Tag Archives: Vaclav Havel

“If someone spends his life writing the truth without caring for the consequences, he inevitably becomes a political authority in a totalitarian regime.” — Václav Havel

Posted on October 5, 2025 by sheila

“Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” — Václav Havel Václav Havel, whose birthday … Continue reading →

Posted in On This Day, Theatre, writers | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

R.I.P., Vaclav Havel

Posted on December 18, 2011 by sheila

A hero of mine has died. Another great intellectual light has left the planet. R.I.P., Vaclav Havel. Update: Friend (and high school prom date) Trav S.D. has a wonderful reminiscence about Havel and the Havel Festival at the Brick Theatre. … Continue reading →

Posted in RIP, Theatre, writers | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Kolya (1996); Dir. Jan Sverák

Posted on September 23, 2010 by sheila

Cranky confirmed bachelor gets stuck taking care of a little kid. At first the bachelor is harsh and unfriendly to the kid. The kid puts a cramp in his ladies’ man lifestyle. Bachelor just wants to pawn the kid off … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

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

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 →

Posted in On This Day | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

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 →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

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 →

Posted in writers | Tagged , | 5 Comments

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 →

Posted in Miscellania | Tagged , | 5 Comments

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 →

Posted in Miscellania | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Czech Republic – Part I – History