Když jsme spolu pod hvězdami žili (poezií) – Kouřil Vladimír (2023)

Music publicist Vladimír Kouřil (*1944), an official of the Jazz Section, a political prisoner, the author of many publications on music and an indefatigable promoter, has prepared a collected edition of his poetry. The foundation of the book consists of texts written during his eight-month detention in Ruzyně (1986–1987), to which the author added other poems from his archive and titled the entire collection When We Lived Together Under the Stars (in poetry). ***** Vladimír Kouřil does not consider himself a poet, which is why he wrote on the cover of the book: "Since my high school years, I have been a reader of poetry. But I have never written it programmatically, purposefully. Every now and then, under the weight of events, not just personal ones, I relieve my anguish through poetry. Then perhaps for several years, there are no verses again – I mainly write other things: about jazz for magazines, books about music, and also fiction." Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to get to know Kouřil's poetry more closely. Readers will surely appreciate the unconventional insights and reflections that are worth pondering and which complement the testimony of this significant witness to post-war unofficial culture.