The Literary Samizdat and Exile Bibliography Section became part of our activities in 2016. This groups deals primarily with dissident Czech magazines and to a lesser extent those of Slovak and Polish origin. These journals date from the 1950s to the early 1990s, with an emphasis on the normalisation period and the time just before the Velvet Revolution.
The chief sources of this material are the Libri prohibiti library and scriptum.cz website, which feature scans of samizdat journals. Other material stems from the Czechoslovak Documentation Centre archive (now administered by the National Museum) and private collections.
Aside from their bibliographical tasks, staff also contribute to research on post-war eastern bloc alternative culture, the dissident movement and underground literature of the 1970s and 1980s. For these purposes, they often partner with foreign institutions and research networks like the Institute of Literary Research at the Polish Academy of Sciences and the NEP4DISSENT international network. NEP4DISSENT, a beneficiary of the COST research programme, helped compile the Polonica database for Czech samizdat. Another product of international collaboration is Samizdat Past & Present (2019), an English-language anthology of seminal work on samizdat-related issues by leading Czech literary scholars and historians.
Head: Mgr. Gabriela Romanová
Contact address: sambibl@ucl.cas.cz
4 February is the Day of Czechs Living Abroad, which we are commemorating for the fourth year. This date was chosen by the Czechs themselves, and not by chance – on this day in 1628, John Amos Comenius, the “teacher of nations”, went into exile and spent many years away from his homeland. read more
In the current issue of the literary-cultural review Revue Prostor (120/2023) you will find mainly texts dedicated to the current state of the journalism and the challenges this profession faces in the digital age. A counterbalance in the form of a look into the past is provided by our colleague Pavel Nevyhoštěný, who reflects the samizdat past of the magazine, which is now celebrating 40 years since its founding. read more
On 29-30 November 2023, the National Archives hosts the 24th annual conference Archives, Libraries, Museums in the Digital World. In the first block of speakers, Pavla Hartmanová will present information on the latest developments in the Czech literary bibliography. read more
The conference Exilanten aus Ungarn, Jugoslawien und der Tschechoslowakei 1945–1989 (Exiles from Hungary, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia 1945–1989) will take place at the University of Regensburg on 16–18 November 2023. read more
From 6 to 12 November, the 3rd annual Week of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic is taking place, with scientists from the Institute of Czech Literature participating in various events. Wednesday evening will be devoted to the Literary Pub Quiz, which will be conducted by Františka Schormová and Ondřej Macl at the Hybernská Campus from 7 pm. read more
The International Samizdat Day was declared in 2016 at the Libri prohibiti library in Prague with the participation of the actors of the 1988 petition. In 1988, ninety-two samizdat publishers sent a letter to President Gustáv Husák in connection with the imprisonment of Slovak publisher Ivan Polanský. read more
