Reflections on the letters

The last two letters I’ve sent out begin Havel’s term in Heřmanice, the prison in Ostrava, far from Prague and their country house in Hrádeček. About a four-hour drive. This is the fourth or fifth time I’ve read these letters now, and they seem less headlong and rambly than I’d thought at first; this is… Read more: the real beginning

A few months back, Havel’s Canadian translator, Paul Wilson, dropped a small grenade in my inbox when he sent me an 1989 interview with Olga that he’d published in 1991, in the erstwhile Idler. My impression of Olga, from various newspaper and magazine pieces written after Havel had been in office for a while, was… Read more: Olga, speaking for herself

The prison where Havel’s being held in the letters sent out so far is this one, Ruzyně Prison in Prague, so he isn’t far from home and it isn’t difficult for Olga to make the trip, which may strike some Americans as a cozy affair. If you take an intercity bus in the Midwest now… Read more: Ruzyně Prison