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Antonín Sova (26 February 1864 – 16 August 1928) was a Czech poet and the director of Prague Municipal Library.

Life

He was born in Pacov, a small town in South Bohemia, then part of the Austrian Empire, but from the age of two he grew up in nearby Lukavec.^[1] His father Jan was a teacher and choirmaster who occasionally composed.^[2] His mother died when he was 15 and his father married again (Sova never had a positive relationship with his stepmother Sabina).^[1] In Lukavec Antonín became acquainted with the sisters of Jaroslav Vrchlický. He studied at the grammar school in Pelhřimov, Tábor, and from 1881 to 1885 in Písek. He met the Písek-based poet Adolf Heyduk who helped him publish his first poems in literary magazines (he used the pen-names Ilja Georgov and for Lumír Valburga Turková).^[1] While at school he received the worst possible mark for morale because he ignored the interdict and wore a Czech tricolor tie in a park.^[1] He started studying law in Prague but he did not finish for lack of money.^[2] Jaroslav Vrchlický helped him find employment in Otto's encyclopedia editorial department which lasted for only a year.^[1] His next job was at the medical department of the Prague municipality. Eventually, from 1898 till he retired, he worked as a director of the Prague Municipal Library.^[1] He married Marie Kovaříková, who was almost 20 years younger, in 1900, and had a son Jan with her a year later.^[3] Their marriage broke up after several years, though. The poet contracted a disease that paralysed him for the last two decades of his life (probably syphilis).^[1] After the constitution of Czechoslovakia in 1918 he lived in Prague and was often visited by younger poets of various styles and political inclinations.^[1] In 1924 he moved "in his horsehair grave" to Pacov, where he died on a stormy August night in 1928.^[1] The funeral took place in Prague but his ashes were taken to a granite stone in Pacov.^[1]

Early literary career

In 1897 Sova was among the writers who established the first Czech official literary association, called Máj.^[1] His first published poetry collections were Realistické sloky (Realistic strophes, 1890), Květy intimních nálad (Flowers of Intimate Moods, 1891), Z mého kraje (From My Country, 1893), Soucit a vzdor (Compassion and Defiance, 1894), and Zlomená duše (Broken Soul, 1895).

Sova was a supporter of the progressive national movement of the 1890s connected with the Omladina Trial.^[1] Together with 11 other writers he signed the manifesto called Česká moderna in 1895 to demand free speech, social reforms and individualism in art. The reflection of the manifesto in Sova's work is the collection Vybouřené smutky (Uprisen Griefs, 1897).

Theodor Mommsen

To you, who have treacherously assailed my nation, covetous dotard,
Brutish, overweening! To you, on the brink of the grave,
Arrogant bastard of Roman emperors and conquering Germania.
To you, dotard, blinded by vainglory,
I chant the infuriate song of a barbarian, aroused by the smiting of hoofs.
With metallic buffetings
Scornfully I smite your enwrinkled visage,
O bestial fanatic of relentless kaiserdom;
Your shrivelled temples I smite, your turgid Neronic lips I smite
Covered with foaming of impotent fury!

—Opening verses of To Theodor Mommsen, translated by Paul Selver for The New Age, 1916^[4]

In 1897 Theodor Mommsen wrote a nationalist letter addressed to Germans in Austria (An die Deutschen in Österreich) and it was published in Vienna's Neue Freie Presse.^[1] Mommsen called Czechs "apostles of barbarism" and wrote that "the Czech skull is impervious to reason, but it is susceptible to blows".^[4]^[5] Antonín Sova wrote an answer in verses, To Theodor Mommsen.

The poem, in which he calls Mommsen a "covetous dotard" and an "arrogant spokesman of slavery",^[4] became the national answer to the German imperialism of that time, and Sova started to be one of the most famous poets of his generation.^[1]

Later work

Údolí nového království (Valley of a New Kingdom, 1900), Dobrodružství odvahy (Adventures of Courage, 1906) – collections of social poetry, the new utopian kingdom is a symbol of hope
Ještě jednou se vrátíme (We Will Return Once More, 1900) – intimate poetry about passionate love and the bitterness of life
Lyriky lásky a života (Lyrics of Love and Life, 1907), Drsná láska (Scathing Love, 1927) – collections of poems about falling into and recovering from love
Povídky a menší črty (1903), O milkování, lásce a zradě (1909) – collections of short stories
Ivův román (Ivo's Novel, 1902), Výpravy chudých (The Poor's Tours, 1903), Tóma Bojar (1910) – psychological and social novels
Pankrác Budecius, kantor (Pankrác Budecius the Teacher, 1916) – novel about a rural teacher in the 18th century

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Josef Zika: Cesta básníkova, životopisná poznámka in Pozdrav bouřlivé noci, Prague 1964, pp. 87–104 (in Czech)
^ ^a ^b Čeští spisovatelé 19. a počátku 20. století, Prague 1982, pp. 241–245 (in Czech)
^ Municipal Library of Písek: Antonín Sova "Sova Antonín" (in Czech). Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The New Age, A weekly review of politics, literature, and art" (PDF). 23 March 1916.
^ "An die Deutschen in Oesterreich". Neue Freie Presse (in German). 31 October 1897.

