"Křičel jsem: – Mrdat, mrdat!"

Vítězslav Nezval a jeho poetika Moskvy

Author(s): Tomáš Glanc / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 3-4/2020

In August 1934, poet and writer Vítězslav Nezval (1900–1958), a leading personality of the Czechoslovak inter-war art avant-garde and also a member of the Communist party, visited Moscow as one of the Western guests invited to the founding congress of the Union of Soviet Writers; one year later, he published a prosaic-essayistic reflection of his visit under the title "The Invisible Moscow" (Neviditelná Moskva. Praha: F. Borový, 1935). The purpose of the present study approached from a semiotic angle is to obtain access to the intentional meaning of this specific testimony concealed behind a factual description of events and environments. The author first outlines a broader socio-political context consisting in an intensive interest of Western left-wing intellectuals in the Soviet Union between the world wars and, on the other hand, in systematic efforts of the Soviet leadership to make use of this potential for their own benefit. Nezval ranked among artists who felt a priori sympathies toward the Soviet social experiment, and they are clearly seen in his text, although he himself declared that his intention was not to provide a testimony about the Soviet “objective reality” which is what media reports or articles do. To understand Nezval’s work, the author believes it must be kept in mind that Nezval, while in the Soviet Union, was looking for, first and foremost, inspiration and connections with poetic and ideological principles he professed. Nezval’s cognitive method is intuition, free of any rational and critical reflections, and his creative principle is imagination, whose incarnation Nezval founds in surrealism. The reality around him serves as a matter for a distillation of experiences occurring in a dream mode. This allows him to overlook or willfully interpret various phenomena related, for example, to the repressive aspect of Stalin’s regime or the onerous everydayness of the Soviet Union’s citizens. The author sees the dominant feature of this dreamlike experience and the line connecting seemingly incompatible segments of reality into all-embracing lyrical intoxication in an erotic principle. Nezval is excited by Moscow as an object of bliss, as a source of sexual arousal. This principle is offered to him as a key enabling an individual to cross the boundary of individualism and blend into the society as a bridge between the eternity of sexual ecstasy and the eternity of the classless Communist society, thus promising the fulfillment of human utopias. The author provides an analysis of the text of "The Invisible Moscow" in support of his conclusions, and links them to some period esthetic and philosophical concepts.

"New human possibilities" in Patočka's philosophy of literature

Author(s): Erin Plunkett / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

This article considers Patočka's phenomenological account of literature in "The Writer's Concern" to defend the idea that literary writing offers a distinctive philosophical contribution. In this text, Patočka gives the writer a special claim on the activity of world disclosure and suggests that literature may offer a glimpse out of the techno-scientific framework that dominates contemporary life. I examine both science and literature as modes of relating to the world, raising questions about the distinctiveness of each and their use of the written word. Finally, I locate the philosophical advantage of literary writing in Patočka's dual claims about literature: that it offers "an individual capturing of life's meaning" and that it presents "the world" as an "undivided" whole.

"Temné jeho oči doslova fascinují"

Cesta českých kulturních pracovníků do Německa a Holandska v září 1940

Author(s): Jiří Křesťan / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 3-4/2020

Between 1939 and 1943, trips to Nazi Germany and to territories occupied by Germany (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, a large part of the Soviet Union) ranked among important tools influencing the public opinion in the so-called Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The study deals with a trip of a group of Czech intellectuals – artists, representatives of culture and journalists – to Germany and the Netherlands in September 1940. Under German guidance, the 35-strong delegation was composed to give a representative and diverse impression. Apart from newspapermen collaborating with Germans, such as Karel Lažnovský (1906–1941) or Vladimír Krychtálek (1903–1947), men active in different segments of culture were invited as well, including personalities as outstanding as the directors of the dramatic company and the opera ensemble of the National Theatre in Prague, Jan Bor (1886–1943) and Václav Talich (1883–1961), respectively, operatic singers Jan Konstantin (1894–1965) and Pavel Ludikar (1882–1970), violin virtuoso Váša Příhoda (1900–1960), publisher Bedřich Fučík (1900–1984), or architect Jan Sokol (1904–1987). The study focuses primarily on five writers who took part in the trip. Jaroslav Durych (1886–1962) and Václav Renč (1911–1973) ranked among Catholic-oriented authors, while Josef Knap (1900–1973) and Jan Čarek (1898–1966) represented so-called ruralists (writers of the country), and Josef Hora (1891–1945) was a leading poet, initially writing social poetry and later reflexive lyric poetry. Between the wars, all of them had been critical toward the reality of the First Republic in one way or another, the first four from conservative positions and Hora on the left (until 1929, he had been a member of the Communist Party). The trip’s programme had been put together very ingeniously. In addition to proofs of the Third Reich’s brutal strength (a visit of the bombed-out city of Rotterdam, a sightseeing tour of the Krupp arms factory in Essen), the travelers were served a menu of diverse cultural experiences (visits of theatrical performances, exhibitions and museums, outstanding architectural creations etc.). In Berlin, they were received by Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945), Reichsminister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, who emphasized, while addressing them, that the survival of the Czech nation and its culture depended on its submission to the German Reich. Upon their return home, all participants were forced to give public statements about the trip and their impressions, which had to conform to Nazi propaganda. Having described the above facts, the author analyzes defence strategies which the above mentioned authors were using while writing made-to-order articles or showing their supposed loyalty in order to avoid being dragged into the Nazi propaganda machine. They were bypassing some topics, resorting to allegories and ambiguities, and making use of concealed irony. In the end of the study, the author follows the fates of those who took part in the trip to Germany and the Netherlands, pondering, in a more general manner, fuzzy boundaries and dilemmas of guilt and collaboration in a totalitarian regime. Attached to the article are short biographies of all thirty-five participants in the trip.

