Events: October 2012
September 2012
November 2012
The Life and Death of an Aristocrat
October 2, 2012, 19:00
Letters from the estate of Johannes Nádherný. Alena Wagnerová, the author of a bestseller on the life of the Czech baroness and benefactor Sidonie Nádherná, explores in her newest book the fate of Sidonie’s brother, a decadent “anti-hero”, chivalrous soul, aesthete and suicide. The focus of the evening will not just be the book but the work of this unjustly overlooked figure of European format, the Czech-German prose writer and member of the Thirty-sixers Alena Wagnerová. The event will be hosted by Dora Kaprálová.
“This is Havel, this is Havel!” DIY recordings of Václav Havel
October 3, 2012, 19:00
Forgotten tapes of the playwright from the 1980s and a discussion about the recording Václav Havel. The evening is taking places as part of the BABEL Prague 2012 festival of experimental music. Guests: Andrej Krob and other collaborators Moderator: Pavel Klusák
Europe is like a Thonet chair, America is a right angle
October 4, 2012, 19:00
The poet and prose writer Sylva Fischerová presents her new book. This report on a reading tour of the United State is a lightning journal, a gripping example of travel writing and a love story touched by death. The evening will be hosted by the director of the Druhé město publishing house, Martin Reiner.
Reliefs of Silence
October 11, 2012, 19:00
Exhibition of work by Kristina Láníková and Romana Drdová. “The installation is based on ideas of silence as dissected modelling material. Perhaps these reliefs are speech suppressed by matter. We consider the installation as a presentation of outlying territory and undecorated situations.” Marek Šindelka will also read from his latest works; he is the author of such books as Strychnin a jiné básně (Strychnine and Other Poems), the prose work Chyba (Mistake) and the collection of short stories Zůstaňte s name (Stay With Us), which last year earned him a Magnesia Litera award. Music: KKKollektiv & Elsa Aids.
The Czechoslovak Presidential Traditions and the Direct Election of the President in the CR
October 12, 2012, 08:45
A conference consisting of four panel discussions: the Masaryk and Benes Tradition, and the Presidential Traditions of Václav Havel and Václav Klaus. What to expect from direct presidential elections? A debate featuring presidential candidates will focus on the issue of the direct election of a president in the Czech Republic. The conference is being held by the Václav Havel Library in conjunction with NYU Prague.
The Czechoslovak Presidential Traditions and the Direct Election of the President in the CR
October 12, 2012, 19:00 Conferences
A conference consisting of four panel discussions: the Masaryk and Benes Tradition, and the Presidential Traditions of Václav Havel and Václav Klaus. What to expect from direct presidential elections? A debate featuring presidential candidates was focused on the issue of the direct election of a president in the Czech Republic. The conference was organized by the Václav Havel Library in conjunction with NYU Prague. More
Memory and Dissent
October 16, 2012, 09:30
The first lecture in a cycle by Nicolas Maslowski and his guests, in cooperation with the Historical Sociology department of Charles University’s Faculty of Humanitarian Studies. Petr Pithart will speak about the definition of dissent.
Chris Herdel: The European Painting – a Source of Fortune in the Course of Centuries
October 16, 2012, 14:00
A discussion for lovers of art on three subjects: Tradition – modernity and contemporary art, the role of the painting in contemporary European society, ethics and aesthetics. (Lecture in English).
TORST Presents: The Name Vokolek
October 16, 2012, 19:00
Editor Jan Šulc will present an extensive volume dedicated to Pardubice’s Vokoleks, which continues on from previous works linked to other families of significance to Czech culture: the Rejneks of Petrkov and the Florians of Stará Říše. The book contains unique, hitherto unpublished texts, visual art and studies by leading experts on the “legacy of the Vokoleks”, such as Blanka Ladová, Petr Šrámek and Martina C. Putna.
A Polish Evening/Fact and Fiction of Mutuality
October 18, 2012, 19:00
Czech and Polish literature are two continents that overlap in particular areas but are absolutely different in others. The translator and expert Jan Faber presents two of the best known contemporary Polish writers: Janusz Rudnicki and OlgaTokarczuk.
Petra Hůlová: Bohemia, the Promised Land
October 24, 2012, 19:00
An evening with the renowned novelist Petra Hůlová (In Memory of My Grandmother, Cirkus Les Memoires Taiga Station…) and her new book. Organised by the Václav Havel Library in conjunction with the Torst publishing house. Hosted by editor Jan Šulc.
An Evening with Jaroslav Hutka
October 29, 2012, 19:00
Celebration of the publication of the fifth volume of the Collected Writings of Jaroslav Hutka, which contains previously unpublished prose by the well-known author and songwriter. Naturally his guitar will be present, while a musical surprise is being prepared… The evening will be hosted by Lubomír Houdek, director of the Galén publishing house.
Natalya Gorbanevskaya: Noon
October 30, 2012, 19:00
Meeting with the Soviet dissident Natalya Gorbanevskaya on the occasion of the publication of the Czech edition of her book Noon. The book describes a protest on Red Square in August 1968 against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and the reprisals that the “valiant eight” subsequently suffered in Moscow. The event is being held in conjunction with the Slavonic Library, while the book is being published by Torst and the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.
Memory and Dissent II
October 30, 2012, 09:00
A cycle of lectures by Nicolas Maslowski and his guests, in cooperation with the Historical Sociology department of Charles University’s Faculty of Humanitarian Studies. Petr Uhl will discuss the ideological diversity of the independent movement.
Russia, Somewhat Differently
October 31, 2012, 19:00
A public debate on the contemporary culture scene in the Russian Federation. We all know the band Pussy Riot and the provocative happenings organised by the Voina art group. But how does contemporary Russian culture really look? Can we find common features with the Czech milieu? And how does it go down with the Russian public? The Russia expert and poet Ondřej Mrázek and Russian translator Milan Dvořák will answer those and other questions. The evening will be hosted by Hospodářské noviny editor and Russia specialist Ondřej Soukup. Organised by the loose grouping Strategie 31 (CZ), which on the 31st of every month with 31 days draws attention to current goings on in Russia.