Hausboat na soutoku Volhy a Mississippi – Petránek Jan (2018)

This Czech-language book by journalist Jan Petránek contains eight essays addressing questions that occasionally occur to everyone, although not everyone has the same breadth of perspective, life experience, memories and storytelling talent. Jan Petránek presents his ideas about the origins of life, the meaning of human existence and the organisation of international and interpersonal relationships. It is a personal confession accompanied by unique memories of key moments in his life, including the August days of 1968. The second part confirms the breadth of his creative talent with the poetry collection Noční verše z kotelny, dated 1984, when Jan Petránek, a dissident and Charter 77 signatory, could earn a living only by working in the boiler room of the Mitas rubber works. Despite his difficult personal situation, the poems are full of optimism and hope. Through the programme Šanson věc veřejná, Jan Petránek was known as a songwriter, but his poetry is being presented to the public for the first time. The book is supplemented with photographs from the author’s archive.