Czech Books Věra Chase: the frustrated astronaut who became a writer
Věra Chase has had six books published. They include poetry and prose - both short stories and a novel with the intriguing title, “Passion for Peaches”. Věra hails from a Prague literary family and says that she identifies closely with her home city, although she has travelled widely and lived for some time in London. Her grandfather was one of the many journalists thrown out of Czechoslovak Radio after the Soviet invasion of 1968 and the family was deeply mistrusted by the communist regime. Refusing to succumb to stereotype and convention, Věra Chase continues the family tradition. She is a writer with a strong and distinct identity, and although many critics have tried to define her work, she continues to defy typical literary categories. To talk about her work we met in her flat just round the corner from the radio in Prague’s Vinohrady district. She began with a poem in English.
Věra Chase, photo: Martin Kámen
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