Rudolf Sloboda

Rudolf Sloboda (1938-1995) studied philosophy at the Comenius University in Bratislava but dropped out before graduating. Following several menial jobs, he worked as an editor in a publishing house and as film dramaturg, devoting himself fully to literature in the final years of his life. Sloboda started writing in the late 1950s: his work ranged from short stories, essays and novels, through plays for the theatre and film scripts, to poetry and books for children and young adults. One of the most important Slovak writers of the second half of the 20th century, his writing is strongly autobiographical with a philosophical and reflective bent, and a distinctive, candidly confessional style. He lived in the village of Devínska Nová Ves on the outskirts of Bratislava, which provides the setting for much of his writing.