At the beginning of September 2007 the publishing house GEMA Publications inAthenspublished a Greek translation of the book “Postřižiny” (Cutting It Short) by the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal. The book was translated into Modern Greek by Věra Klontza-Jaklová. As Greek translation of this work by the significant Czech writer was furthermore published in the year of the 10^th anniversary of the author’s death, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Greece, in co-operation with various Greek organisations and institutions from the writer’s hometown of Nymburk, organised, upon this occasion, three cultural events: a presentation of the book translation, screenings of the documentary “The blessed and damned poet Bohumil Hrabal“ by the director Olga Sommerová and  the film “Postřižiny“ by director Jiří Menzel, and a photograph exhibition “Bohumil Hrabal – Life and Work“. These events took place in October 2007 in Athens, in November 2007 Agios Nikolaos in Crete and in January 2008 in Thessaloniki.

ATHENS

The presentation of the book translation took place in the prestigious bookshop IANOS in Athenson 9 October 2007, the exhibition in the “House of Cyprus – Cyprus Embassy” lasted from 10 until 17 October 2007.

At the beginning of the literary evening on 9 October a representative of the bookshop IANOS welcomed the guests present, in his introductory speech he underlined the significance of Bohumil Hrabal for Czech and international literature, and emphasised also the importance of translation of works from ”small literatures“ into Modern Greek. The guests were further greeted by Ambassador Mottlová and the publisher Maria Ghertsos, who also introduced the present translator of the book Věra Klontza-Jaklová. The Greek writer and translator Belika Koumpareli presented in a spontaneous way the contents and the main motive of the book. The Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of the CzechRepublicinGreecethen summarised the most important moments in Hrabal’s life and presented his most significant works. At the end of the evening the document ”The blessed and damned poet Bohumil Hrabal“ by the director Olga Sommerová was screened and simultaneously translated into Greek. After the cultural programme a reception followed and the guests had the chance to taste Herbal’s favourite drink – real Czech beer. As partof the event, photographs depicting the life and the work of Bohumil Hrabal were exhibited in the premises of the bookshop IANOS.

Approximately 150 fans of literature met in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The audience consisted mostly of representative of the Greek literary circles and the Czech-Greek community living inAthensand its surroundings.

The official opening of the exhibition ”Bohumil Hrabal – life and work“ took place on the following day, 10 October.Visitors to the exhibition had an opportunity to see 21 black-and-white and colour photographs depicting the life and the work of the distinguished Czech writer. The exhibition included Hrabal’s curriculum vitae translated by the employees of the Embassy into Greek and English. Seven if Hrabal’s books in Czech were exhibited, along with all his books translated into Greek: “Closely Watched Trains“ (1995), “The Gentle Barbarian“ (1990), “Do You Want to See the Golden Prague?“ (1981) and “The Drugstore The World” (1981), and further promotional material in English provided by the Folk museum in Nymburk was also available for visitors to the exhibition. The photographs were donated and the exhibition was prepared by the Homeland-study museum in Nymburk in co-operation with the Municipality in Nymburk, the Embassy of the Czech Republic inGreeceprepared callouts in Greek, and English. The success of the presentation of the book translation and the general interest in Hrabal attracted to the opening also many of the guests of the previous evening who thus had an opportunity to form a complete opinion on the writer, his life and work influenced by his life.

The events were organised by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Greece, the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Greece, the publishing house GEMA and the bookshop IANOS.

 

AGIOS NIKOLAOS - CRETE

On 19 November 2007 the presentation took place in the current place of residence of the book translator Agios Nikolaos inCrete. The event in Agios Nikolaos was organised by the Cultural Organisation of the MunicipalityofAgios Nikolaos, the Historical and Ethnographic Society of Lasithio and the Film Club in Agios Nikolaos. The programme of the evening was similar to the one in Athens– representatives of the above mentioned institutions delivered speeches dedicated to co-operation between the CzechRepublicandGreecein the field of culture, the book and its translation. Due to the fact that the presentation in Crete included also a screening of the film “Postřižiny“ by director Jiří Menzel with Greek subtitles, one of the contributions presented the film “Postřižiny“ and Jiří Menzel. The event was realised with the support of the Embassy of the CzechRepublicinGreecewhich was represented in Crete by the Cultural Attaché of the Embassy who delivered, as she did in Athens, a lecture on the life and work of Bohumil Hrabal.

On 20 November 2007 the exhibition “Bohumil Hrabal – life and work“ was officially opened. The exhibition took place in the Municipal gallery in Agios Nikolaos and lasted until 25 November 2007. The event was organised by the Cultural Organisation of theMunicipalityofAgios Nikolaos with the support of the Embassy of the CzechRepublicinGreece.

 

THESSALONIKI

In Thessaloniki the presentation of the book translation was held in the bookshop IANOS on 15 January 2008. The exhibition took place in the exhibition premises of the bookshop IANOS between 15 and 23 January 2008.

At the beginning a representative of the bookshop IANOS welcomed the guests present. The programme of the literary evening consisted of a speech by the publisher Maria Ghertsos who presented the aim of the GEMA publishing house to concentrate on translation of works from “small literatures“ into Modern Greek, underlined the significance of the translation of the book by one of the most famous and read Czech writers, and further shortly talked about the contents and the main plot and motive of ”Postřižiny“.Afterwards, the Cultural Attaché of the Embassy delivered a speech on the life and the work of B. Hrabal. At the end of the programme, similarly as in the previous events, the document “The blessed and damned poet Bohumil Hrabal“ was screened and then the official opening of the exhibition took place. The guests of the literary evening included, i.a., a representative of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, a representative of the Metropolitan Bishop of Thessaloniki, the spouse of Prof. Karel Čížek, in Thessaloniki living Gratias Agit 2002 prize-winner and important translator of the Czech literature into Greek, representatives of the Greek literary circles and lovers of Czech literature and representatives of the Czech-Greek community in Thessaloniki.

The events in Thessaloniki were organised by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Greece, the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Greece and the Consulate of the Republic of Cyprus in Thessaloniki, the publishing house GEMA and the bookshop IANOS in Thessaloniki.

PHOTO 1: The bookshop IANOS in Athens

PHOTO 2: "House of Cyprus-Cyprus Embassy" in Athens

PHOTO 3: Speech by Ambassador H. Mottlová in "House of Cyprus-Cyprus Embassy"

PHOTO 4: The bookshop IANOS in Thessaloniki

PHOTO 5: The exhibition and the presentation in Thessaloniki

PHOTO 6: The exhibition and the presentation in Thessaloniki