MILAN FERKO CV
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Born on 14.Dec.1929 in Veľké Rovné (near Žilina), died on 25.Nov.2010 in Bratislava, Slovakia.
1953 - graduated from the Faculty of Law at the Comenius University in Bratislava, while also working as an editor of the daily newspaper SMENA.
1955 - 1956 - editor of the weekly KULTÚRNY ŽIVOT (Cultural Life).
1956 - 1960 - chief editor of the monthly MLADÁ TVORBA (Young Creativity).
1960 - 1969 - chief editor of the monthly SLOVENSKÉ POHĽADY (Slovak Views).
1970 - 1974 - working as an editor of the publishing house SLOVENSKÝ SPISOVATE (Slovak Writer).
1975 - 1993 - artist at large/freelance writer
1993 - 1994 - chief editor of the monthly SLOVENSKÉ POHĽADY (Slovak Views).
1994 - 1998 - section head at the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic.
1998 - 2010 - artist at large/freelance writer
Milan Ferko debuted with contemporarily themed poetry (war, communist insurgerence,...), but in his poetry collections - Odkaz (The Message, 1960), Svet na dlani (The World in the Palm, 1961), and Rovnováha (Equilibrium, 1963), he worked his way through to a more civilian expression. In his poetry for children - Na Mars a späť (To Mars and back, 1960), Tajomstvo hračiek (The Mystery of Toys, 1963), Robí robot robotu (A robot doing work, 1964), Džimbala-bala-bala (Jimbala-bala-bala, 1971) - and in his prose for children - Dobrodružstvá s kolieskom (Adventures with a Wheel, 1963), Kam vtáci na noc odkladajú srdce (Where the birds stow their heart at night, 1978) and Šalabingo (Shalabingo, 1997) - he promotes playfulness, humour and imagination.
In his books for young readers, Milan Ferko depicted famous daydreamers, rascals and adventurers from the milieu of :
- The American Indians - Tvoji bratia, Winnetou (Your brothers, Winnetou, 1967) - Pirates and brigands - Pirátski králi a kráľovskí piráti (Pirate Kings and King´s Pirates, 1968), Pirátske dobrodružstvá (Pirate Adventures, 1970), Rinaldo Rinaldini (1971) and Bohatier v býčej koži (Warrior in a Bull´s Hide, 1981).
Exceptionally successful was his book about a 13-year-old boy during the last year of WW2 - Keby som mal pušku (If I had a rifle, 1969) and also the loosely tied in follow-up , when the boy is attending a university - Keby som mal dievča (If I had a girl [friend], 1974). Both books served as the basis for a film (1972 and 1976), directed by Š. Uher.
In his social novels - Svadba bez nevesty (A Wedding without a Bride, 1979), Svatba bez ženícha (Awedding without a Groom, 1982) and Otváranie studničiek (Opening up of small wells, 1988) - Milan Ferko wrote about the changes in the Slovak public life.
Historical themes were adapted in the novels - Krádež svätoštefánskej koruny (The theft of St. Stephen´s crown, 1970), in the trilogy [King] Svätopluk (about a 9th cent. ruler of Great Moravian Empire, 1975), in the trilogy Jánošík (about an 18th cent. Slovak character similar to Robin Hood, 1978), Medzi ženou a Rímom - Markus Aurélius (Between a woman and Rome - Marcus Aurélius, 1980), Matúš Čák Trenčiansky (Mathias Csak of Trenčín, about a 15th cent. ruler of the Slovakian Territory, 1999) - and in a 2-part TV film production Solúnski bratia (Thesaloniki brothers, about 2 patron saints of Slovakia, 1989), directed by P. Haspra, as well as their radio variations. These were also supplemented by novels - Staré povesti slovenské (Old Slovak legends, 1990), Nové povesti slovenské (New Slovak legends, 1994) and a historical drama Pravda Svätoplukova (The Veracity of [King] Svätopluk, 1985), which was also made into a play, directed at the Slovak National Theatre by P. Haspra.
Milan Ferko´s extensive body of work encompasses many radio plays for children, song lyrics and libretos to operas. He has shown thematic assertiveness by writing and publishing material outside of his usual themes, such as - Prežil som Sibír (I have survived Siberia, 1969), Veľkomoravské záhady (The Mysteries of the Great Moravian Empire, 1990), Človek a včely (Man and bees, 2001) and Zápas o zvrchovanosť (The Battle for Sovereignty, 2004). He was also instrumental in writing the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Slovak Republic (vis-a-vis Czech control of Czecho-Slovakia) and so-called "Language law" (making Slovak the official language).
The books of Milan Ferko have been translated into many languages - Czech, Magyar, Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Slovenian, English and German. Some have also received books awards - Order of Cyril and Methodius (Bulgaria, 1969), Fraňo Kráľ award (1960 and 1963), ZPB and Slovak film award (1969), The Early Years [publishers] award (1971), Slovak World Congress award (2000), Bibiana [children's book illustrations festival] Triple Rose Award (2000), Orden of Ľudovít Štúr in memoriam (highest honours of the Slovak republic (2011) and others.