Ivan Krasko

Ivan Krasko born Ján Botto ( born July 12, 1876 in Lukovištia, Austria - Hungary, now Slovakia, † March 3, 1958 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia) was a Slovak poet and writer whose work is mainly attributable to literary modernism.

Life

Krasko grew up in a peasant family, and studied 1887-92 at a Hungarian high school in nearby United Steffelbauer village, then 1892-94 at a German high school in the Transylvanian Hermannstadt and put his Matura in 1896 at a Romanian high school in Kronstadt from. In 1900 he started at the Prague Polytechnic to study chemical engineering and received in 1905 the title of engineer. There he began to write the first works also under the influence of the French symbolists and Czechoslovak movement called Hlasisti. After graduation, he was an engineer in a sugar factory in Klobuky 1912 then manager of a chemical plant in Slany. During World War II he was a lieutenant of a Honvéd Regiment. After the establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918 he was an official in the State service, and was a Deputy for a ministry, then a deputy and senator, before he retired in 1938. In 1943 he moved to the city Piešťany, before that he lived in Bratislava.

He died on 3 March 1958 in Bratislava and is buried in the birthplace Lukovištia.

Work

His work appeared under the following pseudonyms: Ivan Krasko, Janko Cigáň and Bohdana J. Potokinová. The name Krasko points to the neighboring village of Lukovištia, Kraskovo.

Translations of his poems have been published in German, English, Polish, Russian, Czech, Ukrainian, Hungarian and other languages.

1946 Krasko was named National Artist.