Josef Škvorecký (; September 27, 1924 – January 3, 2012) was a Czech-Canadian writer and publisher. He spent half of his life in Canada, publishing and supporting banned Czech literature during the communist era. Škvorecký was awarded the

Neustadt International Prize for Literature The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award for literature sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international literary publication, ''World Literature Today''. It is considered one of the more prestigious int ...

in 1980. He and his wife were long-time supporters of Czech dissident writers before the fall of communism in that country. Škvorecký's fiction deals with several themes: the horrors of

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regu ...

and repression, the

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

experience, and the miracle of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

Life

Born the son of a bank clerk in Náchod,

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, Škvorecký graduated in 1943 from the Reálné '' gymnasium'' in his native Náchod. He had a youthful love-affair with

and was an amateur tenor

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

player in the period just prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, an experience he drew upon for his novella ''The Bass Saxophone'' (1967). For two years during the War he was a slave labourer in a

Messerschmitt Messerschmitt AG () was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in parti ...

aircraft factory in Náchod. After the war, he began to study at the Faculty of Medicine of

Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , under ...

, but after his first term he moved to the Faculty of Arts, where he studied philosophy and graduated in 1949. In 1951 he gained a PhD in philosophy. He then taught for two years at the Social School for Girls in Hořice v Podkrkonoší. Between 1952 and 1954 he performed his military service in the

Czechoslovak Army The Czechoslovak Army ( Czech and Slovak: Československá armáda) was the name of the armed forces of Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1918 following Czechoslovakia's declaration of independence from Austria-Hungary. History In the f ...

. He worked briefly as a teacher, editor and translator in the 1950s. In this period he completed several novels including his first novel ''The Cowards'' (written 1948–49, published 1958) and ''The End of the Nylon Age'' (1956). They were condemned and banned by the Communist authorities after their publication. His prose style, open-ended and improvisational, was an innovation, but this and his democratic ideals were a challenge to the Communist regime. As a result, he lost his job as editor of the magazine ''Světová literatura'' ("World Literature"). Škvorecký kept writing, and helped nurture the democratic movement that culminated in the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First ...

in 1968. After the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

that year, Škvorecký and his wife, writer and actress

Zdena Salivarová Zdena Salivarová (born October 21, 1933) is a Czech-born writer and translator living in Canada. She was born in Prague and studied script-writing at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. She came to Toronto in the year 1969 with her husband ...

, fled to Canada. In 1971, he and his wife founded

68 Publishers 68 Publishers, also called Sixty-Eight Publishers, Sixtyeight Publishers, or even Nakladatelství 68 ('nakladatelství' is Czech for 'publishing house'), was a publishing house formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1971 by Czech expatriate Josef ...

which, over the next 20 years, published banned Czech and Slovak books. The imprint became an important mouthpiece for dissident writers, such as

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himsel ...

, and Ludvík Vaculík, among many others. For providing this critical literary outlet, the president of post-Communist Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel, later awarded the couple the

Order of the White Lion The Order of the White Lion ( cs, Řád Bílého lva) is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia had no civilian decoration for its ...

in 1990. He taught at the Department of English at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

where he was eventually appointed Professor

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of English and Film. He retired in 1990. In Canada, he is considered to be a Canadian author despite the fact that he is mostly published in Czech.

Literary works

Most of Škvorecký's novels are available in English: the novels ''The Cowards'', ''Miss Silver's Past'', ''The Republic of Whores'', ''The Miracle Game'', ''The Swell Season'', ''The Engineer of Human Souls'' which won a Canadian

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by th ...

, ''The Bride of Texas'', ''Dvořák in Love'', ''The Tenor Saxophonist's Story'', ''Two Murders in My Double Life'', ''An Inexplicable Story or The Narrative of Questus Firmus Siculus'', his selected short stories ''When Eve Was Naked'' and the two short novels ''The Bass Saxophone'' and ''Emöke''. A recurring character in several of his novels is Danny Smiricky, who is a partial self-portrait of the author. He wrote four books of detective stories featuring Lieutenant Boruvka of the Prague Homicide Bureau: ''The Mournful Demeanor of Lieutenant Boruvka'', ''Sins for Father Knox'', ''The End of Lieutenant Boruvka'' and ''The Return of Lieutenant Boruvka''. His poetry was published as a collection in 1999 as ''...there's no remedy for this pain'' (...''na tuhle bolest nejsou prášky''). His non-fiction works include ''Talkin' Moscow Blues'', a book of essays on

, literature and politics, an autobiography ''Headed for the Blues'', and two books on the Czech cinema including ''All the Bright Young Men and Women''. In Middle Europe, he was also a well-known

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, to identify ...

expert, who wrote many prefaces to H. P. Lovecraft's works. Škvorecký wrote for films and television. The feature film ''The Tank Battalion'' was adapted from his novel ''The Republic of Whores''. Other features, written for Prague TV, include ''Eine kleine Jazzmusik'', adapted from his story of the same name, ''The Emöke Legend'' from a novella of the same name, and a two-hour TV drama ''Poe and the Murder of a Beautiful Girl'', based on

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

's story ''The Mystery of Marie Roget''. Three very successful TV serials were made from his stories: ''Sins for Father Knox'', ''The Swell Season'' and ''Murders for Luck''. A film version of the novel ''Pastor's End'' was produced in 1968, but was never shown and went straight into locked Communist archives due to the fact that its author "illegally" fled the country. In the spring and summer of 1968 Škvorecký and the Czech film director

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

jointly wrote a script synopsis to make a film version of ''The Cowards''. After Škvorecký fled the Warsaw Pact invasion the synopsis was translated into English, but no film was made. In the 21st century the English translation was translated back into Czech and has been published. Prominent in his writing for radio was a long-running monthly series on literature for

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the State media, state-owned news network and International broadcasting, international radio broadcaster of the United States, United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international br ...

