Jak jsme hledali obrazy - Prózy a jiné texty z let 1968-1988 – Bednářová Otta (2017)

A testimony about the time, about oneself, and about people. - A collection of journalistic texts and reports by the writer, journalist, and civic activist Otta Bednářová (born 1927). - The book opens with a text in which the author presents her life confession. The following section consists of five journalistic prose pieces from the years 1976–1980. In them, Otta Bednářová – in the words of Jan Tesař – "found a new, personal, and concise form," but above all, she successfully connected a factual, unpretentious narrative style with the expression of situations of pain and suffering, courage and defiance, but also, on the other hand, of meanness and baseness. If a well-written literary piece is a more complete testimony than any document taken out of context, then Otta Bednářová's prose captures the moment of transformation from document to literature, and therein lies their uniqueness. The second section summarizes the author's testimonies with undeniable personal and social value, particularly that about the events in the first week of August following the Soviet occupation in 1968 in the editorial offices of Prague's media. This text is published here for the first time, as well as several others. The book, which is released to mark a significant life anniversary of Otta Bednářová, also includes an editorial note and comments, a list of the author's texts, radio broadcasts, and...