Otokar Březina

Václav Jebavý (13 September 1868 – 25 March 1929); mostly known by his pen name of Otokar or Otakar Březina ; was a Czech poet and essayist, considered the greatest of Czech Symbolists.

Biography Březina was born in the small town of Počátky, Pelhřimov District, and took his inspiration from the mysterious landscape of the Českomoravská Vrchovina region, straddling Bohemia and Moravia, where he spent his whole life.

Almost all of his works were created during a period of 13 years while he was working as a teacher in Nová Říše, a small town with a monastery; he regularly visited the large library to study various books by medieval philosophers, especially German and French mysticists, and thus recovered from the shock caused by the sudden death of both his parents. Around 1895 he pondered questions regarding the meaning of life, and wrote his first book of poems Tajemné dálky, expressing his separation from the outer world and his seeking solace in the arts.

In his second book, Svítání na západě (1896), Březina explored pain as a means of cognition, and held death to be the key to understanding the mystery of life.

He died in Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou. There are various discourses and monographs on Otokar Březina, of which arguably the largest is the one written by Oldřich Králík in 1948; an English-language study and translation of Březina, Otokar Březina: a Study in Czech Literature, was written by Paul Selver in 1921. Březina's original and soaring poetry influenced a considerable number of Czech modern poets.

Works Tajemné dálky ("Mysterious Ranges") – 1895, poems Svítání na západě ("Sunrise in the West") – 1896, poems Větry od pólů ("Winds from the Poles") – 1897, poems Stavitelé chrámu ("Builders of the Temple") – 1899, poems Ruce ("Hands") – 1901, poems Hudba pramenů ("Music of the Springs") – 1903, essays Skryté dějiny ("Hidden History") – essays (published posthumously). English translation: Březina, Otokar. 1997. Hidden history. Prague: Twisted Spoon Press.