Author. He was an American-born Slovak author specializing in literature for the youth, novels, and collections of poetry. Besides these works, he published political essays and one drama along with being a book illustrator. Becoming a member of the Communist Party in 1921, his fame came between World War I and World War II while writing Socialist realist literature. Although born in the United States, he returned at the age of two with his mother to the poor living conditions in Slovakia. His poor diet led to him being diagnosed with typhus, and later, tuberculosis. While in the TB sanatoriums in Slovakia, he published his first collection of poetry. His texts describe the conditions of the working poor and the horrors of war. His poetic diary "From Night to Dawn" was published in 1945. After graduating from school, he became a teacher in a rural village. During World War II, he was a member of the underground resistance against Nazi Forces with political meetings in his home. He wrote political essays for illegal magazines "V boj!" and "Voice of the People." He used several pen names during this period. Following the war, he became more political becoming the Commission of Education, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, a member of the Slovak National Council and a member of the presidency of the Union of Czechoslovak Writers. In his 1950 novel "It Will Be as It Never Was," he dealt with the changes in Czechoslovakia after the victory of the people's democracy. In 1953 he was awarded the People's Artist of Czechoslovakia. His hardback book "Blocked Road" is a collector's item in the 21st century. Some of his literature has been translated into Russian and English. To honor him as a national figure, a tall monument statue of him was erected in Tilgnerova Park in Bratislava, Slovakia. Little documentation about his personal life, including his father staying in the United States, was found but one source stated that he married Helena Kráľová.