Literary evening dedicated to writer Ján Labáth and his 85th birthday

The Cultural Institute was visited by many literature adorers especially of writers Jan Labath's work. For the occasion of his life jubilee 85^th birthday on this literary evening there has been presented his newest publication the summary work called Stories (Poviedky).

On this evening everyone who was present and all the guests were welcomed by the Institutes headmistress Milina Sklabinská. She said that the Cultural Institute of Vojvodina's Slovaks has organized many important life and professional jubilees what can be understood as a proof, that Slovaks have rich pallete of personalities who respresent a meaningful part in Slovak cultural life in Vojvodina.

Few words were dedicated also to writer Jan Labáth by a vice president of the National Council of Slovak National minority Vladimír Vlaentík. Masterly pianist Marína Kaňová has played compositions from Aleksander Nikolaevič Skrjabin and writers favourite composer Fryderyka Chopina. To the melodies of these world wide known composers there have been read poets from the author Jan Labáth which have been recitationed by Rastislav Labáth.

Specialistic tribute to the topic edition called the Rooths (Korene) and Ján Labáth, which has been read by another famous Slovak writer Víťazoslav Hronec who is the compiler of the latest gathered poetry work of Ján Labáth. Every one who was present got a copy of that compilation. In continuation of the evening there has been presented a short documentary film made out of archive materials from the Tlevision of Vojvodina which were provided by Ján Struhár. The movie was made by Katarína Mosnáková and Boris Havran.

By the words of Zuzana Čížiková it is typicall for Ján Labáth to notice a dualism in his personal life but also in his professional work. In his first creative part of professional life he was named as a writer full of life. When it comes to his second part his poetry is signated by a melancholy. The lastto decades Zuzana Čížiková named as memorialistic and she has presented her own analyses of the famous Vojvodina's Slovak writer Ján Labáth with the accentuation on his newest book Stories.

The book that you have in front of you is a picture of my life here, century signated with two wars, revolution, hopes, disappointments, calamityes, which have passed as if somenone has bursted with a whip. It has left in its self old and new question – how to go on. It is a whitness about our ambitions to percieve literary Slovak mother language and to create literature in conditions of seclusion and detachment from the old motherland...said Ján Labáth and read a short collage from his work.

In the end of this evening few words about the work of Ján Labáth in local division in Novi Sad of Slovak Matica in Jugoslavia in the name of the members spoke Ján Struhár.

Ján Labáth was born on October the 13^th 1926 in Bačsky Petrovec, where he finished Gymnasium. He studied electrical engineering which he finished on the University in Belgrade and Ljubljana. He was active as poet, prosaist and translator. After his studies he worked as electrical engineer in Banja Luka, Novi Sad and Beočin. During the years since 1965 until 1966 he was editor of literary magazinecalled Nový život. Since the year 1990 he lives in retirement in Novi Sad.