Czech writer and publisher Josef Skvorecky dies in Toronto at age 87
Josef Skvorecky, the Czech emigre writer and publisher, who fled to Canada after the Soviet invasion that crushed the Prague Spring of 1968, died of cancer early this morning in Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. He was 87.
He and his wife, the writer and actress Zdena Salivarova founded 68 Publishers in 1971. Over the next two decades they published banned Czech and Slovak books and became a vocal and important western outlet for dissident writers including Vaclav Havel and Milan Kundera.
Mr. Skvorecky was also a prolific novelist and poet, whose own books had been banned in his homeland. His works include, The Cowards, The Emperor of Human Souls, which won the Governor-General’s Award in 1984, and The Bass Saxophone. He is survived by his wife. No funeral is planned.
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada, January 3rd, 2012
Výše uveřejňujeme dosud nepřeložený nekrolog torontských novin z 3. ledna 2012. Nahlédněte do fotogalerie, kam jsme umístili několik fotografií z doby, kdy nás Josef se Zdenou v PEN klubu navštěvovali, a ze slavnosti, kdy Josef v Klementinu společně s Viktorem Fišlem přebíral Seifertovu cenu.
Odcházejí ti nejlepší a smutek nás neopouští. Nevzdáváme se však naděje.
Český PEN
