Jan Čep (31 December 1902, Myslechovice – 25 January 1974,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

writer and translator.

Life

Čep was born in 1902 in the village of Myslechovice (now a part of

Litovel Litovel (; ) is a town in Olomouc District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,500 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monum ...

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

, to a family of peasants. After completing his studies at the Gymnasium in Litovel, from 1922 to 1926 he studied Czech, English and French linguistics at

Prague University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

. In 1926, he joined

Josef Florian Josef Florian (9 February 1873 – 29 December 1941, both in Stará Říše in Moravia) was a Czech book publisher and translator. He was famous for the high quality of books he published in his small publishing company in Stará Říše. Both loc ...

's Christian community in

Stará Říše Stará Říše (; ) is a market town in Jihlava District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. Administrative division Stará Říše consists of two municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2 ...

and worked in its publishing house as a translator. After later having been seduced by Florian's elder sister, he returned to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and worked as a translator for the publishing houses

Melantrich Melantrich (, ) was a large Czech-language publishing house connected with the Czech National Social Party. Established in 1897, the publisher remained in existence until 1999. History In 1897 the Czech National Social Party (ČSNS; no relatio ...

and Symposion. After the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, he returned to his native village and led a solitary life out of politics and public life. He only corresponded with his best friend, the poet

Jan Zahradníček Jan Zahradníček (17 January 1905, Mastník, Moravia − 10 October 1960, Vlčatín) was a Moravian (Czech) poet, journalist and translator. He was one of the most important Czech Catholic poets of the 20th century. Because of his faith and ...

(their correspondence was published in the 1990s as a book) and made visits to a Dominican cloister in Olomouc to see his other friend, a monk, theologian and literature critic named Silvestr Maria Braito. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he returned to Prague and worked as an editor in the

Vyšehrad publishing house Vyšehrad (German: ''Wyschehrad,'' ''Prager Hochburg'', English: "upper castle") is a historic fort in Prague, Czech Republic, just over 3 km southeast of Prague Castle, on the east bank of the Vltava River. It was probably built in the ...

. After the communist takeover in 1948, Jan fled into exile and lived in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. His friends that stayed, such as Jan Zahradníček, were subjected to cruel persecution. The poet Zahradníček was sentenced to 13 years of prison for his "anti-socialistic thinking" and died a few weeks after being released from prison in the 1960s. In exile, Jan Čep lived in

(1948-1951) and in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(1951-1954) where he became a commentator in the Czech section of

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

. In 1954, he returned to Paris, married, and became an essayist and free journalist. He died in exile in 1974 in Paris.

Books

*Dvojí domov (1926, Double Being), short stories *Zeměžluč (1931, Centaury), short stories *Letnice (1932, Pentecost), short stories *Děravý plášť (1934, Perforated Cloak), short stories *Hranice stínu (1935, Border of Shade), novel *Modrá a zlatá (1938, Blue and Gold), short stories *Polní tráva (1946, Field Grass) *Rozptýlené paprsky (1946), essays *Cikáni (1953, Gypsies), novel published in Munich exile *O lidský svět (1953, Human World), essays published in Rome *Samomluvy (1959) essays, published in Lund *Sestra úzkost (1975, My Sister Fear), memoirs/essay, published in Rome *Etudy pro paní J. (1986, Etudes for Mrs. J.), novel published posthumously in Munich

External links

Biography
(cz) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cep, Jan 1902 births 1974 deaths People from Litovel Czech male writers Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people Czechoslovak defectors Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Czechoslovak emigrants to France

Life

Books

See also

External links