Eduard Petiška

Eduard Petiška (May 14 1924, Prague – 1987, Mariánské Lázně) was a Czech poet, novelist, short story writer, playwright and translator. He is mostly known as author of books for children.

Life

After the end of World War II he studied German language and literature at Charles University in Prague, earning his doctorate in 1949. Instead of settling for a fixed position in an institution of higher learning he decided on the uncertain adventure of being a writer and independent translator. In 1977, he was a signatory of the "Anti-Charter", a pro-socialist declaration written in reaction to the anti-socialist Charter 77, a conmmuniqué of the artistic opposition. The Anti-Charter was signed by over 2,000 artists.

Petiška died in 1987, leaving his son, who publishes under the pesudonym Eduard Martin, to carry on his legacy.

Works

Petiška published nearly 70 children's books worldwide (usually illustrated by Helena Zmatlíková), even though this milieu was often avoided by writers living in Socialist states. In addition he translated the works of Goethe into Czech. Petiška was also an excellent interpreter of the legends and myths of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece, and published collections of fairy tales and myths.

Poetry

• Oči vzlétajícího času 1946
• Pražské orchestry, 1947 – lyric poetry typical for this period in Czech literature
• Okamžiky, 1957
• Ovidiova rodina, 1968
• Prométeova paměť, 1971

Prose

• Než uzrají muži, 1960 – a novel in two parts with autobiographical elements
• Pomerančové šaty, 1962 – novel
• Hotel pro cizince, 1964 – short stories
• Nejlepší život, 1973 – short stories
• Soudce Knorr, 1967
• Svatební noci, 1972 – short stories
• Svět plný lásky – short stories
• Štěstí, noc a hvězdy – short stories
• Pohyb květin a jiné radosti a obtíže
• Průvodce mladého muže manželstvím, 1981 – novel

Books for children

• Alenka jde spát, 1947
• O jabloňce, 1954
• Pohádky pro nejmenší
• Pohádkový dědeček, 1958
• Staré řecké báje a pověsti, 1958 – retelling of the ancient greek legends
• Příběhy starého Izraele - retelling of the stories from the biblical Old Testament
• Birlibán, 1959
• Příběhy na které svítilo slunce, 1967 – stories from old Egypt, Mesopotamia and Israel
• Martínkova čítanka – fairy tales, originally written for author´s son Martin
• Čtení o hradech
• Čtení o zámcích a městech