External links

Biography and works Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine (in Czech)

[Pozdrav-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Josef Zika: Cesta básníkova, životopisná poznámka in Pozdrav bouřlivé noci, Prague 1964, pp. 87–104 (in Czech)

[Spisovatelé-2] Čeští spisovatelé 19. a počátku 20. století, Prague 1982, pp. 241–245 (in Czech)

[Písek-3] Municipal Library of Písek: Antonín Sova "Sova Antonín" (in Czech). Archived from the original on 2013-12-28. Retrieved 2014-02-23.

[New_Age-4] "The New Age, A weekly review of politics, literature, and art" (PDF). 23 March 1916.

[5] "An die Deutschen in Oesterreich". Neue Freie Presse (in German). 31 October 1897.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Czech poet and writer}}
 [[Image:Antonin Sova.jpg|thumb|right|Antonín Sova]]
-'''Antonín Sova''' (26 February 1864, [[Pacov]] – 16 August 1928, Pacov) was a Czech [[poet]] and the director of Prague Municipal Library.
+'''Antonín Sova''' (26 February 1864 – 16 August 1928) was a Czech [[poet]] and the director of Prague Municipal Library.
 == Life ==
+[[File:Antonín Sova Drtikol.jpg|thumb|Antonín Sova in 1920]]
-He was born in Pacov, a small town in South Bohemia, then part of [[Austrian Empire]] but since the age of two he grew up in nearby [[Lukavec]]. <ref name="Pozdrav">Josef Zika: Cesta básníkova, životopisná poznámka in Pozdrav bouřlivé noci, Prague 1964, p. 87-104 {{Cs icon}}</ref> His father Jan was a [[teacher]] and [[Choirmaster#Nomenclature|choirmaster]] who occasionally composed. <ref name="Spisovatelé">Čeští spisovatelé 19. a počátku 20. století, Prague 1982, p. 241-245 {{Cs icon}}</ref> His mother died when he was 15 and his father married again (Sova never found positive relationship to his stepmother Sabina). <ref name="Pozdrav"/> In Lukavec Antonín got acquainted with sisters of Jaroslav Vrchlický. He studied grammar school in [[Pelhřimov]], [[Tábor]], and from 1881 to 1886 in [[Písek]]. He met the Písek-based poet [[Adolf Heyduk]] who helped him publish first poems in literary magazines (he used pen-names Ilja Georgov and for [[Lumír]] Valburga Turková). <ref name="Pozdrav"/> At the school he got the worst possible mark for morales because he ignored the interdict and wore Czech tricolore tie in a park. <ref name="Pozdrav"/>
+He was born in [[Pacov]], a small town in South Bohemia, then part of the [[Austrian Empire]], but from the age of two he grew up in nearby [[Lukavec (Pelhřimov District)|Lukavec]].<ref name="Pozdrav">Josef Zika: Cesta básníkova, životopisná poznámka in Pozdrav bouřlivé noci, Prague 1964, pp. 87–104 {{in lang|cs}}</ref> His father Jan was a [[teacher]] and [[Choirmaster#Nomenclature|choirmaster]] who occasionally composed.<ref name="Spisovatelé">Čeští spisovatelé 19. a počátku 20. století, Prague 1982, pp. 241–245 {{in lang|cs}}</ref> His mother died when he was 15 and his father married again (Sova never had a positive relationship with his stepmother Sabina).<ref name="Pozdrav"/> In Lukavec Antonín became acquainted with the sisters of [[Jaroslav Vrchlický]]. He studied at the grammar school in [[Pelhřimov]], [[Tábor]], and from 1881 to 1885 in [[Písek]]. He met the Písek-based poet [[Adolf Heyduk]] who helped him publish his first poems in literary magazines (he used the pen-names Ilja Georgov and for [[Lumír]] Valburga Turková).<ref name="Pozdrav"/> While at school he received the worst possible mark for morale because he ignored the interdict and wore a Czech tricolor tie in a park.<ref name="Pozdrav"/>
-He started studying law in [[Prague]] but he did not finish for lack of money. <ref name="Spisovatelé"/> [[Jaroslav Vrchlický]] helped him find employment in [[Otto's encyclopedia]] editorial department which lasted for only a year. <ref name="Pozdrav"/> His next job was at medical department of the Prague municipality. Eventually, from 1898 till he retired, he worked as a director of Prague Municipal Library. <ref name="Pozdrav"/>
+He started studying law in [[Prague]] but he did not finish for lack of money.<ref name="Spisovatelé"/> Jaroslav Vrchlický helped him find employment in [[Otto's encyclopedia]] editorial department which lasted for only a year.<ref name="Pozdrav"/> His next job was at the medical department of the Prague municipality. Eventually, from 1898 till he retired, he worked as a director of the Prague Municipal Library.<ref name="Pozdrav"/>