(Nejen) k ideálnímu realismu

Author(s): Zdeněk Hrbata / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 3/2019

Několikaleté úsilí o přesnější vnitřní členění české literatury 19. století, podložené analýzami a koncepcemi často mířícími proti obecným a tradičně užívaným pojmům (romantismus, realismus, neoromantismus ad.), vedlo k dů- ležitým pojmovým inovacím a pojetím. Z nich nutno připomenout už starší vymezení literárního biedermeieru (Dalibor Tureček), dále české literární romantično spojené s jeho synopticko-pulzačním modelem (viz tureček et al. 2012), nověji pak český a slovenský literární parnasismus jakožto kulturní jev (viz haman — tureček et al. 2015), po němž následovala poetika českého a slovenského literárního klasicismu (tureček — zajac 2018) — a naposledy aktualizaci někdejšího pojmu ideální realismus u Michala Charypara. K nim chci ještě připojit významnou práci Martina Hrdiny a jím navrhované pojmy- -atributy rozdělující literární realismus na jeho synteticko-harmonizující pojetí a na jeho pojetí analyticko-kombinatorické (hrdina 2015). Krom toho M. Hrdina požaduje věnovat při výzkumu počátků českého realismu zvýšenou pozornost středoevropskému kulturnímu kontextu (německojazyčný kontext české literatury). O tom jistě není z literárněhistorického hlediska — ať už užšího, anebo širšího (kdy do problematiky nevyhnutelně vstupuje komparativní hledisko tzv. generální literatury, zaměřující se např. právě na středoevropský kulturní prostor s jeho příznačnými konfiguracemi) — sporu. Specifičnost a kontury českého realismu by však mohly vyvstávat ještě zřetelněji při průběžném srovnávání s jeho dalšími zahraničními modely či inspiracemi, případně ve srovnávání různých typologických koincidencí bez geneticko-kontaktových souvislostí.

100 години Лекторат по български език и литература в Карловия университет в Прага

Author(s): Milena Přikrylová / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 33/2016

A AUSGERECHNET U VÁS SE ŠPRECHTILO VOSTOŠEST…

K ČESKO-NĚMECKÝM JAZYKOVÝM KONTAKTŮM V SOUČASNÉ ČESKÉ PRÓZE

Author(s): Darina Hradilová / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 2/2015

The aim of this paper was to analyze the Czech and German language contacts in contemporary Czech prose. We focused on forms of multilingualism and how they are used in the texts. Analysis of the material ( R. Denemarková: Peníze od Hitlera; J. Vrak: Obyčejné věci a Dokonalost nože; M. Kozelka: Semeniště zmrdů a J. Rudiš: Pankáči na Baltu) showed that it is necessary to distinguish between the use of authentic German in the characterization and value function, German quotations and paraphrases with the function of ironic allusions and germanisms whose usage does not indicate national, but social affiliation. We noticed a shift from interlingual heterogeneity, in terms of the opposition between Czech and German, to introlingual heterogeneity, in terms of functional stratification of Czech, therefore the opposition of standard vs. substandard. We concluded that German cannot be identified German with „the foreign“ and the Czech with „the ours“ in language, because the border is permeable and flexible as a consequence of mutual contacts.

A Comparison of 20th Century Theories of Style (in the Context of Czech and British Scholarly Discourses)

Author(s): Michal Křístek / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2012

The book is focused on a comparison of theoretical approaches to issues of style, in the context of Czech and Anglo-Saxon (especially British) scholarly discourses. The aim was to show and compare different methodological approaches based on different theoretical bases – for this reason, two different cultural contexts were selected, attention being paid also to mutual contacts within these contexts. The 20th century was chosen intentionally, as the period during which, in both of the respective contexts, stylistics was constituted as a modern scholarly discipline rooted in the fields of linguistics and literary theory. The book is aimed at members of academic communities, at teachers as well as at students, especially at those focusing on Czech and English studies.

