Karel Jaromír Erben wrote at a period when the terms of literature itself were being argued over.
The record lists Karel Jaromír Erben as Czech archivist, poet, ethnographer, librettist, publicist, lawyer, translator and writer (1811–1870).
Karel Jaromír Erben was born at Miletín in 1811. His recorded nationality is Austria. He was educated at gymnasium and Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague.
The nineteenth century was the age of the serialised novel and mass literacy; writers reached audiences of a size never seen before.
He worked as translator, poet and musicologist.
The writing is recorded in German and Polish.
His name is attached above all to collection Kytice, which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes. Books outlive their reviews, and the ones that last are seldom the ones that sold best.
That the work was written from Austria matters: language, censorship and the reach of a publishing industry decide which books travel and which stay local.
Karel Jaromír Erben died in 1870, aged 59. The books remain, which is the only durable form a writing life takes.
