In this in-depth interview about Gerta, a powerful new novel about a painful chapter in Czech history that is not often discussed, author Kateřina Tučková and translator Véronique Firkusny talk to Andrew Singer of Trafika Europe Radio. Plus, Czech expert Ondřej Lipár talks about the significance of the book in the Czech context.
This program aired live on Trafika Europe Radio on March 21 at 3 PM. The recording remains available as a podcast:
The award-winning novel—the author’s first to be published in English—tells the story about the fate of one woman and the pursuit of forgiveness in a divided postwar world. Spanning decades and generations, Gerta illuminates a long-neglected episode in Czech history. One of exclusion and prejudice, of collective shame versus personal guilt, all through the eyes of a charismatic woman whose courage will affect all the lives she’s touched. Especially that of the daughter she loved, fought for, shielded, and would come to inspire.
This program is presented by Czech Center New York as a part of Trafika Europe Radio's ongoing series The Middle Ground, exploring literature and literary communities from across Central and Eastern Europe. Learn more abut The Middle Ground and Trafika Europe on their website HERE.
Kateřina Tučková is a Czech playwright, publicist, biographer, art historian, exhibition curator, and bestselling author of Gerta and The Žítková Goddesses. She has won several literary awards, including the Magnesia Litera Award (for both Gerta and The Žítková Goddesses), the Brno City Award for literature, the Josef Škvorecký Award, and the Czech Bestseller Award. Kateřina is also the recipient of the Freedom, Democracy, and Human Rights Award by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, and of the Premio Libro d’Europa at the Book Fair in Salerno, Italy. Between 2015 and 2018, she was a founder and first president of the Meeting Brno festival, focusing on international and intercultural dialogue. Kateřina Tučková currently lives in Prague and Brno, Czech Republic. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages. Gerta is her first to be translated into English. In December 2020, her novel Bílá Voda will be published in Czech. For more information, visit www.katerina-tuckova.cz/en/.
Born in Switzerland to Czech parents, the late pianist Rudolf Firkusny and his wife, Tatiana, Véronique Firkusny grew up in a trilingual, musical household that sparked a lifelong passion for language, literature, and music. She translates primarily from Czech to English, and her most recently published English translation is Daniela Hodrová’s novel A Kingdom of Souls, co-translated with Elena Sokol. Forthcoming publications include, in collaboration with Elena Sokol, Daniela Hodrová’s Puppets. Firkusny serves as the executive director of the Avery Fisher Artist Program of Lincoln Center and also coaches opera singers in Czech diction. A graduate of Barnard College, where she received a BA in Italian literature, she resides in New York City.
Ondřej Lipár is a poet, journalist, and photographer. He has published two books of poetry. He is currently working as the Managing Editor at Vogue CS and together with Barbora Votavová he hosts a literary podcast, Do slov. He is the former Chairman of the Czech Writers Association.
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