A guest from the unknown : Antigone and Jan Patočka's cultural criticism

Author(s): Jonathan Bolton / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Jan Patočka is often seen as an apolitical philosopher who did not step onto the public stage until the end of his life, when he chose to support underground musicians who were put on trial by the Communist government in 1976. This view, seen for example in the obituary issued by Charter 77 shortly after Patočka's death, ignores his long career of cultural criticism and his many essays that use Czech literature and culture as a springboard to discuss social and political concerns. One such essay is Patočka's review of Milan Uhde's 1967 play "The Whore of Thebes," a modernization of Antigone that Patočka castigates for misunderstanding the mysteries of this classic play. A reading of Patočka's review points to a different genealogy for his support of the music underground, and his understanding of the relationship between philosophy and action more generally. Patočka's many writings on art and culture constitute an ongoing commentary on the social and political world around him, painting a much different picture than the conventional image of an abstruse philosopher who did not enter the world of politics until the very end of his life.

A message from a Bohemian "interculture" : Patočka's translation of Durych's Boží duha

Author(s): Rajendra A. Chitnis / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

Jan Patočka's essay accompanying his 1975 German translation of Jaroslav Durych's novel, Boží duha (God's rainbow, 1969) has divided Czech critics. While some reject altogether his association of the novel with the post-war expulsion of the Bohemian German population from Czechoslovakia, others criticize the effect his essay has had in reducing the novel to this context, undermining its more universal message of reconciliation, and others objected to the co-opting of the conservative Roman Catholic Durych into a secular liberal agenda. This article approaches the translation venture and its reception as a case study in translation history, in order to assess these criticisms in the light of a more accurate and detailed understanding of Patočka's motives for publishing the translation. It focuses on both Patočka and his collaborator in the venture, the German academic, Frank Boldt, and compares his foreword with contemporaneous essays on Comenius and on Czech history. It argues that the real difficulty is not so much Patočka's interpretation of Durych's novel as their long-standing inseparability in translations and Czech editions, which disrupts the careful balance in the novel between history and universality and between didacticism and aestheticism.

Adaptace pověsti o dívčí válce v české humanistické literatuře

Author(s): Lucie Storchová / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 6/2019

This study follows the ways in which humanist literature dealt with the subject of what was known as the Maidens’ War, i.e. the mythological conflict between women and men before the arrival of Christianity, as referred to in Czech medieval chronicles. The author bases herself on concepts of historical narrativism and asks what role the representation of this was played in humanist stories of Czech history and the irideological elements (e.g. in narratives on the emergence of the monarchical form of government). She also focuses on ideas prevalent at that time on various types offemininity, gender order and its disruption and the concept of the „virago“, i.e. the defeminized virginal individual gifted with male virtues. The author shows how the story of the Maidens’ War was dependent upon strategies of obtaining patronage,primarily at court, as well as on the individual and collective self-presentation of scholars. She deals with the differences between the rendition of this mythological conflict in Latin and in the vernacular languages, where e.g. the comical with a sexual subtext is much more common.

Ale je Holan 1997

Author(s): Zdeněk Kožmín / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 2/2016

Někdy mě přitahovala myšlenka, že by bylo žádoucí napsat cosi jako „poetickou geometrii“ Holanovy poezie. Všecko by tu muselo být sledováno od „velkého třesku“ jako pohyb v obrovitém čase a prostoru, ale současně s tímto demiurgickým velegestem bychom museli zaznamenávat všudypřítomný holanovský protipohyb v nejmenším měřítku kdesi blízko dechu, v čarách dlaně, v bití srdce, v teplé „biologii“ řeči, v nejkřehčím přibližování k hlasu. Taková přesnost deskripce by nám umožňovala pracovat ve všech polohách a směrech bádání. Dávala by vzrušující možnost přímo sledovat všecko to vysoukávání poezie z české řeči, z české poezie, ze všeho, co lze nazvat alchymií moderního básnictví. Udělat řekněme Kapitoly z Holanovy poetiky by mohlo být jakousi zakladatelskou teorií získávanou z této poezie samotné. Ale při obrovském respektu k poetotvorné, estetickotvorné energii Holanových básnických strukturací se vždy znovu přistihuji při tom, že se všecko moje psaní o Holanovi soustřeďovalo hlavně na to, jak nám jeho poezie umožňuje jinak žít a vstupovat do skutečnosti, do našeho bytí v čase a prostoru. Mámivá „geometrie“ této obří poezie bude možná teprve napsána novým tisíciletím. [...]

