Birth date

29. 01. 1912  [en] Bystrá

Death date

13. 10. 1950  [en] Praha

Fields of interest

próza

Briefly about author

Švantner drew on themes from his life in the mountains as a child and from the years of teaching. He was a spontaneous follower of European naturalistic trends (Giono, Ramuz) and his prose was full of myths, mystery and balladic moments in the yet uncivilised countryside. Unlike other Slovak writers who were also influenced by literary naturalism he characteristically creates suspense and sharpness by using mysterious visions not unlike E. A. Poe. The richness of his language, the polyphony of meaning in Švantner`s work create an expressive sensibility to the twilit fantastic mysteriousness of Slovak mountains, just like Giono who said: "I don`t write about the real Provence. I created my own Provence." The same goes for his short stories in Malka and the novella The Bride of the Ridge which are full of mystery. The Bride of the Ridge is an emotional encyclopaedia of the vanishing highland civiliza- tion in the very heart of Europe. Švantner`s work reflects pieces of an ancient myth which otherwise would have been lost forever. His creative method, however, is so plastic and picturesque that it was able to carry the weight of such themes as the anti-Hitler uprising in the midst of the Slovak mountains, thus enriching his work with specific historical experience. Švantner was well prepared when he started to write his novel Life Without End which was to become a historical and social fresco covering the period from 1894 to 1934. Unfortunately, like many great Slovak writers, he died too soon and left only a fragment, a mere torso of a novel which nevertheless remains
a valuable and eloquent statement about Slovak society between the wars.

Briefly about production

Testimony (Výpoveď, 1942), Malka (Malka, 1942), The Bride of the Ridge (Nevesta hôľ, 1946 ), Life Without End (Život bez konca, 1956, published posthumously) and The Lady (Dáma, 1966, published posthumously)

WORKS TRANSLATED
Švantner`s short stories have been translated into many languages and they have represented the author in almost every anthology of modern Slovak prose published abroad in the past fifty years.
Life Without End (1964 Slovenian, 1978 Bulgarian)
Collected Short Stories (1966 Czech)
The Lady and Other Novellas (1976 German)
Piargy (1980 Polish)

Biography for author

Born 29 January 1912 in Mýto pod Ďumbierom. He went to school in Podbrezová and then studied at the Teachers Institute in Banská Bystrica (1924 - 1928). Until 1940 he taught at the elementary school in Mýto pod Ďumbierom and then became a teacher at the school in Podbrezová where he had been once educated. From 1945 to 1947 he lived in Nová Baňa. He was also active in the creative group of film makers in Banská Bystrica. During the Slovak National Uprising in 1944 he worked in the Revolutionary National Council but was too ill to join the armed forces. Švantner died prematurely 13 October 1950 in Prague.

about author

Švantner unlike Rousseau does not emphasize the natural goodness of man. His ethical individuality is expressed differently. He sees the war as a natural element which strips mankind of all layers created by civilisation. The war, according to Švantner, breaks conventional human relations and makes man stand face to face with himself.
After the war he concentrates more on hidden demons, revealing the depths of human selfishness, self-love and cowardice - ethical categories originating and appearing in the individual`s relationships with others.

Švantner saw nature as the essential and primeval Mother of all existing things, as
a demonic force. In his prose life and death collide in a half-folkloric and half-mythical context. His short stories are full of strained situations and events: his plots are marked by suspense created by uncertainty, multiple motives, concealment of facts and balladic composition. This is why his texts often contain many layers of meaning. Sensuality is the determining principle with emphasis on instincts and passions as well as the unfathomable depths of his characters` unconsciousness.

Sample

MEETING (an extract)