Karel Čapek
Karel Čapek | |
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| Born | 9 January 1890 Malé Svatoňovice, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 25 December 1938 (aged 48) Prague, Czechoslovakia |
| Resting place | Vyšehrad Cemetery, Prague |
| Pen name | K. Č., B. Č. |
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| Language | Czech |
| Education | Charles University in Prague (PhD, 1915) |
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| Literary movement | Modernism[1] |
| Employer | Lidové noviny (newspaper) |
| Notable works | R.U.R. Válka s mloky (War with the Newts) Bílá nemoc (The White Disease) Továrna na absolutno (The Absolute at Large) Krakatit |
| Notable awards | Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (in memoriam) |
| Spouse | Olga Scheinpflugová |
| Parents | Antonín Čapek (father) Božena Čapková (mother) |
| Relatives | Josef Čapek (brother) Helena Čapková (sister) |
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Karel Čapek (/ˈtʃɑːpɛk/;[2] Czech: [ˈkarɛl ˈtʃapɛk] ⓘ; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright, critic and journalist. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel War with the Newts (1936) and play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots, 1920), which introduced the word robot.[1][3] He also wrote many politically charged works dealing with the social turmoil of his time. Influenced by American pragmatic liberalism,[4] he campaigned in favor of free expression and strongly opposed the rise of both fascism and communism in Europe.[5][6]
Though nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times,[7] Čapek never received it. However, several awards commemorate his name,[8][9] such as the Karel Čapek Prize, awarded every other year by the Czech PEN Club for literary work that contributes to reinforcing or maintaining democratic and humanist values in society.[10] He also played a key role in establishing the Czechoslovak PEN Club as a part of International PEN.[11]
Čapek died on the brink of World War II as the result of a lifelong medical condition.[12] His legacy as a literary figure became well established after the war.[5]
- ^ a b Ort, Thomas (2013). Art and Life in Modernist Prague: Karel Capek and His Generation, 1911–1938. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1349295326.
- ^ "Čapek". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary: robot n2
- ^ Hanley, Seán (2008). The New Right in the New Europe: Czech Transformation and Right-Wing. Routledge. p. 169. ISBN 978-0415341356. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
The philosopher Vaclav Belohradsky, one of the few Czech intellectuals supportive of the 'civic' right during the early 1990s, [...] viewed Klaus's thinking as a return to the American-influenced pragmatic liberalism of the Czech essayist and writer Karel Capek [...].
- ^ a b Misterova, Ivona (2010). "Letters from England: Views on London and Londoners by Karel Capek, the Czech "Gentleman Stroller of London Streets". Literary London: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Representation of London. 8 (2). Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ Ort 2013, p. 3.
- ^ "Nomination Database". The Official Web Site of the Nobel Prize. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Karel Čapek Medal for Translation from a Language of Limited Diffusion". International Federation of Translators. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Cena Karla Čapka (cena fandomu – Mlok)". DatabazeKnih.cz. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
- ^ "Czech PEN Club awards Karel Čapek Prize to Petr Šabach". Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. 19 January 2016. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
The prize is awarded every other year for prosaic, dramatic or essayistic work by a Czech author which comprehensibly contributes to reinforcing or maintaining democratic and humanist values in society.
- ^ Derek Sayer, The Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History. Princeton University Press, 2000 ISBN 069105052X, (pp. 22–23).
- ^ Strašíková, Lucie. "Čapek stihl zemřít dřív, než si pro něj přišlo gestapo". Česká televize (in Czech). Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2015.