Vertikály, horizontály, křižovatky - Průvodce českou literární krajinou – Knotová Tereza (2022)

The text that guides the reader through the Czech landscape is based on Simon Schama's belief that landscapes have not only geological memory but also, and primarily, cultural memory. It borrows images of specific places from literature, prose, diaries, letters, and poems, arranging them to highlight a natural axis - vertical or horizontal. However, these axes transform from basic directional axes into existentially significant axes due to the influence of the literature used, thus giving the places meanings that are still rather hidden or not immediately obvious. The text deliberately works with a wide range of sources from the oldest chronicles to major social novels, diaries, and letters, to literary marginalia. The starting premise of this guide is that anyone who gazes at the landscape intently, purposefully, and consciously is already experiencing their freedom. Tereza Knotová is a comparatist primarily focused on general and comparative literature, and she has also studied South European studies. She has worked as an editor and curator. She lives in Prague and has two children. Verticals, Horizontals, Intersections is her debut.