Konstantin Biebl
Encyclopedia
Konstantin Biebl was a Czech
poet.
near Louny
, Bohemia
, then Austria-Hungary
. His father was a dentist in Louny, apt to write poetry and paint. He committed suicide in 1916 when he served as a surgeon in Galicia
.. Arnošt Ráž, a brother of Konstantin's mother, was a poet. Konstantin studied at gymnasium
first in Louny (1909–1914) and then in Malá Strana
, Prague
. In 1916 he was recruited into the army and sent to Sambir
. When his father died, he was sent home where he partly faked tuberculosis
(the diagnosis was uncertain) and was hospitalized in Louny. He completed his studies in Prague in and was sent to the Balkan Front
. He fought in Montenegro
and was injured, taken captive, and condemned to death. He escaped, and suffering from tuberculosis, was hospitalized in Sarajevo
and from there transported to Louny (Jiří Wolker
was inspired by his war tale and wrote a short story called Ilda about it).
He wrote his first poems in a student almanac, and sketched an unpublished collection called Songs of a Tubercular. Soon he joined the new avant-garde literary groups Devětsil
, Brno Literary Group and others. In 1921 he started studying medicine at Charles University in Prague
which he never finished. In the same year he made friends with Jiří Wolker with whom he went to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1922 (to get treatment for TB, which caused Wolker's death in 1924; also a girl he met there, Jarmila Mikšovská, was ill with this lethal disease). They stayed in Baška
on the island of Krk
. In the same year Biebl entered the Communist Party. In 1923 he published his first book of poems together with his uncle Arnošt Ráž – Cesta k lidem (Voyage to the People; foreword was written by Zdeněk Kalista
). When Jiří Wolker died, Biebl edited the almanac In memoriam where most Czech poets described their relationship to the poet, including Jaroslav Seifert
, Vítězslav Nezval
and Josef Hora
.
In 1925 he went to France
, visited many World War I battlefields and wrote literary reports to magazines. When he decided to leave medicine he went to Louny to organize cultural and social life. In 1926 he was offered an opportunity to sail to Java
, by his friend Olga whose brother-in-law was on the island. Thus in 1926–1927 he accomplished his furthest voyage to Ceylon, Sumatra
and Java
. He was shocked by the ignorance of European settlers in the area and by the colonial practice towards the locals. He talked to rebels from the communist and nationalist movements and was interrogated by the police. The voyage inspired Biebl to write a well-known collection of poems and several short stories, and he returned to the topic in most of his following works.
In 1927 he fell in love with Marie Bulovová, daughter of a rich ironmonger from Louny. His friend Karel Konrád who introduced them told Biebl, "There is dough."
In 1929 the most famous of his poems were published – Nový Ikaros (New Icarus
). When seven communist poets (Jaroslav Seifert
, Josef Hora
, Ivan Olbracht
, Stanislav Kostka Neumann and others) stood against the new Communist leader Klement Gottwald
and left the party, Biebl was in the pro-Moscow
group of poets with Julius Fučík
, Vítězslav Nezval
, František Halas
and Karel Teige
.
In 1931 Biebl married Marie Bolovová in Louny. His best man was Karel Teige; among the wedding guests were Jiří Voskovec
, Jaroslav Ježek
, Vítězslav Nezval, Adolf Hoffmeister and others. Konstantin Biebl became a well-off communist poet. They spent their honeymoon in France, Algeria
and Tunisia
.
He worked as a dental assistant
in his mother's office in the 1930s. He also became active in the Czech Surrealist
movement and signed most of the documents published by the Surrealist group in Czechoslovakia
. He wrote little and did not acknowledge his previous work, except in 1936 when he published several poems to the memory of Karel Hynek Mácha
.
During World War II
he worked in film with the Melantrich
publishing house. After the war he worked in the film department of Ministry of Information. He was excited by the upcoming times of social justice which he saw in the communist government after February 1948
, when he celebrated his 50th birthday.
In 1949 he became ill with pancreatitis
and went to Karlovy Vary
to heal in the spa. He published his largest book (in its largest edition – over 10,000 copies), the collection of poems Bez obav (Unafraid) in 1951. He committed suicide in Prague, where he jumped out of a window on the fifth floor on 12 November 1951 (several sources state 11 November for the jump). Vítězslav Nezval wrote an excusatory poem Kosťo, proč nezdvihs aspoň telefon? (Konsta, why didn't you just pick up the phone?). The circumstances and especially the cause of the suicide have never been clear.
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
poet.
Biography
Konstantin Biebl was born in SlavětínSlavětín
Slavětín may refer to any of the following places in the Czech Republic:* Slavětín , Havlíčkův Brod District, Vysočina Region* Slavětín , Louny District, Ústí nad Labem Region* Slavětín , Olomouc District, Olomouc Region...
near Louny
Louny
Louny is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It is situated on the River Ohře.-History:The city was founded in the 12th century . The Church of St Peter stands on the site of the original fort...
