An Occasional Portrait of Václav Havel Anna Freimanová (ed.)

The volume is comprised of texts written on the occasion of his 75th birthday and subsequent demise in 2011. Editor Anna Freimanová organised the book into six themed chapters (e.g., among people, at the Castle, in the theatre, in politics). In essays of varying timbres, the writers, inspired by a topical occasion, considered the life and work of the writer and president and his significance to society; among the pieces are the humorous and nostalgic recollections of friends and colleagues, the reflections of experts, and essays and analyses concerning some of Havel’s actions as well as his life as a whole. Photographs comprise a second, less conspicuous element of the book, with pictures from private archives and work by leading photographers capturing Václav Havel in the colourful company of the authors of the articles, in various periods, situations and environments.