Karel Čapek

A Czech writer, playwright, translator and journalist, a versatile and timeless artist, and a key representative of the movement of pragmatism. He was a member of the PEN Club and the intellectual circle known as the “Friday Men” (Pátečníci). Aside from the Čapek brothers, the group included President T. G. Masaryk, Foreign Minister Edvard Beneš and journalist Ferdinand Peroutka. He wrote numerous novels, short stories, essays and plays. Readers also fell in love with his travelogues and fairy tales. Karel Čapek was highly educated, broad-minded and gifted with an extraordinary talent for the written word. His texts reveal the richness and nuance of the Czech language. He skillfully used its quirks, revived lesser-known words, devised new ones, and wasn’t afraid of long, elaborate sentences. With his rich vocabulary, he brought many unforgettable characters to life. Čapek was also an accomplished translator from French. As a journalist, he worked mainly for Lidové noviny, where he published a vast number of feuilletons. With confidence and courage, he commented on current social issues in the form of columns a genre he essentially created and made widely popular. It is no wonder that his work continues to resonate with readers today, thanks to its wit, insight and precision. What did Karel Čapek write? Stories from One Pocket and Stories from the Other Pocket, The Gardener’s Year, Krakatit, R.U.R. (origin of the word “robot”).