Thu, 01 Jan 1970 01:00:00 +0100Sat, 25 Jul 2026 04:50:43 +0200https://english.radio.cz/bittersweet-prose-a-look-life-and-work-writer-ota-pavel-8072940© 2026 Radio Prague International'How I Came to Know Fish' - for years I glimpsed this elegant volume of short stories in Prague's English-language bookstores, at times wondering over its greenish cover featuring a fish on a hook. I wondered blankly over the name of its author, without, I admit, inquiring further. Ota Pavel. The name, though known to most Czechs, said nothing to me then, at most I had an inkling the author had been a sports journalist for Czech Radio in the 1950s. Then I caught a glimpse of his photo somewhere - Ota Pavel, writer - the author in his youth, a black and white picture of a dashing figure with a slanted fedora, staring thoughtfully into the lens. I caught a glimpse and when I heard of a film by the director Karel Kachyna based on the author's work, equally suggestive, I began to wonder about his life even more. The story of Ota Pavel, with its twists and final haunting downfall - and 'How I Came to Know Fish' - both looked at in today's Czechs in History. encr@radio.cz (Cesky Rozhlas)webmaster@radio.cz (CRo Webmaster) https://english.radio.cz/sites/default/files/images/pavel_ota_ctouci.jpg?timestamp=1591376173 https://english.radio.cz/bittersweet-prose-a-look-life-and-work-writer-ota-pavel-8072940 Radio Prague International Radio Prague International radio.prague.int@gmail.com clean 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9