Jan Drda (April 4, 1915, Příbram – November 28, 1970, Dobříš) was a Czechjournalist, politician, playwright, screenwriter and author of modern fairytales. He was the Czech State Prize Laureate in 1949 and 1953, and was a nominated again for the same prize in 1965.[1]
From a young age, Drda wrote stories and dramatic plays for Ochotnické divadlo [cs], and he began contributing to newspapers and magazines from 1932. Between 1937 and 1942, Drda was the editor of Lidové noviny (People's News) to which he contributed feuilletons (English: serials) and reporting.[citation needed]
Drda contributed to many Czechoslovak films, as both a screenwriter and story author. He is credited as a writer on more than 20 films.[4] His screenplay for the 1960 film Higher Principle (Czech: Vyšší princip), based on one of his short stories in Silent Barricade (Czech: Němá barikáda), was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize by the International Federation of Film Critics at the Locarno Festival in Switzerland.[5]
In the final years of his life, Drda was the editor-in-chief of Svět práce (English: The World of Work), which he founded in 1968.[6] Drda fell out of favour after condemning the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia and the subsequent occupation, and was expelled from the Communist Party.[7] He died on November 28, 1970 in Dobříš and was buried at a local cemetery. His funeral was attended by about two thousand people.
Městečko na dlani (1940) – depicting the life of people from a small city named Rukapáň (based on the author's home city of Příbram), shortly before World War I.
Živá voda (1942) – a novel about the life of a rural boy, set in the post-war years.
Putování Petra Sedmilháře (1943) – a novel about an orphan searching for his unknown father.
Svět viděný zpomaloučka (1943) – book edition of the committee from his work for Lidové noviny.
Silent Barricade [cs] (Czech: Němá barikáda, 1946) – 14 short stories about Second World War (including Prague uprising and Liberation), first prose account of the Second World War in literature.
Kuřák dýmky (1948)
Krásná Tortiz (1952) – a collection of short stories, winner of the state prize for 1953.[8]
Dětství soudruha Stalina (1953) – a biographical account of Joseph Stalin's life until the age of 16.
Jednou v Máji (1958) – a youth novel about the defence of the Troja Bridge during the May Uprising.
Znamení kotvy (1947) – story and script, a psychological romance
Silent Barricade (Czech: Němá barikáda, 1949) – story and script; a war film directed by Otakar Vávra, about the battle for Prague at the end of World War II. Drda was awarded the 1949 state prize for the story.
Higher Principle (Czech: Vyšší princip, 1960) – story and script; drama film based on the eponymous short story from his book Silent Barricade (Czech: Němá barikáda) written in 1946. Set during the Nazi occupation, the story details the relationship between a group of students and their elderly Latin teacher.
Golden Fern (Czech: Zlaté kapradí, 1963) – story, this fairy tale focuses on the themes of love, loyalty and betrayal.
