Czech literature is literature of the Czech Republic, most often meaning literature written by Czechs, in the Czech language.

Related Topics:
Literature - Czech Republic - Czechs - Czech language

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Authors from the Czech territory who wrote in other languages (i. e. German) in the past are considered separately, and it is true that their writing always existed in parallel, with very little mutual influence to and from the body of Czech-language literature. Thus Franz Kafka, who is the most popular (often the only known) "Czech author" in popular foreign opinion, wrote in German (though he also knew Czech rather well) and most of his work became available in translation only in the 1960s. There are a few exceptional cases of native Czechs who write in other languages, by far the best-known being Milan Kundera who has lived in France since 1975, and has written in French since 1989, and Tom Stoppard.

Related Topics:
German - Franz Kafka - Milan Kundera - France - French - Tom Stoppard

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From the early 19th century, literature was popular and important as culture became a substitute for politics in the stifled conditions of Austria-Hungary (see Czech National Revival) and then again under the Nazi and Communist dictatorships.

Related Topics:
19th century - Austria-Hungary - Czech National Revival - Nazi - Communist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~