Vienna

The Literature Night Vienna 2012 will focus on the work of the Czech poet and novelist Karel Hynek Mácha (1810 – 1836), the founder of the modern Czech poetry.
The Literature Night will present the representative of the Czech Romanticism to the Austrian audience by reciting from the German translation of his most important work ‘Máj’ (May). There will also be a literary programme presenting extracts from Mácha’s work, read by an actress Zdenka Procházková, and an exhibition about Mácha’s life and work prepared by the Museum of Czech Literature.
Mácha’s Máj is the centrepiece of his work as well as of the Czech history. It is an inspiring and introspective book that develops the motifs of love, nature and homeland. Although contemporary reviewers had no understanding for Máj at the time, it still counts amongst the traditional works of Czech literature, repeatedly popular with and appreciated by publishers as well as readers.