Josef Skvorecky, 1924-2012
The renowed Czech-Canadian author Josef Škvorecký, whose fiction encompassed themes from repression to expatriatism to jazz, died January 3, 2012. While he was considered one of the great Czech dissident writers of the 20th century - his books included the Governor General Award-winning Engineer of Human Souls (the only GG winner originally written in a language other than English or French), The Cowards and The Swell Season, all of which featured his alter ego Danny Smiřický - he was also a long-time professor of English at the University of Toronto. He was also a good friend to the Fisher Library: the first acquistion of his papers by the library was in 1973, and he continued to donate up until late last year. The collection consists of books, manuscripts and typescript drafts of novels, as well as travelogues, literary essays, film scripts and personal correspondence.
The finding aids for his collections can be accessed via the catalogue record, found here.
His papers serve as one of the foundations of the Czech collection here at the Fisher, which includes an extensive collection of books published under Škvorecký's Sixty-Eight Publishers. Other Czech materials at the Fisher include (catalogue records to these items can be accessed by clicking on the titles):
“Charta 77” Human Rights Collection from Czechoslovakia: Documents the history of the Charter 77 human rights group and includes more than 500 reports by VONS (Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Persecuted), and many samizdat writings, including periodicals issued by members of Charter 77 and other individuals.
Czechoslovakia 1968: Collection consisting of news clippings, typescripts, Radio Free Europe reports and analyses, special issues of newspapers printed during the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, and various ephemera.
“Jazzová Sekce” Collection of Czechoslovak Union of Musicians: Extensive collection of the Jazz Section of the Czechoslovak Union of Musicians, consisting of publications dealing with art, music, poetry, photography, and culture in general.
Paul Wilson Papers: Wilson has translated the works of several Czech others, including Josef Škvorecký, Vaclav Havel and Ivan Klíma. This collection consists of manuscripts and proofs of Wilson’s translations of Škvorecký, Havel, Klíma and other Czech authors. They include drafts with notes by Wilson and others, including notes from Škvorecký on Wilson’s translation of The Engineer of Human Souls.
John Reeves Papers: Audio and video recordings of interviews with Czech and Slovak leaders; topics discussed include the Prague Spring, Christianity in Eastern Europe, Czechoslovak political affairs and life in Czechoslovakia before 1968.
An obituary on Škvorecký from the New York Times can be found here. Paul Wilson's tribute published in the Guardian can be found here.
Images (l-r): First page of an interview with Škvorecký, 1958; Holograph draft of Engineer of Human Souls; Poster from Jazz Section of the Czechoslovak Union of Musicians.
