Václav Havel

Václav Havel (1936) is a Czech playwright and writer living in Prague. During the so-called normalization he was one of the leaders of the Czech dissent and of Charter ’77, and co-founder of the Civic Forum. After November 1989 he was president of Czechoslovakia and following the 2002 separation of Czechoslovakia, he served as president of the Czech Republic until 2003. He has written over 20 plays for the theatre and TV, as well as numerous articles and essays. His latest books include: Václav Havel – František Janouch: Correspondence 1978 – 2001, the play Leaving and Please Be Brief – an interview with Karel Hvíž?ala.

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Václav Havel

I remember those days too. I remember their atmosphere. It is not easy to explain. Looking back, I find it hard to understand myself and sometimes my own past actions surprise me and make me blush. For example, how could I have used the term socialist literature even though I must have known that it’’s nonsense and that no such thing as a socialist or capitalist literature could possibly exist? How could I have said things in public that I did not believe in private? I happened to see the new Czech film Tobruk yesterday. And for the hundredth time,  […]