Kundera became famous mainly for his novels A joke, Immortality whether Unbearable lightness of being – are among the most translated Czech works in the world. He also wrote many essays on music, literature and philosophy. He was even repeatedly mentioned as a possible candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature. He belongs to the literary greats of the last century.
from Brno to Paris
Milan Kundera was born on April 1, 1929 in Brno. He grew up in an artistic family. His father was a pianist and musicologist. cousin Ludvík became a poet and translator. This influenced him so much that he decided to study music composition. Later, he also graduated from the Film Faculty at the AMU, where he later lectured on world literature for twelve years.
Kundera belonged to the generation that entered literary life shortly after the communist coup in 1948. He was a member of the Communist Party for two years, but together with Trefulk he was expelled from it in 1950 for anti-party activities. Six years later, his membership was renewed. From the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, he was a pro-regime author and member of the Communist Party. Later he was involved in the reform movement. He also performed at the IV. convention of the Union of Writers, which is considered the beginning of the Prague Spring.
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