Němec, Klíma, Topol, Patočka — All in the Space of Eight Days
Czech it out. Czech list. Czeching in. Czech, please. Czech mate. Czech your head. Bouncing Czech. Time to bust out every stupid homophonic play on Czech you’ve ever heard, because starting this Friday, New Yorkers will be treated to a torrent of česká kultura the likes of which have seldom been seen.
- November 8–14: “Independent of Reality: The Films of Jan Němec,” Brooklyn Academy of Music. The first full-career U.S. retrospective of Czechoslovak New Wave enfant terrible Jan Němec. Twelve films in seven days. Curated by Irena Kovarova and produced by her new independent venture, Comeback Company.
- November 11: Czech author Ivan Klíma in conversation with László Jakab Orsós, director of the PEN World Voices Festival, discussing Klíma’s new memoir, My Crazy Century (Grove Press, translated by Craig Cravens). Czech Center New York, 7 p.m.
- November 14–16: Czech author Jáchym Topol at the New Literature from Europe festival, discussing his latest novel, The Devil’s Workshop (Portobello Books, translated by Alex Zucker). Nine authors, three days, three venues. Times and locations here. NOTE: Topol is confirmed only for the Nov. 15 and 16 events.
- November 15: “Heretical Europe: A Workshop on Jan Patočka’s Philosophy of History,” the New School, 10 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. A one-day workshop examining the legacy of Czech philosopher Jan Patočka, a giant of phenomenology and a co-founder of the Charter 77 human rights movement in communist Czechoslovakia. List of speakers here.
