ORTEN, JI?Í

ORTEN, JI?Í (pseudonym of Ji?í Ohrenstein ; 1919–1941), Czech poet. Orten was born in Kutná Hora, Bohemia. His first poems, published in literary reviews before 1939, attracted immediate attention because of their novel existentialist approach and surprisingly mature form. After the Nazi invasion, his works were published under pseudonyms. Within two years, he managed to complete four books of poetry: ?ítanka jaro ("Primer of Spring," 1939), Cesta k mrazu ("The Road to the Frost," 1940), Ohnice (1941), and Jeremiáš?v plá? ("Jeremiah's Lament," 1941). Orten's friends arranged their publication, ascribing their authorship to "Karel Jílek" or "Ji?í Jakub." He was run over and killed by a German army vehicle on a Prague embankment. Two other volumes of Orten's poetry, Zcestí ("The Wrong Way") and Elegie ("Elegy"), appeared in the definitive edition of his verse after World War ii. His prose works appeared later: Eta, Eta, žlutí ptáci ("Eta, Eta, Yellow Birds," 1966). Also appearing was Deníky (1958; "Diaries," 1958), published in full as Modrá kniha ("The Blue Book," 1992), Žíhaná kniha ("The Striped Book," 1993), and ?ervená kniha ("The Red Book," 1994). His brother was Ota *Ornest.

bibliography:

V. ?erný, in: Dílo Ji?ího Ortena, 1 (1947), 443–7; J. Kunc, Slovník ?eských spisovatel? beletrist? (1957); Eisner, in: V?stník židovské náboženské obce v Praze (1948), 236. add. bibliography: J. Kocián, Ji?í Orten (1966); A. Mikulášek et al., Literatura s hv?zdou Davidovou, vol. 1 (1998); Lexikon ?eské literatury 3/I (1985); O. Ornest, "My Brother Ji?í Orten," in: Review of the Society for the History of Czechoslovak Jews, Vol. 6, 1993–94; Slovník ?eských spisovatel? (1982).

[Avigdor Dagan /

Milos Pojar (2^nd ed.)]