Sándor Petőfi: The building of a Hungarian legend
Budapest, Hungary – Despite being a relatively small country with a scarcely spoken language, Hungarians have a notably large numberContinue Reading
Tag: Books & Literature
Milan Kundera receives prestigious Franz Kafka Prize
Prague, Czech Republic- World-renowned Czech writer Milan Kundera has been designated as this year’s laureate of the Franz Kafka Prize,Continue Reading
Travel memoir of first Polish consul of New York now available in English
Warsaw, Poland – A new digital-first press released the first-ever English translation of Konstanty Buszczyński’s Impressions of America, the 1916Continue Reading
Book review: “Czechoslovakia behind the Iron Curtain”
If you came of age during the Cold War, wanting to know what living was like behind the Iron Curtain,Continue Reading
Famous Hungarians in history: Franz Liszt, the Virtuoso
Budapest, Hungary – The quintessential Romantic musician and artist, Hungarian-born Franz Liszt was arguably the most brilliant piano virtuoso ofContinue Reading
Magda Szabo: Female destinies in the turmoil of Hungarian history
Magda Szabo was one of the most influential contemporary writers in Hungarian literature until her death, in 2007. Her mostContinue Reading
Five books from Central Europe to read during quarantine
Strasbourg, France – Like nearly half of the world’s population, I’m now in quarantine, forced to stay at home and,Continue Reading
Attila József, a Hungarian tragedy
Every year, Poetry Day – költészet napja – takes place in Hungary on April 11. This date has been chosenContinue Reading
Entertaining yourself while under a community lockdown
While Czechs and Hungarians are panic-buying guns, Poland is using contraband vodka as disinfectant and launched a special Minecraft server toContinue Reading
Czech Republic: Book World Prague festival postponed till October
Prague, Czech Republic – Book World Prague, a major international book festival held annually in the Czech capital, has beenContinue Reading
Olga Tokarczuk pulls out of Prague Book Fair, is replaced by Sapkowski
Prague, Czech Republic – Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk announced she wouldn’t be able to attend the Book World PragueContinue Reading
“Our eyes met. Havel smiled. I smiled. Years later, I like to think, perhaps, the dharma was transmitted”
This week, Kafkadesk spoke with René Georg Vasicek, born in Austria just shortly after his parents defected from Czechoslovakia followingContinue Reading
Prominent Slovak writer Pavel Vilikovsky dies at 78
Bratislava, Slovakia – Pavel Vilikovsky, widely seen as one of the most important and popular contemporary Slovak writers, died earlierContinue Reading
New Hungarian National Curriculum causes controversy
Budapest, Hungary – A decrease in the number of compulsory lessons a week from 35 to 34 in years 9-12, theContinue Reading
Czech Republic’s Nobel Prize laureates in history
Prague, Czech Republic – From turn-of-the-century pacifist activism to groundbreaking scientific discoveries whose impact can still be felt today, here’sContinue Reading