Contemporary Czech Literature: "Free to Write About What and How?"

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

In a 1990 conversation with Ivan Klíma, Philip Roth suggested that in a "censorship culture," literature becomes a "life preserver, the remnant of truth people cling to." Our roundtable will examine what happened to Czech literature in the decades following the turning point of 1989, when the "muse of censorship" (Roth 1990) disappeared, with the emphasis on current trends. It will examine questions such as: What characterizes contemporary Czech literature, and how does it build on recent decades? Are the current aesthetic trends and literary programs valid beyond the local Czech discourse and contexts? Our presentations will explore emerging and recurring themes of returns to history, identities, ethnicities, and sexualities of the liberated Czech literature, and its recent transformations.

Sub Unit

• Literature: 21st Century

Chair

• David L. Cooper, U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Roundtable Members

• Tomas Glanc, U of Zurich (Switzerland)

• Christopher W. Harwood, Columbia U

• Libuse Heczkova, Charles U in Prague (Czech Republic)

• Veronika Tuckerova, Harvard U

• Hana Waisserova, U of Nebraska - Lincoln