Václav Renč (28 November 1911, Vodochody – 30 April 1973, Brno) was a Czech poet, dramatist and translator. Like other Catholic ruralistic writers, his themes included God, traditions and the countryside.
Life
Renč was born in Vodochody. He graduated from the College of Philosophy of Charles University in Prague in 1936. He edited the journal Rozhledy po literatuře (i.e. "Views over literature") together with František Halas (between 1933 and 1936). Then he worked as an editor at several journals (Akord, Obnova and Řád), later as a publishing editor. He was also a dramaturgist in Olomouc theatre (1945–1948) and in Zemské divadlo theatre in Brno in 1947.
After the 1948 communist coup in Czechoslovakia he and other catholic writers were hated by the regime. In 1951, Renč was arrested and in 1952 he was sentenced to 25 years in prison without any evidence. He was released in 1962, rehabilitated in 1968.[1] He became dramaturg operetta dramaturgist in Olomouc in 1969. He died, aged 61, in Brno.
Works
Jitření, 1933
Studánky, 1935
Sedmihradská zem, 1937
Vinný lis, 1938
Trojzpěvy, 1940
Marnotratný syn, 1942
Císařův mim, 1944
Barbora Celská, 1948 drama
Tom Sawyer od řeky Mississippi, 1964, stage play for children based on novel by Mark Twain.
Královské vraždění: Polonius, tragická komedie o pěti dějstvích, 1967
Hoře z návratu: Dramatická báseň o dvou dílech, 1969
Popelka Nazaretská, 1969
Setkání s Minotaurem, 1969 lyrical poems written in years 1963 – 1967
