Tag Archives: Czechoslovakia

Today in history: December 29, 1989

Posted on December 29, 2009 by sheila

Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia after 40 years of Soviet Communist rule. Havel, a playwright, spent a ton of time in jail for his political writings, and his philosophy was that, yes, he lived in an un-free society … Continue reading →

Posted in On This Day, writers | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Libraries of the World: Heart-achey Beauty

Posted on December 20, 2006 by sheila

This is for my father, and for all library-lovers everywhere. Theology Room at St. Deiniol’s library, North Wales Herzog August Bibliothek, Germany Austrian National Library (the Prunksaal) Strahov Monastery – the 1st library, Prague, Czechoslovakia Another one of Strahov Monastery … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Happy Birthday, Vaclav Havel

Posted on October 5, 2006 by sheila

He’s one of my personal heroes, for many reasons. He’s a hero to me as an artist, as well as a politician, and I don’t have too many political heroes. At least not ones who are alive. But him? Yes. … Continue reading →

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The Books: “The Spirit of Prague” (Ivan Klima)

Posted on March 7, 2006 by sheila

My history bookshelf. Onward. Next book on the shelf is a collection of essays by Czech writer Ivan Klima – it’s called The Spirit of Prague. Klima has seen it all – he was in Terezin concentration camp as a … Continue reading →

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Vaclav Havel: “If you want to see your plays performed the way you wrote them, become president.”

Posted on October 5, 2005 by sheila

Today is the birthday of Vaclav Havel. (Again with the connection to this post below) I first became aware of him in college, when we had to read a couple of his plays. Plays that, naturally, could not be performed … Continue reading →

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The Czech Republic – Part IV – The Spirit of Prague

Posted on January 19, 2004 by sheila

Here are some excerpts from Ivan Klima’s wonderful collection of essays “The Spirit of Prague”. Klima’s a great novelist, too. I highly recommend his work. Here he talks about Prague itself, he talks about Havel, about Kafka, about the “velvet … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellania | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Czech Republic – Part III – Vaclav Havel’s speech in 1990

Posted on January 19, 2004 by sheila

Vaclav Havel made a speech on January 1, 1990, immediately following all of the extraordinary changes which had occurred in his country. This speech along with many many others made it into the book I have of “Speeches of the … Continue reading →

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The Czech Republic – Part II – The 20th Century

Posted on January 19, 2004 by sheila

The Czech Republic – Part II – The 20th Century Post World War I… World War I ended with the end of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and the Czechs won recognition as a free and independent state. Actually, the Czech people … Continue reading →

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The Czech Republic – Part I – History

Posted on January 19, 2004 by sheila

Per my dad’s request, here are my “Czech Republic” pieces, hijacked over from my old blog. To all the historian readers I have – please feel free to interject at any time – and let me know if my interpretation … Continue reading →

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Talking About the Prague Spring As the Snow Falls

Posted on January 19, 2004 by sheila

My dear parents stopped by my place yesterday – on their way to a wedding out in Jersey. They arrived, in the middle of the snow, bearing very cool kitchen chairs for me, kitchen chairs which look like they came … Continue reading →

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