In this Book
- The Walls Behind the Curtain: East European Prison Literature, 1945–1990
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: University of Pittsburgh Press
summary
Because of their visibility in society and ability to shape public opinion, prominent literary figures were among the first targets of Communist repression, torture, and incarceration. Authors such as Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn famously documented the experience of internment in Soviet gulags. Little, however, has been published in the English language on the work of writers imprisoned by other countries of the Soviet bloc.
For the first time, The Walls Behind the Curtain presents a collection of works from East European novelists, poets, playwrights, and essayists who wrote during or after their captivity under communism. Harold B. Segel paints a backdrop of the political culture and prison and labor camp systems of each country, detailing the onerous conditions that writers faced. Segel then offers biographical information on each writer and presents excerpts of their writing. Notable literary figures included are Václav Havel, Eva Kanturková, Milan Šimecka, Adam Michnik, Milovan Djilas, Paul Goma, Tibor Déry, and Visar Zhiti, as well as many other writers.
This anthology recovers many of the most important yet overlooked literary voices from the era of Communist occupation. Although translated from numerous languages, and across varied cultures, there is a distinct commonality in the experiences documented by these works. The Walls Behind the Curtain serves as a testament to the perseverance of the human spirit and a quest for individual liberty that many writers forfeited their lives for.
For the first time, The Walls Behind the Curtain presents a collection of works from East European novelists, poets, playwrights, and essayists who wrote during or after their captivity under communism. Harold B. Segel paints a backdrop of the political culture and prison and labor camp systems of each country, detailing the onerous conditions that writers faced. Segel then offers biographical information on each writer and presents excerpts of their writing. Notable literary figures included are Václav Havel, Eva Kanturková, Milan Šimecka, Adam Michnik, Milovan Djilas, Paul Goma, Tibor Déry, and Visar Zhiti, as well as many other writers.
This anthology recovers many of the most important yet overlooked literary voices from the era of Communist occupation. Although translated from numerous languages, and across varied cultures, there is a distinct commonality in the experiences documented by these works. The Walls Behind the Curtain serves as a testament to the perseverance of the human spirit and a quest for individual liberty that many writers forfeited their lives for.
Table of Contents
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- About the Artist, Maks Velo
- pp. ix-xii
- Introduction
- pp. 1-14
- Jusuf Vrioni (1916–2001)
- pp. 18-23
- Arshi Pipa (1920–2002)
- pp. 24-29
- Kasëm Trebeshina (b. 1926)
- pp. 30-36
- Maks Velo (b. 1935 )
- pp. 37-49
- Fatos T. Lubonja (b. 1951)
- pp. 50-63
- Visar Zhiti (b. 1952)
- pp. 64-69
- Besnik Mustafaj (b. 1958)
- pp. 70-76
- Bulgarai/Macedonia
- pp. 77-80
- Venko Markovski (1915–1988)
- pp. 81-88
- Czechoslovakia
- pp. 89-92
- Jiří Hejda (1895–1985)
- pp. 93-96
- Jan Zahradníček (1905–1960)
- pp. 97-109
- Jiří Mucha (1915–1991)
- pp. 110-117
- Lenka Reinerová (1916–2008)
- pp. 118-124
- Karel Pecka (1928–1997)
- pp. 125-141
- Eva Kantůrková (b. 1930)
- pp. 142-150
- Milan Šimečka (1930–1990)
- pp. 151-157
- Rudolf Dobiáš (b. 1934)
- pp. 158-166
- Vojtech Belák (1928–2008)
- pp. 168-170
- Pavol Brodnaňský (1930–2004)
- pp. 171-172
- Vojtech Jenčík (1920–1976)
- pp. 173-176
- Štefan Sandtner (1916–2006)
- pp. 178-179
- Ladislav Záborský (b. 1921)
- pp. 182-184
- Václav Havel (1936–2011)
- pp. 185-200
- Tibor Déry (1894–1977)
- pp. 205-208
- György Faludy (1910–2006)
- pp. 209-223
- Árpád Göncz (b. 1922)
- pp. 224-228
- Ádám Bodor (b. 1936)
- pp. 229-236
- Marek Nowakowski (b. 1935)
- pp. 243-246
- Adam Michnik (b. 1946)
- pp. 247-249
- Nichifor Crainic (1889–1972)
- pp. 267-269
- Nicolae (Nicu) Steinhardt (1912–1989)
- pp. 274-286
- Marcel Petrişor (b. 1930)
- pp. 291-310
- Paul Goma (b. 1935)
- pp. 311-320
- Yugoslavia
- pp. 321-325
- Milovan Djilas (1911–1995)
- pp. 326-333
- Vitomil Zupan (1914–1987)
- pp. 344-357
- Eligio (Ligio) Zanini (1927–1993)
- pp. 358-365
- Branko Hofman (1929–1991)
- pp. 366-370
- Borislav Pekić (1930–1992)
- pp. 371-383
- Dragoslav Mihailović (b. 1930)
- pp. 384-391
- Vlado Gotovac (1930–2000)
- pp. 392-404
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 407-410
- Back Cover
- p. 437
Additional Information
ISBN
9780822978022
Related ISBN(s)
9780822962021
MARC Record
OCLC
859672262
Pages
448
Launched on MUSE
2012-11-02
Language
English
Open Access
No