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, then Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
. His father was a dentist in Louny, apt to write poetry and paint. He committed suicide in 1916 when he served as a surgeon in Galicia
Galicia
-Geographic regions:* Galicia , an autonomous community in northwestern Spain** Gallaecia, a province of the Roman Empire** Kingdom of Galicia, a medieval kingdom**Nueva Galicia :*** Nueva Galicia, a region of New Spain, now in Mexico...
.. Arnošt Ráž, a brother of Konstantin's mother, was a poet. Konstantin studied at gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
first in Louny (1909–1914) and then in Malá Strana
Malá Strana
Malá Strana is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic regions.The name translated into English literally means "Little Side", though it is frequently referred to as "Lesser Town", "Lesser Quarter", or "Lesser Side"...
, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. In 1916 he was recruited into the army and sent to Sambir
Sambir
Sambir is a city in the Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Sambir Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. It is located at around , close to the border with Poland.-History:...
. When his father died, he was sent home where he partly faked tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
(the diagnosis was uncertain) and was hospitalized in Louny. He completed his studies in Prague in and was sent to the Balkan Front
Balkans Campaign (World War I)
The Balkans Campaign of World War I was fought between Central Powers Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary, and Germany on one side and the Allies Serbia, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Montenegro on the other side.-Overview:The prime cause of World War I being the hostility between Serbia and...
. He fought in Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
and was injured, taken captive, and condemned to death. He escaped, and suffering from tuberculosis, was hospitalized in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
and from there transported to Louny (Jiří Wolker
Jirí Wolker
Jiří Wolker was a Czech poet, journalist and playwright. He was one of the founding members of CPC - Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1921.- Life :...
was inspired by his war tale and wrote a short story called Ilda about it).
He wrote his first poems in a student almanac, and sketched an unpublished collection called Songs of a Tubercular. Soon he joined the new avant-garde literary groups Devětsil
Devetsil
The Devětsil was an association of Czech avant-garde artists, founded in 1920 in Prague. From 1923 on there was also an active group in Brno. The movement discontinued its activities in 1930 ....
, Brno Literary Group and others. In 1921 he started studying medicine at Charles University in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
which he never finished. In the same year he made friends with Jiří Wolker with whom he went to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1922 (to get treatment for TB, which caused Wolker's death in 1924; also a girl he met there, Jarmila Mikšovská, was ill with this lethal disease). They stayed in Baška
Baška
At only a few hours distance from the centres of European major cities, lies Baška , a hidden gem of the Croatian Adriatic. This cultural and historical centre famous for its inscribed stone monument from 1100 and a hundred year tradition in tourism, has developed into a popular resort for a great...
on the island of Krk
Krk
Krk is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county....
. In the same year Biebl entered the Communist Party. In 1923 he published his first book of poems together with his uncle Arnošt Ráž – Cesta k lidem (Voyage to the People; foreword was written by Zdeněk Kalista
Zdenek Kalista
Zdeněk Kalista was a Czech historian, poet, literary critic, and editor....
). When Jiří Wolker died, Biebl edited the almanac In memoriam where most Czech poets described their relationship to the poet, including Jaroslav Seifert
Jaroslav Seifert
Jaroslav Seifert was a Nobel Prize winning Czech writer, poet and journalist.Born in Žižkov, a suburb of Prague in what was then part of Austria-Hungary, his first collection of poems was published in 1921...
, Vítězslav Nezval
Vítezslav Nezval
Vítězslav Nezval was one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the twentieth century and a co-founder of the Surrealist movement in Czechoslovakia....
and Josef Hora
Josef Hora
Josef Hora was a Czech poet.-Early life:Josef Hora was born in Dobříň, Litoměřice District, Bohemia in a farmstead, which now houses the Museum of Josef Hora. His father soon sold the house in the village and the family moved to Prague...
.
In 1925 he went to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, visited many World War I battlefields and wrote literary reports to magazines. When he decided to leave medicine he went to Louny to organize cultural and social life. In 1926 he was offered an opportunity to sail to Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, by his friend Olga whose brother-in-law was on the island. Thus in 1926–1927 he accomplished his furthest voyage to Ceylon, Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
and Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
. He was shocked by the ignorance of European settlers in the area and by the colonial practice towards the locals. He talked to rebels from the communist and nationalist movements and was interrogated by the police. The voyage inspired Biebl to write a well-known collection of poems and several short stories, and he returned to the topic in most of his following works.
In 1927 he fell in love with Marie Bulovová, daughter of a rich ironmonger from Louny. His friend Karel Konrád who introduced them told Biebl, "There is dough."
In 1929 the most famous of his poems were published – Nový Ikaros (New Icarus
Icarus
-Space and astronomy:* Icarus , on the Moon* Icarus , a planetary science journal* 1566 Icarus, an asteroid* IKAROS, a interplanetary unmanned spacecraft...
