News
Today, 9th June, the International Book Fair and Literary Festival Svět knihy will begin in Prague. The Polish presentation is organised by the Book Institute in cooperation with the Polish Institute in Prague. This year's programme will maintain the spirit of discussion on Central European themes.
The debate between historians and literary scholars will relate to the Year of Romanticism. Political scientist Josef Mlejnek and historian Paweł Ukielski, co-author of the book 1989. - Podzim narodu (“1989 - Autumn of Nations”), will provide an insight into the context of the fall of communism thirty-three years ago. Piotr Skwieciński and Tomáš Glanc will discuss the war in Ukraine and the situation in Russia today. During the meetings with authors Klára Svobodová and Tereza Semotamová, Mira Marcinów will present her prose debut Bezmatek (“Osiřelec”), recently published in Czech translation.
Visit the Polish stand! Books by Polish authors translated into Czech and in the original language version will be available.
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PROGRAMME:
THURSDAY 9 JUNE
17:00 / 1989. Autumn of Nations
Knihovna Václava Havla, Ostrovní 129/13, Praha 1
In a single 'year of miracles', communism collapsed throughout Central Europe. What caused the domino effect? A debate between historians Petr Blažek and Pawel Ukielski on the book 1989. Autumn of Nations.
Co-organizers: the Book Institute, the Polish Institute in Prague, Václav Havel Library, The Twentieth Century Memorial Museum, Platform of European Memory and Conscience, Nakladatelství Academia
FRIDAY, 10 JUNE
16:00 / Mira Marcinów and Klára Svobodová present their books
Autorský sál – Svět knihy, Výstaviště Holešovice
A death in the family is always difficult to accept. Both Klára Svobodová and Mira Marcinów experienced the passing of loved ones. Did writing books about these events help them cope with difficult experiences?
After the meeting, the authors will be signing books at the stand of the Argo publishing house.
Osiřelec (2022) Těhotnej Buddha (2021), Argo
16:00 / How to help Ukrainian publishers?
Sál Literatura jako hlas svobody – Svět knihy, Výstaviště Holešovice
Jakub Pacześniak (Book Institute) will discuss Polish experiences and practices.
17:00 / 1989. Autumn of Nations
Sál Evropa – Svět knihy, Výstaviště Holešovice
What led to the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany or Hungary? The monograph "1989. Autumn of Nations" (Academia 2022, translated into Czech by Silvia Mitlenerová) will be presented by its co-author, historian Pawel Ukielski, and the Czech perspective will be presented by political scientist Josef Mlejnek.
Co-organiser: Nakladatelství Academia
18:00 / Signing of the book 1989. Autumn of Nations
Polish stand - Svět knihy, Výstaviště Holešovice
18:00 / Can there be a 'free' Russia?
Piotr Skwieciński, journalist and former director of the Polish Institute in Moscow, from which he was expelled by the Russian side after the outbreak of the war, and Tomáš Glanc, Slavist and Russianist, former director of the Czech Centre in Moscow, will discuss Polish and Czech experiences with contemporary Russia.
SATURDAY, 11 JUNE
13:00 / Romantic turn in the centre of Europe
Literární salon – Svět knihy, Výstaviště Holešovice
Mickiewicz, Mácha, Szewczenko! Two hundred years ago, a landmark collection of poetry, Ballady i romanse (“Ballads and Romances”), was published in Poland. Joanna Goszczyńska, Olaf Krysowski, and Blanka Činátlová will discuss how the Romantic upheaval changed the symbolic understanding of the nation as well as about the contexts of Romanticism in Central and Eastern Europe.
15:00 / Praga Joy Festival: author meeting with book signing
Polish stand – Svět knihy, Výstaviště Holešovice
Meeting with the author of a book about the peregrination of a Polish lover of Prague through the city of Hrabal, Mozart, and Kafka. The novel by Polish journalist and writer Jacek Pomorski translated into Czech will be presented by publisher Zdenko Pavelka (Novela bohemika).
16:00 / Bezmatek in the wardrobe. Marcinów and Semotamová
Autorský sál – Svět knihy, Výstaviště Holešovice
"What are mothers like? Mothers are tired. Especially old mothers, dead mothers and, young mothers". With a superb sense of the absurd, the two authors affectionately play on the experimental field of autobiographical prose. The stories are made up of fragmented pieces. Their characters turn their life stories on and off. You can laugh and try to find your own background and experiences in the books.
The novels Osiřelec (2022) by Marcinów and Ve skříni (2018) by Semotamová were published by Nakladatelství Argo.
17:00 / The signing of the book Bezmatek
Polish stand– Svět knihy, Výstaviště Holešovice