Literature and Tolerance

In the face of Europe's rising nationalism and intolerance, this timely anthology by Czech writers addresses a key issue for today. The courage of contemporary Czech writers is legendary. They kept their nation's conscience alive by clandestine publishing while imprisoned as "dissidents, " or while collecting garbage or selling fish as "non-persons, " and then they took the lead in the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that overthrew communism. In Europe today - with its rising nationalism and political extremism - courage and intelligence are needed more than ever, and this volume of Czech stories, poetry, essays and drama tackles essential ideas for our time. The volume also lends insight into the historical role of Czech writers during two of the darkest periods of Central European history: the struggles against fascism and communism. This commemorative volume features writers from the Czech Center of International P.E.N. (Poets, Essayists and Novelists), including: Alexandra Berkova - Karel Capek - Miroslav Cervenka - Lumir Civrny - Daniela Fischerova - Vaclav Havel - Miroslav Holub - Miroslav Huptych - Eva Kanturkova - Ivan Klima - Alexandr Kliment - Rudolf Matys - Zdenek Rotrekl - Jiri Stransky - Karel Siktanc - Josef Skvorecky - Pavel Srut - Jana Stroblova - Jan Trefulka - Milos Vacik - Jaroslav Vejvoda - Milan Uhde.