Josef Knap

Josef Knap ( born July 28, 1900 in Podůlší near Jičína, † December 13, 1973 in Prague) was Czech writer, poet, literary critic and together with Jan and František Čep Krelina leading representatives of Ruralismus also called blood and soil literature.

After attending high school in 1919 and graduating he modern literature at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague, where he graduated in 1924, he traveled mainly a number of European countries, including Germany, Sweden, Norway, Italy and France. From 1925 to 1951 he worked in the theater department of the National Museum, of which he was later also.

His piety, which found a strong influence in his literature, he was in the 50s victim of the show trials against Catholic intellectuals. In 1952, he was sentenced to eleven years in prison. In 1955 and 1967 the dismissal of the judicial rehabilitation. After his release, he initially worked as a construction worker, later he gets a job at Památník národního písemnictví. He died in Prague and is buried in Železnice at Jičín.

His work combines realistic and impressionistic elements. He was inspired by literary works of authors from the north and the Czech Republic, including Antal Stašek, Karel Václav Rais and the Impressionists Fráňa Sramek. It usually describes the life of the rural population.

In the sixties, he deals with the history of the theaters clubs and published in 1961 about his book artists on tour ( Umělcové na pouti ). 1967 published his memories without the last chapter ( Bez poslední Kapitoly ). Other works included monographs and literary- critical studies.

Works

Stories

• Píseň na Samote, 1924
• Zaváté šlépěje, 1929-1940
• Žloutnou stráně, 1929
• Polní kytice, 1935
• Cas kopřiv, 1970

Children's Books

• Trojlístek, 1943

Novels

• Ztracené jaro, 1922
• Réva na zdi, 1926
• Muži a hory, 1928
• Vysoke jarní nebe, 1932
• Cizinec, 1934
• Puszta, 1937
• Dívčí hlas, 1938
• Veno, 1944
• Dokud vane vítr, 1968
• Vzdálená Země, 1969
• Bez poslední Kapitoly, 1997

Theater - Literature

• Hilbert, 1926
• Zöllnerové: Dejiny divadelního rodu, 1958
• Umělcové na pouti: České divadelní společnosti v století 19, 1961
• Čtyři herečky: Spurná, Vojtová, Brzková, Beníšková, 1967

Past work

• Alej srdcí, 1920
• Úvod do krásné literatury, 1924
• Cesty a vůdcové: k LITERATURE let dvacátých, 1926
• Venkovu o četbě, 1926
• Básníci selství, 1932
• Fráňa Sramek, 1937
• Literatura české půdy, 1939
• Selma Lagerlof, 1949

Poetry collections

• Neznámému bohu, 1929
• Zaslechnutý hlas, 1997