Článek v ČEŠTINĚ dole (Klikněte na “Read the rest …”)
(This article was sent to the organizer of the conference, Professor Vilem Prečan. This is his response: „Many thanks for your excellent contribution. It will be posted on the conference website and distributed in written form to all conference participants.”)
I don’t recall when I met Gordon for the first time. Actually, I feel that I sort of knew him always.
68Publishers
It must have been around the time Zdena and Josef Škvorecky arrived in Canada, because I remember how deeply Gordon was involved in the establishment of 68Publishers (Sixty-Eight Publishers), the institution which started with nothing and was to play such an immense role in the survival of the Czech literature during the 40 years of the Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. My main involvement was as a lawyer doing the legal work in connection with the incorporation of the charitable corporation which received its charter in 1972 and during its existence published more than 220 titles, after the manuscripts of many of them were smuggled from Czechoslovakia. Continue reading
The house Zdena and Josef Škvorecký for quite a number of years called their home (and Zdena still does), is located in one of the nicest Toronto residential areas: an area of well-preserved middle-age residences with well-tended gardens and here and there a magnificent old oak (or maple) tree. Škvorecky’s is a truly historical house. Not only because it was a pilgrimage stop for journalists and prominent visitors from the Czech Republic (in February, 1990 – when their native land was still called Czechoslovakia – it witnessed a reception following president Havel’s appearance at the Convocation Hall of the University of Toronto, where he delivered an important speech to several thousands of his countrymen and received an honorary doctorate from the York University); but mainly because it was the editorial and publishing centre of 68 publishers, the most important exile publishing house. It is the house, where the last several years of his life he was cared for by Zdena, and from which he was taken to the hospital, where he died, after just a few days, in the morning hours of January 2, 2012.
If you understood the title above, you know we are talking about the short evening children’s series on Czech TV. Vecernicek is the name of a boy (translated: Little Eveninger) that brings short fairytales to little Czech or Slovak children every evening (“vecer”). During communism, this was a special time for kids, since at that time, the TV program selection was very poor.
Author: Martina Roe (
Author: Josef Čermák (
Author: Martina Roe - Václav Židek (
Tomorrow is a special day for San Diego Czechs and Slovaks. It will be the first time for all of them to learn and share their heritage at the San Diego Czech-Moravian-Slovak festival. The festival will feature traditional music, art and crafts, but visitors will also be able to come to the Czech and Slovak Mass and taste the food, which is much different from the food available in the local restaurants or grocery stores.
Author: Josef Čermák (
Author: Josef Čermák
Author: Antonin Vaclavik (