Czech Books A new anthology celebrates Prague’s international literary culture
Since the fall of communism, Prague has been a very international city, and this has had a deep impact on the city’s literary culture. Many Prague writers today have their roots outside the Czech Republic and are not necessarily writing in the Czech language. At the same time, Czech writers themselves have been strongly influenced by the growing cosmopolitanism of the city, which contrasts starkly with the stifling political atmosphere of the 70s and 80s. In a few weeks’ time Prague’s international literary scene will be celebrated with the publication of a major new anthology, a hefty volume featuring two decades of writing from the Czech Republic in English or in English translation. Its editor is the writer and artist Louis Armand, who teaches at Prague’s Charles University, and he told me how the anthology came about.
Hana Andronikova
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