During the Velvet Revolutin of 1989, Václav Havel proclaimed that truth and love would prevail over lies and hatred. A quarter of a century later, his words resounded in Harvard’s Slavic Department as students commemorated the twenty-five year anniversary of the revolution that brought an end to communism in Czechoslovakia.
Far from being a somber commemoration, this was a lively celebration of Czech literature and culture. To begin the event, Czech preceptor Veronika Tuckerova provided an overview of the student movement the sparked the revolution. Gradually the historical narrative gave way to a more personal story, as Dr. Tuckerova shared her memories of the event. We watched documentary footage of the student demonstrations and marvelled at their bravery during confrontations with police forces. Next, our own students began to demonstrate.
Those wishing to participate in the event were asked to bring a text of their choosing to read aloud, first in the Czech original and then in English translation. The variety of the proferred texts attested to the breadth and richness of the Czech literary tradition as well as the personal interests of each participant. The texts included poetry and prose and ranged from the era of the First Czechoslovak Republic to the modern day. Lukáš Olejník, a Prague native and graduate student in Harvard’s Music Department, chose a passage from the writer Karel Pecka. Pecka is little-known in the United States and, as this novel has not been translated, Olejník valorously produced an original translation. Daniel Green, a doctoral student in the Slavic Department, gave a lively reading from a Soviet-era Czech-language textbook, animating a dialogue about the practices on a communal farm. Though not traditionally defined as literature, the textbook proved a terrific artifact of the bygone concerns and self-fashioned image of the country.
Ashley Morse and Nikhil Benesch, both students of first-year Czech, performed, with great zeal, Josef Čapek’s classic children’s story “Jak si pejsek s kočičkou dělali k svátku dort” (“How the puppy and kitten made a birthday cake”). Other authors represented included Jachym Topol, Ivan Wernisch, Bohumil Hrabal, Ivan Diviš and Sylva Fischerová. Fischerová, who visited the department earlier this year, had been one of the student leaders during the revolution and was an inspiration for this event.
The final reading was by another student of first-year Czech. James Russell read an excerpt from Havel’s 1990 New Year’s address, in which the newly elected president described with biting honestly the damaged state of his country. At the time, the sheer frankness of the speech made it shocking. Decades of official lies and platitudes taught people not to expect such frank forthrightness from their government. Today, the speech remains a sobering exhortation to civic participation. In the years since Havel first delivered it, the speech has also become a moving testament to the integrity of the late playwright-president.
The entire event was a reminder that literature can be a unifying force and that students, when united in a common goal, can accomplish great things. Most importantly, the event was a vibrant celebration of Czech culture, truth and love.