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Czech BooksA Mosaic of Books
This week Czech Books talks to a popular bookman about town, Miroslav
Peraica. Miroslav is originally from Croatia but has worked in the book
trade in Prague for well over a decade and is now involved in running three
of the city's English language bookshops. Over the years his interest in
literature has led him to become involved in a variety, or as he puts it, a
"mosaic", of cultural ventures, from organising film shows,
hosting lectures, editing a literary magazine, and, most recently, setting
up a publishing house to translate contemporary Croatian literature into
Czech. I visited him in one of his shops in the centre of the Old Town and
asked him how he first became involved in the world of books.
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Current AffairsHow have Czechs taken to the audiobook?
The audiobook is enjoying record popularity around Europe at the moment -
sales are thought to be rising by 15% on average each year. The growth of
the medium might be slightly slower in the Czech Republic than say, in
neighbouring Germany, but both publishers and booksellers here are getting
in on the action. And an increasing number of Czech household names are
stepping up to read from the Czech literary canon. More
Current AffairsWill a new 'Music Export Office' promote Czech pop abroad?
Bands like Mig 21 and Chinaski may be pretty famous here in the Czech
Republic, but might well leave you asking 'who?' That might not be the
situation for that much longer, however, with the Czech Republic discussing
plans for a Music Export Office - to raise the profile of Czech pop abroad.
If it goes ahead with the plans, the Czech Republic will join the ranks of
Finland, Denmark, Sweden and France, who all already have such
government-funded offices to promote their musicians in other markets. Who
better to fill me in on the situation than the woman behind the Czech
export office? Earlier today, I spoke to Monika Klementova, who explained
what the purpose of such an organisation would be:
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Czech BooksFrom the Bulldozer to fiery Utopias: the literary forays of Czech politicians
There is nothing unusual about politicians writing books. Sometimes they
outline a political vision, or they might be a gesture to posterity in the
hope of putting a particular "spin" on how events are remembered,
and occasionally we come across an attempt to discredit political rivals or
former friends. In this respect the Czech Republic is no exception, with
such books available in abundance in our bookshops. But one recent
publication did cause quite a stir. It was a huge glossy picture book,
devoted entirely to photographs of the man nicknamed "The
Bulldozer" - that is the last Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, who left
office last summer and makes no secret of his ambitions to return to
power. In the Czech papers the book was greeted with humour and more than
a little ironic comment.
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Czech BooksStill a nation of bookworms in the era of the shopping mall
We are in the middle of the huge and very modern Novy Smichov shopping
complex, one of many that have sprung up in Prague and other Czech cities
in recent years. This country's consumer appetite seems insatiable. Around
me there are shops selling clothes, electronic goods, fast food and toys,
but there are also a couple of big bookshops that seem to be doing a
pretty good job of attracting the attention of passing shoppers. In the
Czech Republic it seems that the book is alive and well. For the rest of
the programme I'm going to be talking to one of the most successful Czech
booksellers, Jan Kanzelsberger - who should be able to tell us which books
are selling this Christmas and whether, as it seems, Czechs are still a
nation of bookworms.
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Czech BooksJirina Smejkalova and an extraordinary publishing revolution
Few fields can have gone through such radical changes over the 16 years
since the fall of communism as publishing. In her research, the academic,
sociologist, cultural theorist and feminist Jirina Smejkalova has shed
some fascinating light on the subject, publishing a study that has become
a classic of its kind. She is also well known for her writing on feminism,
and was one of the first people to introduce contemporary western feminist
thinking to the post-Velvet Revolution Czech Republic. In this week's
Czech Books she talks to Pavla Jonssonova. She starts their conversation
by remembering back to the beginnings of her academic career, as an
undergraduate in Prague during the deepest days of communism in the late
1970s. Surprisingly, given that those were the days of censorship and
social engineering, she feels more than a little nostalgic.
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