Ota Pavel
Encyclopedia
Ota Pavel (born 2 July 1930 in Prague
– died 31 March 1973 in Prague) was a Czech
writer, journalist and sport reporter. He is primarily an author of autobiographical and biographical novel
s.
During World War II
his father and both his older brothers were imprisoned in Nazi
concentration camps (his brother Jiří was imprisoned in Mauthausen
). Otto remained with their mother, who was of non-Jewish origin, in Buštěhrad
. Young Otto briefly worked as a miner in the Kladno
Region. His father and both brothers survived Nazi imprisonment and returned home after the end of the World War. In 1960 Otto graduated at the Střední škola pro pracující (High School for Workers).
He was an enthusiastic hockey
player and played on the junior team of HC Sparta Praha
, but his hopes for a professional ice-hockey career were dashed by a serious illness and tonsillectomy
. He stayed on with Sparta for a short time to train its junior team. In 1949 his close friend Arnošt Lustig
recommended him to concentrate on writing, and as a result, Popper was engaged as a sports reporter by Czechoslovak Radio. In 1955 he changed his name to Ota Pavel. From 1956 to 1957 he was a sports reporter for the journal Stadion (Stadium), then contributed for a few years to the army journal Československý voják (Czechoslovak Soldier). His first literary attempts (mainly short sport-related feuilleton
s) were published in Stadion.
His work as a journalist took him to the Soviet Union
. He was also allowed to travel to Western countries, including France
and Switzerland
. In 1962 he visited the USA with the Czech football team Dukla Prague.
During the 1964 Winter Olympics
in Innsbruck
he showed signs of the mental illness that would later end his official journalistic career. He later described the episode in his book "Jak jsem potkal ryby":
Following this he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
. In 1966 the effects of this disease led to his retirement and thereafter several admissions to mental hospitals for treatment. This difficult period in his life was also his most creative, in which he produced his strongest and most lyrical collections, including 'How I Came to Know Fish'. He died of a heart attack in 1973 in Prague and is buried at the Jewish cemetery in Prague - Strašnice, next to his father.
Ota Pavel's work was focused on sports, especially fishing. Some of his works were adapted for the film: Zlatí úhoři (Golden Eels) (starring Vladimír Menšík
) and Smrt krásných srnců.
Two of his books, Golden Eels and How I Came to Know Fish were translated into English.
Published posthumously:
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...
– died 31 March 1973 in Prague) was a Czech
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...
writer, journalist and sport reporter. He is primarily an author of autobiographical and biographical novel
Biographical novel
The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional and usually entertaining account of a person's life. This kind of novel concentrates on the experiences a person had during his lifetime, the people he met and the incidents which occurred are detailed and sometimes...
s.
Biography
He was born in Prague as the third and youngest son of Jewish travelling salesman Leo Popper.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...
his father and both his older brothers were imprisoned in Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
concentration camps (his brother Jiří was imprisoned in Mauthausen
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
). Otto remained with their mother, who was of non-Jewish origin, in Buštěhrad
Buštehrad
Buštěhrad is a small town in Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located 20 km northwest of Prague and has a population of 2,295 .- External links :*...
. Young Otto briefly worked as a miner in the Kladno
Kladno
Kladno is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located 25 km northwest of Prague. Kladno is the largest city of the region and holds a population together with its adjacent suburban areas of more than 110,000 people...
Region. His father and both brothers survived Nazi imprisonment and returned home after the end of the World War. In 1960 Otto graduated at the Střední škola pro pracující (High School for Workers).
He was an enthusiastic hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player and played on the junior team of HC Sparta Praha
HC Sparta Praha
HC Sparta Praha is a Prague based Czech ice hockey team playing in Czech Extraliga.-Team History:Founded in 1903 by Canadian expatriate Lyle P. O'Connor, HC Sparta Praha was among the first bandy teams to play on a semi-professional level in the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
, but his hopes for a professional ice-hockey career were dashed by a serious illness and tonsillectomy
Tonsillectomy
A tonsillectomy is a 3,000-year-old surgical procedure in which the tonsils are removed from either side of the throat. The procedure is performed in response to cases of repeated occurrence of acute tonsillitis or adenoiditis, obstructive sleep apnea, nasal airway obstruction, snoring, or...
