Radovan Brenkus (born 30 January 1974,

Bardejov Bardejov (; , , , , ) is a town in North-Eastern Slovakia. It is situated in the Šariš region on a floodplain terrace of the Topľa River, in the hills of the Beskids, Beskyd Mountains. It exhibits numerous cultural monuments in its completely i ...

) is a Slovak writer, translator and critic.

Biography

The author finished the study at Science faculty of P. J. Šafárik University, in mathematics and

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. He worked as a teacher in

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

, later as a specialist worker at the Institute of Experimental Physics of

Slovak Academy of Sciences The Slovak Academy of Sciences (, or SAV) is the main scientific and research institution in Slovakia fostering basic and strategic basic research. It was founded in 1942, closed after World War II, and then reestablished in 1953. Its primary ...

. He publishes in journals at home and abroad.

Slovak Radio Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arkan ...

broadcast a lot of his works, which have been published in international anthologies. He translates works from

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

and occasionally undertakes

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

, writing a critical studies and essays. The author works in publishing house Pectus in

, which was founded in 2006.

Creation

Brenkus is a continuator of literary

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

. In the field of poetry, he observes, analyses and decrypts the chaotic tired world, denounces the prevailing moral circumstances, the differences in its perception from without and within. The inspiratory sources are destructive emptiness, nothingness, limiting pseudo-being. By a symbology of

pessimism Pessimism is a mental attitude in which an undesirable outcome is anticipated from a given situation. Pessimists tend to focus on the negatives of life in general. A common question asked to test for pessimism is "Is the glass half empty or half ...

and

decadence Decadence was a late-19th-century movement emphasizing the need for sensationalism, egocentricity, and bizarre, artificial, perverse, and exotic sensations and experiences. By extension, it may refer to a decline in art, literature, science, ...

, he shows the loneliness of the individual, his more worsening condition and uncertain future. The motive of his prose is a search for the meaning of existence, awareness of transience, death. Among other things, Brenkus writes in neo-romantic style, as well as criticizes

existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

and the

civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...

progress Progress is movement towards a perceived refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. It is central to the philosophy of progressivism, which interprets progress as the set of advancements in technology, science, and social organization effic ...

which forces a human to find his own survival instinct. Surrealistic characters in author's stories are torn between the ideal and the real, and disturb an accepted order. Through expressive and mystical

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

ism, dramatic and grotesque scenes, Brenkus displays rebellion against

elitism Elitism is the notion that individuals who form an elite — a select group with desirable qualities such as intellect, wealth, power, physical attractiveness, notability, special skills, experience, lineage — are more likely to be construc ...

and decline of contemporary society. He provides a space for

catharsis Catharsis is from the Ancient Greek word , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing", commonly used to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions by way of expressing them. The desired result is an emotional state of renewal an ...

in the condensed and equally distinctive characteristics of the situations and characters.

Works

Poetry

*1997 – ''March of the Dead'' *2002 – ''Requiem in the Dust'' *2005 – ''Romance with a will-o'-the-wisp'' *2009 – ''Smoke from the Realm of Shadows'' *2015 – ''Dreaming with a Beast (2017, in Polish)''

Prose

*2005 – ''Hell Returns (2013, in Polish)'', short-story collection

Translations

*2008 – ''Zbigniew Domino: Polish Siberiada'' *2009 – ''Rafał Wojaczek: Letters for Dead Man'' *2010 – ''Marta Świderska-Pelinko: Taste of Wandering and Eden'' *2017 – ''Marta Świderska-Pelinko: Where the Violin Cries'' *2020 – ''Janusz Korczak: Children of the Street'' *2021 – ''Aldona Borowicz: Stained Glasses in Memory'' *2023 – ''Maria Konopnicka: Under the Law''

References

External links

Album of the Slovak Writers
( sk)
Personal profile
( sk, en) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brenkus, Radovan 1974 births People from Bardejov Slovak short story writers Slovak translators Slovak poets Living people