Jan Beneš (writer)
Jan Beneš | |
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Born | Obořistě, Czech Republic | 21 March 1936
Occupation | Writer, translator, publicist and screenwriter |
Jan Beneš (26 March 1936 – 1 June 2007) was a
Early life
Prior to his birth, Beneš' father Bohumil, participated in the liberation of Czechoslovakia as a member of the
Career
In 1956, Jan Beneš was recruited to the
During the sixties, while he was working as a stage technician in the Prague Puppet Theatre, he managed to publish novels Do vrabců jako když střelí (Shooting into the Sparrows) and Situace (Situations). Jan Beneš started to write for exile magazine Svědectví (Testimony). Book of novels Disproporce (Disproportion) was published in 1965, but banned because of his upcoming arrest. His family was expelled from the officer's house because of action B–Bourgeoisie. The family lived in a squat in Prague, close to the river Vltava.
In 1966, Jan Beneš married Šárka Šefranková. After collecting more than 300 signatures on a petition against the imprisonment of the Russian writers
In 1968, after the Soviet invasion, Jan and Šárka Beneš emigrated from Czechoslovakia to France. They returned in January 1969, during the Palach's week, to support the public resistance against the Soviet invasion. In October 1969, after massive wave of emigration, Czechoslovak government eventually invalidated all passports and closed the borders. Jan Beneš was informed that he would be arrested again. My Father did not Fall for Anything, Triangle with Madonna, and After you slept with me you will cry were published at this time.
Jan Beneš worked in various
After the Velvet Revolution, Jan Beneš returned to Czechoslovakia. In 1992, it was too late to influence the chain of events after the series of too velvet takeovers, because the handover of power was already done. Jan Bene published his principal books such as Crime of Genocide, Indolence, American Causerie, Marked by Darkness, Dead is My Godmother, and Time smells by Dreams. In his life, he had published almost 3000 articles in various newspapers. Jan Beneš never gave up his work for democracy and freedom.
His, ill-famed detention in March 2001 and subsequent trial with BIS officer Vladimír Hučín, became the breaking point, where Czech justice system was tested.
References
- ^ ISBN 80-7277-179-5.