A Secret in the Words Tales of Literature and Dissent in Communist Czechoslovakia
Class Year
2021
Document Type
Student Research Paper
Date of Creation
Fall 2019
Department 1
Center for Global Education
Abstract
In order to better understand the parallel culture of the 1970s and 1980s Czechoslovakia, this paper aims to tell the stories of six members of the Czechoslovak samizdat community: Marie Klimešová, Ivan Lamper, Ladislav Šenkyřík, Tomáš Tichák, Jáchym Topol, and Jarka Vrbová. Through personal interviews with these individuals, we understand how editors, typists, artists, writers, translators, and readers played significant parts in this parallel culture as well as how these people continue to play important roles in society today. While the tales told here are only parts of the lives of six individuals, they help reflect the impact of an entire culture that led to the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Toocheck, Thea J., "A Secret in the Words Tales of Literature and Dissent in Communist Czechoslovakia" (2019). Student Publications. 1057.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/1057
Comments
Written for SIT Czech Republic: Arts and Social Change program.