. From 1973 to 1990 he wrote more than 200 of these shows covering notable literary works and discussing literary themes. He died on January 3, 2012, in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, from cancer; he was 87 years old.

Awards

Among his numerous literary awards are the

(1980), the Canadian

Governor General's Award for English-language fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in English.Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

as well as the

Angelus Award The Angelus Central European Literature Award also known as Angelus Award (Polish: ''Nagroda Literacka Europy Środkowej Angelus'') is a Polish international literary award established in 2006 and presented by the city of Wrocław, Lower Silesia. ...

(2009). Nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1982. Awarded the

by the President of Czechoslovakia,

, 1990. In 1992 he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. Škvorecký was a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

, and a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

. Chevalier de l'

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

République Française France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area e ...

, 1996.

Selected bibliography

Novels * ''Konec nylonového věku'' (End of the Nylon Age), 1956 (banned by censors) * ''Zbabělci'' ('' The Cowards''), 1958 * ''Lvíče'' (The Lion Cub, translated into English as '' Miss Silver's Past''), 1969 * ''Tankový prapor'' (The Tank Battalion, translated into English as ''The Republic of Whores''), 1969 * ''Mirákl'' ('' The Miracle Game''), 1972 * ''Prima sezóna'' (''The Swell Season''), 1975 * ''Konec poručíka Borůvky'' (''The End of Lieutenant Boruvka''), 1975 * ''Příběh inženýra lidských duší'' (''The Engineer of Human Souls''), 1977 * ''Návrat poručíka Borůvky'' (''The Return of Lieutenant Boruvka''), 1980 * ''Scherzo capriccioso'' (translated into English as '' Dvorak in Love''), 1984 - story about Antonín Dvořák's time in America as director of the National Conservatory for Music. * ''Nevěsta z Texasu'' (''The Bride from Texas''), 1992 * ''Dvě vraždy v mém dvojím životě'' (''Two Murders in My Double Life''), 1999 * ''Nevysvětlitelný příběh aneb Vyprávění Questa Firma Sicula'' (''An Inexplicable Story, or, The Narrative of Questus Firmus Siculus''), 1998 * ''Krátké setkání, s vraždou'' (''Brief Encounter, with Murder''), 1999, co-written with

* ''Setkání po letech, s vraždou'' (''Encounter After Many Years, with Murder''), 2001, co-written with Zdena Salivarová * ''Setkání na konci éry, s vraždou'' (''Encounter at the End of an Era, with Murder''), 2001, co-written with Zdena Salivarová * ''Obyčejné źivoty'' (''Ordinary Lives''), 2004 Novellas * ''Legenda Emöke'' (''The Legend of Emöke''), 1963 * ''Bassaxofon'' (''The Bass Saxophone''), 1967 Collections of short stories * ''Sedmiramenný svícen'' (''The Menorah''), 1964 * ''Ze života lepší společnosti'' (''The Life of High Society''), 1965 * ''Smutek poručíka Borůvky'' (''The Mournful Demeanour of Lieutenant Boruvka''), 1966 * ''Babylónský příběh a jiné povídky'' (A Babylonian Story and Other Stories''), 1967 * ''Hořkej svět'' (''The Bitter World''), 1969 * ''Hříchy pro pátera Knoxe'' (''Sins for Father Knox''), 1973 * ''Ze života české společnosti'' (''The Life of Czech Society''), 1985 * ''Povídky tenorsaxofonisty'' (''The Tenor Saxophonist's Story''), 1993 * ''Povídky z Rajského údolí'' (''The Edenvale Stories''), 1996 * ''When Eve Was Naked'', 2000 Collections of essays * ''Nápady čtenáře detektivek'' (''Reading Detective Stories''), 1965 * ''O nich – o nás'' (''They – That Is: Us''), 1968 * ''Samožerbuch'' (''The Book of Self-Praise''), 1977 * ''All the Bright Young Men and Women'' (English translation of ''Všichni ti bystří mladí muži a ženy''), 1972 * ''Na brigádě'' (''Working Overtime''), 1979 * ''Jirí Menzel and the History of the Closely Watched Trains'', 1982 * ''Talkin' Moscow Blues'', 1988 * ''Franz Kafka, jazz a jiné marginálie'' (''Franz Kafka, Jazz and other Marginal Matters''), 1988 * '' ... In the lonesome October'', 1994 * ''Le Camarade Joueur de jazz'', 1996

References

External links

Biography and Bibliography

by Jan Čulík * (papers held at th
Hoover Institution Archives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skvorecky, Josef 1924 births 2012 deaths Canadian male novelists Czechoslovak expatriates in Canada Czech publishers (people) Czech translators Czech male writers Czechoslovak defectors University of Toronto faculty Governor General's Award-winning fiction writers Members of the Order of Canada People from Náchod Recipients of the Order of the White Lion 20th-century translators 20th-century Canadian novelists Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Czechoslovak World War II forced labourers