Alegoria w czeskiej powieści historycznej lat 60. XX wieku

Author(s): Joanna Królak / Language(s): Polish / Issue: 7 (10)/2017

The article concerns the problem of allegory in two Czech historical novels from the beginning and the end of the 60s of the twentieth century: {Kladivo na čarodějnice} by Václav Kaplický and {Tovaryšstvo ježišovo} by Jiři Šotola. Both novels are also considered to be important political ‘clearing accounts’ novels. Application of allegory as a method of reception allows us to answer the question about the participation of the reader in the setting up of allegory in the Czech prose of the twentieth century. Artykuł dotyczy problemu alegorii w dwu czeskich powieściach historycznych z początku i z końca lat 60. XX wieku: {Kladivo na čarodějnice}, Vaclava Kaplickiego i {Tovaryšstvo ježišovo} Jiřiego Sotoli. Obie powieści są uznawane także za ważne powieści rozrachunkowe. Zastosowanie alegorezy jako metody recepcji pozwala odpowiedzieć na pytanie o udział czytelnika w ustanawianiu alegorii w czeskiej prozie dwudziestowiecznej.

Alena Fialová: V souřadnicích mnohosti. Česká literatura první dekády jednadvacátého století v souvislostech a interpretacích.

Author(s): Petr Hrtánek,Roman Polách / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 4/2015

Alena Fialová (ed.): V souřadnicích mnohosti. Česká literatura první dekády jednadvacátého století v souvislostech a interpretacích. Praha, Academia 2014. 817 stran.

Aleš Haman — Dalibor Tureček et al.: Český a slovenský literární parnasismus. Synopticko-pulzační model kulturního jevu

Author(s): Joanna Goszczyńska / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 4/2016

Aleš Haman — Dalibor Tureček et al.: Český a slovenský literární parnasismus. Synopticko-pulzační model kulturního jevu. Brno, Host 2015. 426 stran.

Alex Goody: Technology, Literature and Culture

Author(s): David Vichnar / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 6/2015

Alex Goody: Technology, Literature and Culture. Cambridge, Polity Press 2011. 193 strany

Alexander Kratochvil (ed.): Paměť a trauma pohledem humanitních věd. Komentovaná antologie

Author(s): Kamil Činátl / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 3/2017

Alexander Kratochvil (ed.): Paměť a trauma pohledem humanitních věd. Komentovaná antologie. Praha, Ústav pro českou literaturu/Akropolis 2015. 341 strana.

Alexander Kratochvil: Posttraumatisches Erzählen. Trauma — Literatur — Erinnerung.

Author(s): Anna Försterová / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 1/2020

Alexander Kratochvil: Posttraumatisches Erzählen. Trauma — Literatur — Erinnerung. Kadmos, Berlin 2019. 253 strany.

Alfréd A. Reisch: Horké knihy ve studené válce

Author(s): Dagmar Vobecká / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 5/2018

Alfréd A. Reisch: Horké knihy ve studené válce. Praha, Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů 2018. 456 stran.

All that remains of an angel

Author(s): Zdeněk Kožmín / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2020

I borrowed the title from a book of poetry by Jan Skácel (SKÁCEL 1960), because it is not just a random set of words; it captures a major problem of both contemporary philosophy and poetry. What has, indeed, become of all those great forms of human endeavour? In his inspiring paper called “Political Socratism” (Un Socratisme Politique), Jean-Loup Thébaud provides a summary of Paul Ricoeur’s text called “The Death of Personalism and the Return of a Person” (Meurt le personnalisme, revient la personne, RICOEUR 1983), where the situation in philosophy at the time is described in three points: 1. The subject has been deprived of its place in the universe. 2. The subject has lost a star that would guide it. 3. A clear distinction between friend and foe has disappeared (THÉBAUD 1988). While reading Patočka, Ricoeur confirms his belief that distinguishing between ontology, ethics and politics has become problematic, for the traditional trio of disciplines carries very little meaning these days, while getting dissolved in a common medium of problematization.

Almanach na rok 1914 aneb Druhá zkouška

Author(s): Jiří Poláček / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 1/2018

When selecting the topic of this study, the author was inspired by a set of topics he had received from his teacher Milan Suchomel prior to the Czech literature examination at the Faculty of Arts in Brno in 1973. He chose Almanach na rok 1914 (Almanac for the year 1914): he works with the new edition from 2014 and with the subsequent collective monograph titled Mezi modernou a avantgardou (From Modernism to the Avant-garde, 2016). In the first part of this study, the almanac is analysed. It contains poems, prose and expert studies by the Brothers Čapek, S. K. Neumann, Arne Novák and seven other authors. The paper also deals with a study by the editor Erik Gilk. In the second part of the paper, eleven contributions from the aforementioned monograph are analysed.