The Czech author Karel Capek (1890-1938) was a noted novelist, playwright, and essayist. He was perhaps the best-known Czech literary figure of the 1920s and 1930s. Born in northeastern Bohemia on Jan. 9, 1890, Karel Capek was the son of a physician....

Karel Capek is regarded as the most important Czech writer before World War II. He worked in many capacities: he was a man of the theater, a translator, a journalist, an essayist, a fiction writer, and an organizer of cultural activities. His views...

Rund 900 Kompositionen zu Filmen, Fernsehspielen und -serien stammen aus der Feder von Karel Svoboda; am berühmtesten wurde der von Karel Gott gesungene Titelsong für die "Biene Maja". Deutsche Zuschauer lernten Svoboda auch als Komponisten populärer Kinoarbeiten wie "Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel" (1974), "Wie...

KAREL FUNK 303 GALLERY The great recycling bin in which art history, critical theory, and market analysis dispose of their castoffs is crawling with post-ironic ironists scavenging for material not yet reworked. And as anyone who has browsed for high-end vintage clothing...

In the essay that follows, Bradbrook presents a comprehensive overview of Capek's short fiction, noting in particular the author's thoughts and motives regarding his stories.

In the following essay, Steiner provides the historical context for Čapek's Apocryphal Stories. The critic claims that, in addition to their philosophical and aesthetic value, the stories have political significance, asserting "The allegorical mode of writing permitted Čapek to close the gap between poetics and politics, to satisfy his artistic ambitions without giving up the civic responsibilities he felt so keenly."

In the following essay, Heé examines the techniques Čapek employed in his "pocket" stories to convey his philosophical ideas, discusses the success of these works as short stories, and considers their relation to the genre of detective fiction.