. He stayed on with Sparta for a short time to train its junior team. In 1949 his close friend Arnošt Lustig
Arnošt Lustig
Arnošt Lustig was a renowned Czech Jewish author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays whose works have often involved the Holocaust.Lustig was born in Prague...
recommended him to concentrate on writing, and as a result, Popper was engaged as a sports reporter by Czechoslovak Radio. In 1955 he changed his name to Ota Pavel. From 1956 to 1957 he was a sports reporter for the journal Stadion (Stadium), then contributed for a few years to the army journal Československý voják (Czechoslovak Soldier). His first literary attempts (mainly short sport-related feuilleton
Feuilleton
Feuilleton was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle of the latest fashions, and epigrams, charades and other literary trifles...
s) were published in Stadion.
His work as a journalist took him to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. He was also allowed to travel to Western countries, including 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...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In 1962 he visited the USA with the Czech football team Dukla Prague.
During the 1964 Winter Olympics
1964 Winter Olympics
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964...
in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
he showed signs of the mental illness that would later end his official journalistic career. He later described the episode in his book "Jak jsem potkal ryby":
"I went mad at the winter Olympics in Innsbruck. My brain got cloudy, as if a fog from the Alps had enveloped it. In that condition I came face to face with one gentleman - the Devil. He looked the part! He had hooves, fur, horns, and rotten teeth that looked hundreds of years old. With this figure in my mind I climbed the hills above Innsbruck and torched a farm building. I was convinced that only a brilliant bonfire could burn off that fog. As I was leading the cows and horses from the barn, the Austrian police arrived..."
Following this he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
. In 1966 the effects of this disease led to his retirement and thereafter several admissions to mental hospitals for treatment. This difficult period in his life was also his most creative, in which he produced his strongest and most lyrical collections, including 'How I Came to Know Fish'. He died of a heart attack in 1973 in Prague and is buried at the Jewish cemetery in Prague - Strašnice, next to his father.
Ota Pavel's work was focused on sports, especially fishing. Some of his works were adapted for the film: Zlatí úhoři (Golden Eels) (starring Vladimír Menšík
Vladimír Menšík
Vladimír Menšík was a popular Czech actor and entertainer, born in Ivančice, Moravia, Czechoslovakia. Both comedian and serious actor, he created a wide range of lively characters...
) and Smrt krásných srnců.
Two of his books, Golden Eels and How I Came to Know Fish were translated into English.
Work
- Hory a lidé, 1964 – book of photographs by Vilém HeckelVilém HeckelVilém Heckel was a Czech photographer. He devoted himself mainly to landscape photography, with special focus on the photography of mountains. In 1970, he died at Huascarán, Peru...
, Pavel was the author of text - Dukla mezi mrakodrapy, 1964 – sport theme, about the success of the Czech football team Dukla Praha in USA.
- Plná bedna šampaňského, 1967 – short stories
- Cena vítězství, 1968 – anthology
- Pohár od Pánaboha, 1971
- Smrt krásných srnců, 1971 – memoirs of childhood and youth
- Syn celerového krále, 1972 – 16 short stories about famous sportsmen
- Jak jsem potkal ryby, 1974 – memoirs
- Pohádka o Raškovi, 1974 – "sport fairytale", inspired by the success of the Czech ski jumper Jiří RaškaJirí RaškaJiří Raška is the most famous Czech ski jumper, Olympic winner and Czech skier of the century.- Early life :His father died of leukaemia when Jiří Raška was nine years old, leaving his mother to raise four children on her own. His interest in winter sports was not surprising. His cousin and...
Published posthumously:
- Fialový poustevník, 1977
- Sedm deka zlata, 1980
- Veliký vodní tulák, 1980 – anthology
- Zlatí úhoři (Golden Eels), 1985, new edition 1991
- Výstup na Eiger, 1989
- Mám rád tu řeku, 1989
- Jak šel táta Afrikou: Povídky, 1994 - short stories
- Omyl a jiné povídky, 1995 - short stories
- Olympijské hry a jiné povídky, 1996 - short stories