I Hid it Somewhere

Three years ago the Václav Havel Library issued a one-off publication under the title The Case of Charter 77: The First Assault, a fragment of a more substantial text in which Havel describes the weeks and months of persecution that followed the publication of Charter 77 at the start of 1977. The fragment, in which factual descriptions of events displaying Havel’s typical attention to detail alternate with equally characteristic reflections on absurd aspects of the whole situation, was hidden by Havel to ensure the StB couldn’t find it – and then he forgot where. It was only in 2016 that it was discovered in the estate of Havel’s close friend Zdeněk Urbánek by his grandson David Dušek. As has now become clear, it was just a small part of a more comprehensive text that is both unique period testimony and work of literature.

The new Havel discovery will be presented by Michael Žantovský, director of the Václav Havel Library, and David Dušek.

Jáchym Topol will read excerpts.