Za zrcadlem interpretace: čtení v dopisech Hanzelkovi a Zikmundovi – Jiřina Šmejkalová

Jiřina Šmejkalová (Institute of Information Studies and Librarianship, Faculty of Arts, Charles University) will talk about correspondence addressed in 1947–1969 to Miroslav Zikmund and Jiří Hanzelka. 10th June 2025 from 4 pm in the upper hall of the Institute for Czech Literature of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Na Florence 3), entry is free and without registration. Archive H+Z V Zlín. After expeditions to Africa, South America and Asia, they have become "centrally controlled celebrities" whose books were published in the total cost of 5 million copies. Epistolar communication often reflects a period -acceptable 'normative' interpretation, but despite period repression and restrictions, it primarily provides space for building parasocial relations with “our travelers”, for which Reciprocity is characterized. The letters contain requirements, such as the "Buy of the Oriental Bride" or become the godfather of their children, but also share shortcomings - especially in the availability of books and their quality. While correspondence confirms the support of the regime by accepting its celebrities, it also reveals the shortcomings of everyday life, including the failure of the book circulation and hence society as a whole.