-He got married with almost 20 years younger Marie Kovaříková in 1900 and had a son Jan with her a year later. <ref name="Písek">Minucipal Library of Písek: Antonín Sova [http://www.ctenizpisku.cz/index.php/autori/22-s/70-antonin-sova] {{Cs icon}}</ref> Their marriage broke up after several years, though. The poet got a disease that paralised him for last two decades of his life (probably [[syphilis]]). <ref name="Pozdrav"/> After the constitution of Czechoslovakia in 1918 he lived in Prague and was often visited by younger poets of various styles and political inclination. <ref name="Pozdrav"/> In 1924 he moved "in his horsehair grave" to Pacov where he died on an August stormy night in 1928. <ref name="Pozdrav"/> The funeral took place in Prague but his ashes were taken to a granite stone in Pacov. <ref name="Pozdrav"/>
+He married Marie Kovaříková, who was almost 20 years younger, in 1900, and had a son Jan with her a year later.<ref name="Písek">Municipal Library of Písek: Antonín Sova {{cite web|url=http://www.ctenizpisku.cz/index.php/autori/22-s/70-antonin-sova |title=Sova Antonín |accessdate=2014-02-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228170802/http://www.ctenizpisku.cz/index.php/autori/22-s/70-antonin-sova |archivedate=2013-12-28 |language=cs}}</ref> Their marriage broke up after several years, though. The poet contracted a disease that paralysed him for the last two decades of his life (probably [[syphilis]]).<ref name="Pozdrav"/> After the constitution of Czechoslovakia in 1918 he lived in Prague and was often visited by younger poets of various styles and political inclinations.<ref name="Pozdrav"/> In 1924 he moved "in his horsehair grave" to Pacov, where he died on a stormy August night in 1928.<ref name="Pozdrav"/> The funeral took place in Prague but his ashes were taken to a granite stone in Pacov.<ref name="Pozdrav"/>
 == Early literary career ==
-In 1897 Sova was among writers who established the first Czech official literary association called Máj. <ref name="Pozdrav"/> His first published poetry collections were ''Realistické sloky'' (Realistic strophes, 1890), ''Květy intimních nálad'' (Flowers of Intimate Moods, 1891), ''Z mého kraje'' (From My Country, 1893), ''Soucit a vzdor'' (Compassion and Defiance, 1894), and ''Zlomená duše'' (Broken Soul, 1895).
+In 1897 Sova was among the writers who established the first Czech official literary association, called Máj.<ref name="Pozdrav"/> His first published poetry collections were {{lang|cs|Realistické sloky}} (Realistic strophes, 1890), {{lang|cs|Květy intimních nálad}} (Flowers of Intimate Moods, 1891), {{lang|cs|Z mého kraje}} (From My Country, 1893), {{lang|cs|Soucit a vzdor}} (Compassion and Defiance, 1894), and {{lang|cs|Zlomená duše}} (Broken Soul, 1895).
-Sova was a keen supporter of the progressive national movement of the 1890s connected with the [[Omladina Trial]]. <ref name="Pozdrav"/> Together with 11 other writers he signed the manifesto called Česká moderna in 1895 to demand free speech, social refroms and individualism in art. The reflection of the manifesto in Sova's work is the collection ''Vybouřené smutky'' (Uprisen Griefs, 1897)
+Sova was a supporter of the progressive national movement of the 1890s connected with the [[Omladina Trial]].<ref name="Pozdrav"/> Together with 11 other writers he signed the manifesto called Česká moderna in 1895 to demand free speech, social reforms and individualism in art. The reflection of the manifesto in Sova's work is the collection {{lang|cs|Vybouřené smutky}} (Uprisen Griefs, 1897).
-== Theodor Mommsen case ==
+== Theodor Mommsen ==
 {{Quote box|align=right|quote=<poem>
 ''To you, who have treacherously assailed my nation, covetous dotard,''
@@ Line 24: / Line 27: @@
 ''Covered with foaming of impotent fury!''
 </poem>
-|source=—Entering verses of ''To Theodor Mommsen'' translated by [[Paul Selver]] for ''[[The New Age]]'', 1916<ref>The New Age, A weekly review of politics, literature, and art, 23 March 1916 [http://library.brown.edu/pdfs/1140814442983672.pdf] {{En icon}}</ref>
+|source=—Opening verses of ''To Theodor Mommsen'', translated by [[Paul Selver]] for ''[[The New Age]]'', 1916<ref name="New Age">{{Cite web |title=The New Age, A weekly review of politics, literature, and art |date=23 March 1916 |url=http://library.brown.edu/pdfs/1140814442983672.pdf}}</ref>
 }}
