BREZINA, OTAKAR

born Sept. 13, 1868, Poctky, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now in Czech Republic] died March 25, 1929, Jaromerice, Czechoslovakia pseudonym of Vclav Jebav poet who had a considerable influence on the development of 20th-century Czech poetry. Brezina spent most of his life as a schoolmaster in Moravia, isolated from the political and literary movements that influenced the work of many of his contemporaries. His lasting poetical achievement is contained in a lyrical cycle of five books: Tajemn dlky (1895; The Mysterious Distances), Svtn na zpade (1896; Dawn in the West), Vetry od plu (1897; Polar Winds), Stavitel chrmu (1899; Builders of the Temple), and Ruce (1901; Hands). His earlier poems, which were written under the pseudonym Vaclav Donsovsky, are of less account. From a position of metaphysical pessimism Brezina advanced to a positive love of humanity and acceptance of life.