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Czech BooksA good translation is a clean windshield: the linguistic acrobatics of Viktor Janis
What makes a good translation? Are there books that are untranslatable?
These are just two of the questions that we discuss in Czech Books this
week with Viktor Janis, a leading young literary translator.
More
Current AffairsOverdue: Libraries open a new chapter in public relations
Exhibitions, author readings and book signings, free Internet and a general
amnesty on late fees for patrons with overdue books - yes, it's Libraries
Week once again in the Czech Republic. More
One on OneJohn Connolly - on crime writing and his latest novel The Black Angel - partially set in the Czech Rep
John Connolly is the bestselling author of Nocturnes - a collection of
macabre short stories, and the Charlie Parker novels that have
successfully blended mystery with the supernatural. Over five books -
beginning with Every Dead Thing - Connolly's main character, private eye
Charlie Parker, has found himself in some pretty sticky situations. In
Connolly's latest, The Black Angel, the character even visits the Czech
Republic to learn more about the origins of a famous bone chapel. The
author, who is Irish, spent a great deal of time in this country, coming
back many times over the years. When I met John here recently the first
thing I asked him about was Prague. More
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.
More
One on OneDr Mila Saskova-Pierce - a Czech academic in Nebraska
My guest today is Dr Mila Saskova-Pierce, who works at the University of
Nebraska's Department of Modern Languages. Dr Saskova-Pierce was born in
Prague, but like many of her generation, left after the Soviet invasion of
1968. She has been living in Nebraska for the last 16 years, and is an
active member of the state's Czech community. When she visited us here at
Radio Prague, I asked Mila Saskova-Pierce: why Nebraska?
More
Czech BooksJaroslava Moserova: from Dick Francis to Wollongong
Jaroslava Moserova's biography is quite extraordinary. She is one of those
people who manage to have three or four careers at once. On the one hand
she is a leading Czech burns specialist. She is also one of the country's
bestknown literary translators, and a writer in her own right. Many know
her
as a diplomat, or as a member of the Czech Senate, and at one point she
was a
serious candidate for the Czech Presidency. So she is known both at home
and abroad in many different capacities. In this edition of Czech Books
she talks to
David Vaughan. More
Current AffairsWomen writers take centre stage at Prague Congress of Czech Literary Studies
Bozena Nemcova's 19th century novel Babicka, or the Grandmother is one of
the most important, and popular, texts in Czech literature. The 150th
anniversary of its publication is being celebrated in Prague this week at
the third World Congress of Czech Literary Studies. The congress is held
every five years and is organised by the Czech Academy of Sciences,
Charles University and the National Literary Archives. This year's theme:
"The World in Czech Literature and Czech Literature in the
World".
More
SpecialGratias Agit awards 2005
The Gratias Agit awards are presented every year to those who have helped
promote the good name of the Czech Republic around the world. Laureates
include Czechs and foreigners, individuals and institutions; this year's
recipients range from the renowned businessman Tomas Bata, to Liu Xingcan,
a Chinese translator of Czech literature.
More
Czech BooksMagdalena Platzova: "I don't like to torture people".
Today's Czech Books looks at Magdalena Platzova who has in her mid thirties
published two books, poems and is author of three theatre plays. The plays
were very well received, although critics warmed less to Platzova's first
book "Salt, Sheep and Stones" published 2 years ago.
More
Current Affairs"Those in the dark are not seen" - a final discussion at the Prague Writers' Festival
The 15th annual Prague Writers' Festival wrapped up on Wednesday. But
before it ended the festival offered one last discussion, with the
promising title "Those in the dark are not seen". Featuring
authors like Israel's David Grossman and Russian literary star Viktor
Erofeyev, the discussion was nothing less than fascinating. More
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