Literature and Tolerance

<p>In the face of Europe&#39;s rising nationalism and intolerance,&nbsp;this timely anthology by Czech writers addresses a key issue for today.&nbsp;The courage of Czech writers is legendary. During the Cold War they kept their nation&#39;s conscience alive by&nbsp;clandestine publishing while imprisoned as &quot;dissidents&rdquo; or collecting garbage, washing windows or selling fish&nbsp;as &quot;non-persons,&quot; and then they took the lead in the Velvet Revolution of 1989 that overthrew communism.</p><p>In Europe and the West today &mdash; with its rising nationalism and political extremism &mdash; subtlety, humour and sharp intelligence are needed more than ever, and this volume&nbsp;of stories, poetry, essays and drama showcases some of the best Czech writing on these important topics. The&nbsp;volume also lends insight into the role of Czech writers during two of the darkest periods of Central European&nbsp;history: the struggles against fascism and communism.</p>