František Švantner (January 29, 1912 in Bystrá, present day

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

- October 13, 1950 in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, present-day

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

) was a Slovak

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

writer.

Biography

He was born in Bystrá in a family of a manual worker. He studied in his birthplace, later in

Podbrezová Podbrezová (; hu, Zólyombrézó) is a large village and municipality in Brezno District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia, around 10 km west of the district seat town, Brezno. History The village is actually made of ...

and

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica M ...

. After finishing his studies, he worked as a teacher in different places (

Mýto pod Ďumbierom Mýto pod Ďumbierom ( hu, Vámos) is a village and municipality in Brezno District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. Villages and municipalities in Brezno District {{BanskáBystrica-geo-stub ...

, Podbrezová,

Nová Baňa Nová Baňa (german: Königsberg; hu, Újbánya) is a small town in the west of central Slovakia and the largest town of the Žarnovica District, located in the Banská Bystrica Region. Etymology The original name of Nová Baňa was Štiavnica - ...

Hronský Beňadik Hronský Beňadik (1920–1948: , 1948–1960: ; german: Sankt Benedikt; hu, Garamszentbenedek, until 1888: ; la, Sanctus Benedictus) is a village in central Slovakia. It has a population of 1233 (2005). According to the local tourist informatio ...

), until he became a principal of school in

Hronov Hronov () is a town in Náchod District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,000 inhabitants. It is known as the birthplace of writer Alois Jirásek. Administrative parts Villages of Malá Čermná, Rokytník, Vel ...

for a short time. He also worked for a local organization of

Matica slovenská Matica Slovenská (en. Slovak Matica) is a Slovak national, cultural and scientific organization headquartered in Martin, Slovakia. It was founded in 1863 and revived in 1919. The organisation has facilities in the Slovak Republic as well a ...

and became a member of Umelecká beseda slovenská. He died of a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secon ...

Works

Writing career

He started writing during his studies in

, where he published his short story in the periodical ''Svojeť''. Švantner gained inspiration from archaic myths and ballads. He was influenced by writers such as

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

Charles Ferdinand Ramuz Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (24 September 1878 – 23 May 1947) was a French-speaking Swiss writer. Biography He was born in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud and was educated at the University of Lausanne. He taught briefly in nearby Aubonne, and ...

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

, and from Slovak authors, mainly

Margita Figuli Margita Figuli (2 October 1909 – 27 March 1995; known after her marriage as Margita Šustrová and by the penname Ol'ga Morena) was a Slovak prose writer, translator and author of literature for children and young people. Biography Margita Fi ...

, Ľudo Ondrejov and

Dobroslav Chrobák Dobroslav Chrobák (16 February 1907, Hybe – 16 May 1951, Bratislava) was a Slovak writer. Life He was born in Hybe as the second of four kids to a family of dressmakers. He studied at school in Rožňava and Liptovský Mikuláš, and ...

. Švantner's prose celebrates nature; he was a naturalistic writer. He used elements of irrationality and fantasy, but he mainly explored the boundaries between

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

and

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

List of works

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

: ''Výpoveď'' (published in ''Svojeť'') *

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in No ...

: ''Málka'' - novella * 1946: ''Nevesta hôľ'' - novel *

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

: ''Život bez konca'' - novel (published after his death) *

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is ...

: ''Dáma'' - collection of novellas Slovak writers 1912 births 1950 deaths Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk {{Slovakia-writer-stub