Bohemia’s contribution to literature
darkest hours of death and persecution. There it stands on the bank of silver-foamed Vltava, with its golden dome glittering in the sun, waiting to be kissed by the first rays of the New Era of Freedom that is to be born, by which the Bohemian Nation is then to be the first to be blest.
At this juncture, it is proper to remark that some of the most important writers, historians and philosophers were Slovaks, who wrote in the literary Bohemian language. (The difference between the Slovak and literary Bohemian is insignificant) Such was Jan Kollár (see above), Šafářík, and others. There were some, however, who preferred to write in Slovak and some of these are worthy of mention. Such were Ludevít Štúr, writer of heroic epics, a political leader, a hero and a martyr; Jan Hollý, Svetozar Hurban (Román za Slovenska—A Romance from Slovakland in which the suffering of the Slovak people is pictured very effectively,) Hviezdoslav, the true poet of Slovakland; M. M. Hodža, the exile, a poet of considerable power, Kuzmány, the writer of the famous “Kdo za pravdu hoří” (He Who for Truth is Burning), Samo Chalúpka, and many others. The Slovak poems, songs and romances are never translated into Bohemian, but are treasured and loved as they are, in the original Slovak, which makes them even dearer to he Bohemian heart.
The greatest woman writer is Teresa Nováková who portraysin a masterly way the soul of the people of eastern Bohemia, who are great mystics and profound thinkers. Beside her there is a long list of strong woman authors, e. g., Růžena Jesenská, Růžena Svobodová, Eliška Krásnohorská, B. Viková-Kunětická, and others.
One noteworthy phase of Bohemian literature is the care with which the juvenile books are edited. Nothing seems to be good enough for the child. No wonder the new generations of Bohemians are such worshippers of the beautiful. We may say without hesitation, and without exaggeration that the Bohemian juvenile books have not their equal anywhere in the world, particularly in appearance. Karafiát’s Broučci (The Fireflies) is one of the greatest juvenile books ever written. It was published in London in the English language.
