Böhmen in England. Johannes Urzidils Exil in der countryside von Gloucestershire
Johannes Urzidil’s Exile in the Gloucestershire Countryside

Summary/Abstract: This essay examines the Prague-related poetry of the communist poet and multiple exile Louis Fürnberg (1909–1957) and contextualises it within contemporary political dis courses. An attempt is made to explain the dynamics, but also the constants of his Prague poetry. These were closely linked to his specific exile situation on the one hand and his unshakeable belief in communist ideals on the other. Fürnberg’s poetry thus possesses a cultural-historical uniqueness that specifically reflects the cultural heritage of German language literature in Prague.The first extended stop during Johannes Urzidilʼs exile was England, from the beginning of August 1939 to the end of January 1941, more precisely (apart from the first month in London) the village of Viney Hill in Gloucestershire. This hitherto little-noticed period in Urzidilʼs life is explored in this essay. It shows how Urzidil attempted to maintain his Bohemian identity in England: in his immediate and wider personal circles, in his approach to the new environ ment and its people, through his work, and ultimately in his work itself. In this way, Urzidil created a small Bohemia, more specifically Prague and Bohemian Forest, in England, which persisted even during his later visits there, long after he himself had moved to New York.

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