Archive: Culture | Literature Literature
Josef Škvorecký – Part 1 – The Cowards
In this week’s Arts we will be looking back at the remarkable life and
work of renowned writer, essayist and translator Josef Škvorecký who died
earlier this month at the age of 87. The author of novels such as The
Engineer of Human Souls was one of the most important in Czech 20th century
literature, first making his mark in 1958 with The Cowards. To discuss that
book and much, much more in the first of a two-part programme, I met with
respected Czech critic, translator, specialist in Czech studies and
Revolver Revue contributor Petr Onufer. In Part 1, we look largely
Škvorecký’s debut, The Cowards. More
Renowned author, publisher Josef Škvorecký dies at 87
Czech emigré author and co-founder of '68 Publishers Josef Škvorecký
died at the age of 87 on Tuesday, succumbing to cancer in Toronto, Canada.
Mr Škvorecký was one the last great Czech 20th century authors and
literati. His first novels published in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s –
were quickly banned by the Communist regime. Later, following the
Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, Škvorecký and his wife Zdena
Salivarová moved to Canada, where they founded ’68 Publishers. The
imprint was a crucial avenue for Czech and Slovak dissidents like Milan
Kundera and Václav Havel to publish in Czech and English in the West. More
Jan Novák: the man who lived Miloš Forman
When Jan Novák describes himself as Miloš Forman’s autobiographer, he
is not entirely joking. He really did co-write the most famous
Czech-American film director’s memoirs, and Forman himself has spoken of
the book as “my life as lived by Jan Novák”. But Jan Novák is a great
deal more than a biographer. More
How the Velvet Revolution overturned the literary landscape
Writers were at the forefront of the Velvet Revolution. But when the dust
settled on the political changes they found a fast changing publishing
revolution underway that left some of them sidelined. We look at the
changes in the publishing and literary world over the last two decades. More
Václav Havel’s literary agent Jitka Sloupová on his plays, their foreign productions and his image as an author
The late Václav Havel is now being remembered as a great statesman and
human rights advocate. But he was also a prominent literary figure. In
fact, before he became an opposition leader in communist Czechoslovakia, he
was already established playwright whose plays appeared on stages
worldwide. Václav Havel’s literary agent Jitka Sloupová, from the Aura
Pont agency, talks about what inspired his dramas that quickly gained
acclaim both at home and abroad. More
Kateřina Rudčenková: the waves of the Caribbean break on the shores of Lake Balaton
What happens when five women poets writing in five different languages meet
on the edge of a Hungarian lake? As we find out now in Czech Books, the
experience can offer rich insights into what different languages and
cultures have in common, and where they differ. David Vaughan talks to the
poet Kateřina Rudčenková. More
The prison poet: remembering Ivan Martin Jirous
Last month was the end of an era in Czech poetry. The man who practically
embodied the poetic underground of the 1970s and 80s, Ivan Martin Jirous
– alias Magor, or Loony in English – died at the age of 67. Not only
was Magor one of best Czech poets of his generation, but also the driving
force behind the underground rock scene. He embodied the longing for
rebellion and freedom, as so-called “normalization” sucked the air out
of Czech and Slovak society. In Czech Books, David Vaughan talks to one of
Magor’s close friends and associates. More
Reflections of modern Czech history in Simon Mawer’s ‘The Glass Room’
A Czech architectural landmark has provided the backdrop, and indeed
central theme, for a book which has been creating a stir in the literary
world. The Glass Room by Simon Mawer tells the story of a modernist villa
in a Czech town, from conception to construction, eventually to seizure by
the state. The Glass Room has been receiving a great deal of publicity ever
since it was nominated for the prestigious Man Booker Prize. Over the phone
from his home in Italy, author Simon Mawer voiced his bewilderment as to
why his book was proving so popular in Britain at the moment: More
Brass bands, beer and a famous boulevard: Czech links with Mexico
In this programme we go south of the border, to explore some intriguing
Czech literary and other cultural links with Mexico, stretching right back
to the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Bernie Higgins begins by
recounting an extraordinary episode from the mid 19th century. More
Ewald Osers: “a certain talent for languages”
Last month we heard the sad news of the death of Ewald Osers at his home in
England at the age of 94. Born in Prague at a time when it was still part
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Osers was an outstanding linguist and a
brilliant translator. Over the decades he translated dozens of Czech
writers and poets into English, and was equally well known for his
translations from German. David Vaughan looks back at a fascinating life. More
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