Beletrie 1 – Čapek Josef (2012)

The volume comprehensively gathers the independent prose and dramatic works of J. Čapek (1887–1945) up to the year 1930: the short story collections Lelio and Pro delfína, the magazine-published works Živý plamen, Tři prózy, Podzim 1914, and Chlapec, the play Země mnoha jmen, and the fragment of the drama Gassirova loutna, as well as the film libretti Lakomec and Moc pověry, and finally the prose Stín kapradiny. In chronological arrangement, it presents Čapek's journey towards his own epic expression permeated with reflections on metaphysical themes, their weight and urgency, as well as the suggestive presence of the author's 'second' literary home, namely his critical-essayistic activity, which sharpens Čapek's contemplative style and sense for the lapidary capture of the timeless element of current (artistic) events. Thus, for the first time, there is an opportunity to showcase the entirety of Čapek's 'free' literary creation, starting from his emancipation from works written together with his brother Karel. The prose created before and during the First World War thematizes the confrontation of insecure, failing existence with the changing nature of modern space-time. The encounter with the avant-garde aesthetics of contemporary artistic movements (cubism, expressionism, futurism) opened up a fan of 'figurative' possibilities in Čapek's early prose:…