). When seven communist poets (Jaroslav Seifert
Jaroslav Seifert
Jaroslav Seifert was a Nobel Prize winning Czech writer, poet and journalist.Born in Žižkov, a suburb of Prague in what was then part of Austria-Hungary, his first collection of poems was published in 1921...
, Josef Hora
Josef Hora
Josef Hora was a Czech poet.-Early life:Josef Hora was born in Dobříň, Litoměřice District, Bohemia in a farmstead, which now houses the Museum of Josef Hora. His father soon sold the house in the village and the family moved to Prague...
, Ivan Olbracht
Ivan Olbracht
Ivan Olbracht was a Czech writer, journalist and translator of German prose.The son of writer Antal Stašek, Olbracht studied law and philosophy in Prague and Berlin...
, Stanislav Kostka Neumann and others) stood against the new Communist leader Klement Gottwald
Klement Gottwald
Klement Gottwald was a Czechoslovakian Communist politician, longtime leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia , prime minister and president of Czechoslovakia.-Early life:...
and left the party, Biebl was in the pro-Moscow
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
group of poets with Julius Fučík
Julius Fucík
thumb|Julius FucikJulius Fučík was a Czechoslovak journalist, an active member of Communist Party of Czechoslovakia , and part of the forefront of the anti-Nazi resistance. He was imprisoned, tortured, and executed by the Nazis.- Early life :Julius Fučík was born into a working-class family in...
, Vítězslav Nezval
Vítezslav Nezval
Vítězslav Nezval was one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the twentieth century and a co-founder of the Surrealist movement in Czechoslovakia....
, František Halas
František Halas
František Halas was one of the most significant Czech lyric poets of the 20th century, an essayist, and a translator.- Life :...
and Karel Teige
Karel Teige
Karel Teige was the major figure of the Czech avant-garde movement Devětsil in the 1920s, a graphic artist, photographer, and typographer...
.
In 1931 Biebl married Marie Bolovová in Louny. His best man was Karel Teige; among the wedding guests were Jiří Voskovec
Jirí Voskovec
Jiří Voskovec was a Czech-American actor, playwright, dramatist, director, translator, and poet...
, Jaroslav Ježek
Jaroslav Ježek
Jaroslav Ježek was a Czech composer, pianist and conductor, author of jazz, classical, incidental and film music.- Life :...
, Vítězslav Nezval, Adolf Hoffmeister and others. Konstantin Biebl became a well-off communist poet. They spent their honeymoon in France, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
.
He worked as a dental assistant
Dental assistant
Dental assistants assist the dental operator provide more efficient dental treatment, by preparing the patient for treatment, sterilizing instruments, passing instruments during the procedure, holding a suction device, exposing dental radiographs, taking impressions, and fabricating provisional...
in his mother's office in the 1930s. He also became active in the Czech Surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
movement and signed most of the documents published by the Surrealist group in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. He wrote little and did not acknowledge his previous work, except in 1936 when he published several poems to the memory of Karel Hynek Mácha
Karel Hynek Mácha
Karel Hynek Mácha was a Czech romantic poet.- Biography :Mácha grew up in Prague, the son of a foreman at a mill. He learned Latin and German in school...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he worked in film with the Melantrich
Melantrich
Melantrich was a large Czech language publishing house connected with the Czech National Social Party. Established in 1897, the publisher remained in existence until 1999....
publishing house. After the war he worked in the film department of Ministry of Information. He was excited by the upcoming times of social justice which he saw in the communist government after February 1948
Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948
The Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 – in Communist historiography known as "Victorious February" – was an event late that February in which the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia, ushering in over four decades...
, when he celebrated his 50th birthday.
In 1949 he became ill with pancreatitis
Pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. It occurs when pancreatic enzymes that digest food are activated in the pancreas instead of the small intestine. It may be acute – beginning suddenly and lasting a few days, or chronic – occurring over many years...
and went to Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
to heal in the spa. He published his largest book (in its largest edition – over 10,000 copies), the collection of poems Bez obav (Unafraid) in 1951. He committed suicide in Prague, where he jumped out of a window on the fifth floor on 12 November 1951 (several sources state 11 November for the jump). Vítězslav Nezval wrote an excusatory poem Kosťo, proč nezdvihs aspoň telefon? (Konsta, why didn't you just pick up the phone?). The circumstances and especially the cause of the suicide have never been clear.
Works
- Cesta k lidem (1923)
- Věrný hlas (1924)
- Zlom (1925)
- Zloděj z Bagdadu (1925)
- Zlatými řetězy (1926)
- Modré stíny (1926)
- S lodí jež dováží čaj a kávu (1927)
- Nový Ikaros (1929)
- Nebe peklo ráj (1930)
- Plancius (1931)
- Zrcadlo noci (1939)
- Bez obav (1951)
- Cesta na Jávu (1958)