Václav Řezáč

Václav Řezáč (born Václav Voňavka; 5 May 1901 – 22 June 1956) was a Czech writer. Initially an author of psychological prose, he later became one of the main representatives of socialist realism in Czech literature.

Biography He was born in a poor district of Prague, Na Františku, and was orphaned by his father at an early age. After completing his education, he worked as a civil servant in the years throughout the 1920s and 30s also earning money by writing literary and theatre criticism for the magazines Český svět and Eva.

Řezáč began his literary career in the late 1920s, making his debut with the story Knír ("Moustache" 1928), published in the well-known illustrated magazine Světozor. By the 1930s he had become a successful and critically acclaimed novelist, publishing his works in the popular Lidové noviny newspaper. From 1949 he held the life-long position of director of the state literary publishing house "Československý spisovatel", which published a 12-volume edition of his works. He was also a member of the directing board of the Union of Czechoslovak Writers and worked at the Svoboda publishing house.

Selected works Fidlovačka (1933) – poems for children Poplach v Kovářské uličce (1934) – children's story Kluci, hurá za ním (1934) – children's story Větrná setba (1935) – novel Slepá ulička (1938) – novel Černé světlo (1940) – novel Svědek (1943) – novel Stopy v písku (1944) – collection of journalism Rozhraní (1945) – novel Nástup (1951) – novel Bitva (1954) – novel Tváří v tvář (1956) – short story collection