Czech Books Lenka Reinerova: reviving Prague's German literary legacy

05-08-2007 | David Vaughan

In recent years Lenka Reinerova has acquired almost legendary status as Prague's last living writer in the German language. Her novels, stories and essays, many of which are strongly autobiographical, are widely read both in Germany and the Czech Republic. She is currently at the centre of a fascinating literary project. Prague has always been a city of two languages, Czech and German, but after the trauma of World War Two, the German language disappeared almost completely. A huge literary tradition was lost, in which Prague's most famous literary son, Franz Kafka, had been just the tip of the iceberg.

Lenka Reinerova with Frantisek Cerny and Hans Dieter Zimmermann Lenka Reinerova with Frantisek Cerny and Hans Dieter Zimmermann   Back

Featured

Related articles

More

Section Archive

More

Latest programme in English