Havel, Kafka or Čapek while you wait for your plane: New ‘poetry jukebox’ unveiled at Prague Airport
A new machine will now present a selection of Czech culture to waiting passengers at Václav Havel Airport. Thanks to the organisation "Pianos on the Street" and the cultural activist Ondřej Kobza, the new ‘poetry jukebox’ freely offers the best of Czech history, legends, poetry, drama and music in a cosy corner of Terminal 2. Danny Bate went along to its unveiling.
Amidst planes taking off and landing, and travellers hurrying to their gates, a peaceful alcove in Prague Airport’s Terminal 2 offers visitors an oasis of calm and Czech culture. There stands a tall cylindrical machine, angled towards the viewer, with a handle on one side. This is the airport’s new Poesiomat or ‘poetry jukebox’, and it was officially unveiled at the airport on October 15th by its creator Ondřej Kobza. He first described what travellers at the airport should look out for:
“Our Poesiomat – our poetry periscope – looks like a periscope from a submarine. It has a crank handle, so people can come and turn it about six times, and then there are twenty records: poems, songs, speeches, memories. With one button, you can choose what you want to listen to.”
The Poesiomat is by no means not the first in Czechia; the organisation ‘Pianos on the Street’ has been placing them in public spaces since 2015, but this is the first of its kind within an airport. The main language of the twenty tracks is English, with the voice of the Poesiomat provided by British journalist and BBC correspondent Rob Cameron. There is also singing in French, German, and Spanish.
“We chose ‘best of’ things and events from Czechia. They are not only cultural, but there is also a track about the football player Josef Bican. There are records from 1968, some storying about the Infant Jesus of Prague. Really iconic poems and descriptions of what Czechia gave to the world.”
Mr. Kobza gave the machine its inaugural play. After cranking the handle seven times, very appropriately for the airport, the voice of former president Václav Havel began to sound out from the Poesiomat.
“Dear Mr. Speaker, dear Mr. President, dear senators and members of the House…”
Mr. Kobza noted that it will be primarily available for those passengers who are about to leave Czechia, but he hopes that it will entice some to return to the country soon. The Poesiomat stands within a designated ‘relaxation zone’, close to the C gates, which looks out over the airport runway. The space also includes a newly installed chess table, which is also an initiative of Mr. Kobza’s organisation. They hope that it will contribute to a “creative space – a place for stopping, resting, and playing.”