-Mommsen called [[Czechs]] "apostles of barbarism" and wrote that "the Czech skull is impervious to reason, but it is susceptible to blows". In October 1987 [[Theodor Mommsen]] wrote a nationalist letter addressed to Germans in Austria (An die Deutschen in Österreich) and it was published in Vienna's Neue Freie Presse. <ref name="Pozdrav"/> Mommsen called [[Czechs]] "apostles of barbarism" and wrote that "the Czech skull is impervious to reason, but it is susceptible to blows". <ref>{{cite web |url=http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?apm=0&aid=nfp&datum=18971031&seite=1&zoom=2 |title=An die Deutschen in Oesterreich |publisher=Neue Freie Presse - issue 11923 |date=31 October 1897}}</ref> Antonín Sova wrote an answer in verses ''To Theodor Mommsen''.
+In 1897 [[Theodor Mommsen]] wrote a nationalist letter addressed to Germans in Austria (''An die Deutschen in Österreich'') and it was published in Vienna's ''Neue Freie Presse''.<ref name="Pozdrav"/> Mommsen called [[Czechs]] "apostles of barbarism" and wrote that "the Czech skull is impervious to reason, but it is susceptible to blows".<ref name="New Age"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?apm=0&aid=nfp&datum=18971031&seite=1&zoom=2 |title=An die Deutschen in Oesterreich |newspaper=Neue Freie Presse |issue=11923 |date=31 October 1897|language=German}}</ref> Antonín Sova wrote an answer in verses, ''To Theodor Mommsen''.
-The poem, in which he calls Mommsen "covetous dotard" or "arrogant spokesmen of slavery" became the national answer to the German imperialism of that time and Sova started to be the prominent poet of his generation. <ref name="Pozdrav"/>
+The poem, in which he calls Mommsen a "covetous dotard" and an "arrogant spokesman of slavery",<ref name="New Age"/> became the national answer to the German imperialism of that time, and Sova started to be one of the most famous poets of his generation.<ref name="Pozdrav"/>
 == Later work ==
 *''Údolí nového království'' (Valley of a New Kingdom, 1900), ''Dobrodružství odvahy'' (Adventures of Courage, 1906) – collections of social poetry, the new utopian kingdom is a symbol of hope
-*''Ještě jednou se vrátíme'' (We Will Return Once More,1900) – intimate poetry about passionate love and life bitternessvášnivé lásce a hořkosti života
+*''Ještě jednou se vrátíme'' (We Will Return Once More, 1900) – intimate poetry about passionate love and the bitterness of life
-*''Lyriky lásky a života'' (Lyrics of Love and Life,1907), ''Drsná láska'' (Scathing Love,1927) – collections of poems about falling to and sobering from love
+*''Lyriky lásky a života'' (Lyrics of Love and Life, 1907), ''Drsná láska'' (Scathing Love, 1927) – collections of poems about falling into and recovering from love
 *''Povídky a menší črty'' (1903), ''O milkování, lásce a zradě'' (1909) – collections of short stories
 *''Ivův román'' (Ivo's Novel, 1902), ''Výpravy chudých'' (The Poor's Tours, 1903), ''Tóma Bojar'' (1910) – psychological and social novels
@@ Line 42: / Line 45: @@
 ==External links==
+{{Wikisource author}}
-* [http://literatura.kvalitne.cz/sov.htm Biography and works] (in Czech)
+{{Commons category}}
+* [http://literatura.kvalitne.cz/sov.htm Biography and works] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174835/http://literatura.kvalitne.cz/sov.htm |date=2016-03-03 }} (in Czech)
-{{Authority control|VIAF=61679211}}
+{{Authority control}}
-{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
-| NAME              = Sova, Antonin
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Sova, Antonin}}
-| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
-| SHORT DESCRIPTION =Czech writer, poet and painter. Known as the "Emotional Historian of the 1890s" in the Czech Republic. His poetry included many images of nature. He traveled to Cleveland, Ohio from Prague in the early 1920s and wrote a poem about his travels on the train.
-| DATE OF BIRTH     = February 26, 1864
-| PLACE OF BIRTH    = Pacov, Czech Republic
-| DATE OF DEATH     = August 16, 1928
-| PLACE OF DEATH    = Pacov, Czech Republic
-}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Sova, Antonín}}
 [[Category:1864 births]]
 [[Category:1928 deaths]]
+[[Category:People from Pacov]]
+[[Category:People from the Kingdom of Bohemia]]
 [[Category:Czech poets]]
+[[Category:Czech male poets]]
 [[Category:Symbolist poets]]
+[[Category:Poets from Austria-Hungary]]

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