September 27th: 100 years since the birth of author Josef Škvorecký
Today marks one hundred years since the birth of popular Czech-Canadian author Josef Škvorecký.
Born in the Eastern-Bohemian town of Náchod, the novels of Josef Škvorecký explored both the light and darks sides of life in Czechoslovakia. Books like The Cowards (1958) and The Swell Season (1975) immersed readers in the experience of growing up under the Nazi occupation, and Škvorecký’s literary style and democratic ideals found no favour with the ruling communist regime. He and his wife, the writer Zdena Salivarová, fled to Canada in 1968, where Škvorecký died in 2012. In this centennial year, Škvorecký’s personal library is set to open to the public in his hometown of Náchod.
You can find out more about the life and works of Škvorecký in our two-part interview with literary critic and translator Petr Onufer:
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