Mailbox
Today in Mailbox we announce the winner of Radio Prague's annual listeners' contest and read the winning entry.
Which Czech writer or literary work do you like best and why?
Two finalists were selected from each of our six language sections. And the most votes went to an entry by:
Tracy Andreotti from the United States.
Congratulations! Tracy wins a one-week holiday for two in Prague sponsored by PARKHOTEL Praha which offers visitors a blend of comfort and history, quality and modern design, within easy reach of the city centre.
We at the English section are especially happy that this year the prize goes to one of our listeners.
The other English section’s finalist is Donald Schuman whose entry you can read at www.radio.cz/en/static/competition-2010/results#schumann. The complete shortlist is to be found at www.radio.cz/en/static/competition-2010/results.
Now let’s hear the winning entry by Tracy Andreotti from the USA:
“I can easily and very clearly remember the excitement that came over me on that otherwise thick and muggy mid-west June day in 2004.
“Bored and mildly depressed by the string of German writers I had been reading, I had finally decided to take the advice of Amazon, as they had been repeatedly telling me that I ‘might also like’ Josef Škvorecký, as I had previously ‘loved’ ‘The Good Soldier Swejk’.
“I drove to my favorite bookstore, where I handed over a crumpled piece of paper, onto which I had scribbled down this new mysterious and unpronounceable name.
‘The clerk scanned her computer, ‘hmm, out of print, hey!.. no wait, currently unavailable, well, there are a bunch here that we can order for you, let’s see…’, and just as I was dejectedly reaching for yet another Sebald, she smiled and announced that they did, in fact, have one, ‘We have ‘The Engineer of Human Souls!’. ‘Great, I’ll take it.’
“I sat down outside for an iced coffee, thinking I’d kill some time by perusing my new purchase. But something much better and completely unexpected happened: I fell in love, with Škvorecký and his alter ego Danny Smiřický. Not to be overly dramatic, but seriously, my whole life changed with the purchase of that novel. I felt I was there, with Danny and his friends, even though I’m not Czech, had never been there, am not of his generation, never lived under a totalitarian regime, never emigrated. Yet, something in his writing put me there. It was different. There was pathos, but also humor, and the trials of everyday life under the backdrop of war. It was both an emotional and an intellectual response. I wanted to stay there, so I needed more.
“I learned about his publishing house, 68 Publishers, and the work that Škvorecký did with his wife, Zdena Salivarová, to publish Czech literature during communism and also to make those writers works available to the English speaking market. And I kept reading.
“I went through all his other novels and stories, I have 20+ on my bookshelf now.
“Done with all of his translated works, I knew I needed to move on, so I then decided it was time to check out Bohumil Hrabal, then Ivan Klíma and Milan Kundera, Karel Čapek, Ludvík Vaculík and Vladislav Vančura, reading all of their works and loving them all, in different ways. The one shelf of Škvorecký has turned into an entire bookcase filled with Czechs. You might say that I’ve become a bit obsessed, not to mention that I am now a translator snob.
“So I branched out, discovering Radio Prague, where I can keep up to date with Czech politics and life. I now own a number of Czech films, thanks again to Škvorecký, and his fascinating account of Czech cinema (All the Bright Young Men and Women). I have rediscovered my love of Czech composers (Dvořák in Love) and discovered new musical obsessions (Iva Bittová, thanks to a profile on Radio Prague). And a year ago or so I decided I really needed to finally learn the language, so have been in a weekly class at our local Sokol center. My language skills are progressing at a truly glacial speed, but I enjoy it nonetheless. My friends call me a Czechofile, and that’s a good thing, and it’s all because of Josef Škvorecký, my favorite Czech writer.”
This year’s winning entry in Radio Prague’s listeners’ contest by Tracy Andreotti from Missouri. Many thanks to all of you who took part this year and congratulations to the runners-up.
But that’s not the end to competitions on Radio Prague. You can still take part in our monthly quizzes featuring world-renowned personalities with a Czech connection.
“This month we would like to know the name of the Czech-born American film director born in 1932 who won two Oscars as best director.”
You have time until Wednesday, June 30, to send us your answers to [email protected] or Radio Prague, 12099 Prague. We will announce the winner a little later this time, on Sunday, July 11. Next Sunday you can tune in to a regular edition of Mailbox. Until then happy listening.
