Topic Archive Culture
Hanif Kureishi – the famous British author on Prague, Islam and multiracial societies in Europe
Undoubtedly the most famous guest at this year’s Prague Writers’
Festival, the British novelist, screenwriter and playwright Hanif Kureishi
rose to international fame in 1985, with his screenplay for the film “My
Beautiful Laundrette”. Since then, he published the novel “The Buddha
of Suburbia” to great acclaim and continues to write extensively, both
for the screen and works of fiction. Ahead of his first reading at the
festival, I asked him about his work, why he enjoys the short story form
and if he had previously visited Prague. More
Writer and psychologist Gündüz Vassaf on totalitarianism, modern Turkey and the role of Islam in his life
Amongst intellectuals in Turkey, the psychologist and author Gündüz
Vassaf is a bit of a rock-star. He writes a weekly column for the newspaper
radical, was a founding member of the Istanbul chapter of Amnesty
International and resigned from his post as university professor in protest
of the 1980 military coup. Born and educated in America, Vassaf is regarded
as one of the most important critical voices in Turkey. Currently, he is in
town for the Prague Writers’ Festival, and we spoke to him ahead of the
gala opening. The interview opens with the question of whether he is
familiar with the city at all. More
Chanson singer Jana Rychterová
This edition of Radio Prague’s Sunday Music show is devoted to Czech
chanson singer Jana Rychterová – a singer who captivates audiences with
her unassuming stage presence, her love of improvisation and her funny,
smart lyrics. Jana sings about feelings that strike a chord with her
audience, be it waiting at a tram stop or getting dumped. As she says she
likes to laugh and cry – both in real life and her chansons. More
God the linguist teaches us to breathe
“Bixley Remedial School” is one of the most remarkable collections of
Czech poetry from the second half of the twentieth century. At the time it
was first published in the early 1980s, its author Ivan Blatný was a
long-term patient in a psychiatric hospital in England. A new edition of
the collection reminds us that Blatný’s poetry is far from being the
mere scribbling of a madman. David Vaughan reports. More
Co-producer Gail Whitmore discusses Prague production of The Vagina Monologues
This Saturday will see two bilingual performances in Prague of Eve
Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues a play that has empowered women
worldwide,
tackling not only issues of sexuality but also rape and abuse. The
‘Monologues’, unlike almost any other work, have inspired an entire
activist movement. Ahead of the Prague performance, Radio Prague talked to
co-producer Gail Whitmore. More
22nd edition of Prague Writers’ Festival brings international literature greats like Hanif Kureishi to Czech capital
On Saturday, the 22nd edition of the prestigious Prague Writers’ Festival
kicks off in the Czech capital, under the theme of “Only the future
exists”. For five days, visitors will have the opportunity to attend
readings, discussion panels and film screenings featuring writers from
around the world. As every year, the festival brings writers of
international caliber to the city, with the British novelist and
screenwriter Hanif Kureishi probably the most famous guest this year. Sarah
Borufka spoke to the festival’s president, Michael March, about the
guests, the mission and the theme of the festival. More
Award-winning Czech typographer takes on Gujarati
Type design is an ancient art enjoying a renaissance in the computer age.
The specificities of writing systems that were once passed down from master
to apprentice can now be worked with by designers anywhere in the world who
have the patience and the talent to take on a foreign script. One such
designer is David Březina, one of the founders of the Brno type foundry
Rosetta. In 2008 his Skolar type family received international recognition
and he is now working on a font for the Gujarati writing system, used by
over 60 million people in the Indian subcontinent. When he came to our
studio recently I asked him how he became interested in type design in the
first place. More
Exhibitions & street art a part of Czech cultural season in London
Czech Open 2012 is a cultural season in London that began last month and
will last through to August, also during with the summer Olympic Games.
Organised by the Czech Centre in London, the season offers a variety of
programmes in the borough of Islington, including an exhibition called Coal
and Steel and Disorient Express which is set to open, and a street art
project being worked on now by two Czech and British artists. More
The stories of Dvořák’s symphonic 'Bouquet'
Wherever you are in the world, if you are an occasional listener to your
local classical music station then you have probably come across Antonín
Dvořák’s set of symphonic poems from 1896, opuses 107 to 110. What you
may not know is that they describe a series of stories very dear to Czech
culture, Kytice, or "The Bouquet". More
Composer and pianist Hana Robinson
In this edition of the Sunday Music Show we talk to the talented young
singer, composer and pianist Hana Robinson, who studied at the Berklee
College of Music and launched a successful musical career in the Czech
Republic. In the show you we discuss learning piano in childhood, sport,
her stay in the US and being diagnosed several years ago with MS and how
that changed her life. More
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