Author: Jiří Kudrnáč
Masaryk university, Brno
Published in: Slavyanski dialozi, XIV, 2017, 20
Abstract: This paper evaluates the place Karel Dostál-Lutinov occupied in the “Catholic Moderne” movement and in the Czech poetry of his time. Karel Dostál-Lutinov was a fervent organizer and a prolific writer. In the 1890s he was conceived of as an original poet, one of the three representative personalities of the “Catholic Moderne“; the turn of the centuries witnessed the weakening of his reputation as a poet and Karel Dostál-Lutinov was regarded mostly as a polemical journalist. However, Dostál-Lutinov brought into Czech poetry some significant impulses. As a lyrical poet he wrote many songs, following the tradition of the “May“ school. He introduced the Franciscan theme, and above all he depicted, in his poetry, the “souls“ of animals and plants and thus he became a predecessor of Jakub Deml. In some of his poetic works, and energetic polemical writing, he broke melic verse and promoted expressionistic manner of emitting the emotions.
Key words: Karel Dostál-Lutinov, Roman Catholic Moderne, Czech poetry