Milada Blekastad (bornMilada Topičová; 1 July 1917 – 25 October 2003) was a Czech-Norwegian literary historian, translator andBohemist. From the 1930s, she lived in Norway.[1]
She was born Milada Topičová on 1 July 1917 inPrague.[1] Her grandfatherFrantišek Topič was one of the most prominent publishers in that city and often published Nordic literature; her father Jaroslav Topič was a publisher as well and her mother Milada Topičová was a translator. As a fifteen-year old, Milada Topičová received an invitation from Gunnvor Krokann, wife of the writerInge Krokann, to travel to Norway. There she met the artistHallvard Blekastad (1883–1966), whom she married in 1934. She was quick to learnnynorsk and spoke fluentGausdal dialect, but she translated to both nynorsk andbokmål.[2]
She had seven children.[3]
She died on 25 October 2003 inOslo.[1] She is buried at the Topič family tomb atOlšany Cemetery in Prague.[4]
She was a lecturer inCzech at theUniversity of Oslo from 1957. She took thedr.philos. degree in 1969 with the thesisComenius, Versuch eines Umrisses von Leben, Werk und Schicksal des Jan Amos Komenský. She was aGovernment scholar from 1970.[5]
She wrote several academic and popular works onComenius. Books about him includeMenneskenes sak (1977), and translations includeVerdsens labyrint (1955; orig.1631) andInformatoriet for skulen hennar mor (1965).[1]
She was a prolific translator between Czech and Norwegian,[1] being awarded theBastian Prize in 1969 for translatingLudvík Vaculík'sThe Axe.[6] She wrote historical overviewsMillom aust og vest (1958) andMillom bork og ved (1978) as well as publishing the fairytale collectionTsjekkiske og Slovakiske eventyr in four volumes between 1939 and 1955.[1]
She was a member of theNorwegian Academy of Science and Letters and of the NorwegianPEN Club.[2] In 1997, she was awarded theMedal of Merit, First Grade, by the president of the Czech RepublicVáclav Havel.[3]
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| Preceded by | Recipient of theBastian Prize 1969 | Succeeded by |
