Poet. He is remembered as one of the most popular Slovak poets. Besides being a prolific poet of eleven collections over a forty-year period, he was a painter, essayist, translator from Czech and French, and an author of five children's books. He wrote poetry as a teenager, publishing poems in magazines. He studied at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague, and between 1930 to 1933, he studied architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague but did not graduate. He became active in college literary groups. Pursuing acting, he was involved with the Czech Workers' Theater Village and was also a member of their drama troupe, with which he participated in the Theater Festival in Moscow in 1933. "My Dear One" in 1939 and "Time Has Bared Its Teeth" in 1940 tell of oppression and the tragedy of war. In 1949 he wrote a collection of poems as an ode to the communist regime, "To Stalin." After his military service, he held positions in banks, on the radio, and as a newspaper editor. In 1956 he became the secretary of the Slovak section of the Union of Czechoslovak Writers and between 1952 to 1953, he was the editor-in-chief of the weekly "Kultúrny život," later he worked in the magazine "Slovenské pávidy." Since 1956 , he has devoted himself exclusively to literary work. His 1943 poetry collection "Ave Eva" was published with his own illustrations. Having positive reviews from Soviet critics, he received Soviet National Awards in 1951, 1953, 1954, 1960, and 1969.
Poet. He is remembered as one of the most popular Slovak poets. Besides being a prolific poet of eleven collections over a forty-year period, he was a painter, essayist, translator from Czech and French, and an author of five children's books. He wrote poetry as a teenager, publishing poems in magazines. He studied at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague, and between 1930 to 1933, he studied architecture at the Czech Technical University in Prague but did not graduate. He became active in college literary groups. Pursuing acting, he was involved with the Czech Workers' Theater Village and was also a member of their drama troupe, with which he participated in the Theater Festival in Moscow in 1933. "My Dear One" in 1939 and "Time Has Bared Its Teeth" in 1940 tell of oppression and the tragedy of war. In 1949 he wrote a collection of poems as an ode to the communist regime, "To Stalin." After his military service, he held positions in banks, on the radio, and as a newspaper editor. In 1956 he became the secretary of the Slovak section of the Union of Czechoslovak Writers and between 1952 to 1953, he was the editor-in-chief of the weekly "Kultúrny život," later he worked in the magazine "Slovenské pávidy." Since 1956 , he has devoted himself exclusively to literary work. His 1943 poetry collection "Ave Eva" was published with his own illustrations. Having positive reviews from Soviet critics, he received Soviet National Awards in 1951, 1953, 1954, 1960, and 1969.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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