Václav Havel | Granta

Václav Havel

Václav Havel was born in Czechoslovakia in 1936. His plays have been produced around the world, and he is the author of many influential essays on totalitarianism, dissent and democratic renewal. He was a founding spokesman for Charter 77, and served as president of the Czech Republic until 2003. His memoir To the Castle and Back was published in 2008.

Václav Havel on Granta.com

Essays & Memoir | The Online Edition
Essays & Memoir | The Online Edition

To the Castle and Back

Václav Havel

‘I am announcing that I have returned from the USA. I thank all of those who worked in the domestic resistance. Likewise I thank all of us who worked in the foreign resistance.’

Essays & Memoir | The Online Edition padlock
Essays & Memoir | The Online Edition padlock

Meeting Gorbachev

Václav Havel

‘By now the Glasnost Tsar has reached the spot where I am standing. He is rather short and stocky, a cuddly ball-like figure hemmed in by his gigantic bodyguards, giving the impression of someone shy and helpless.’

Essays & Memoir | The Online Edition padlock
Essays & Memoir | The Online Edition padlock

Letters from Prison

Václav Havel & Jiří Dienstbier

‘When the governor forbade Havel to write essays, ordering him to write only about himself, he started a series on his fifteen different moods.’

Granta magazine is run by the Granta Trust (charity number 1184638)

The copyright to all contents of this site is held either by Granta or by the individual authors, and none of the material may be used elsewhere without written permission. For reprint enquiries, contact us.

  • Granta
  • 12 Addison Avenue
  • London W11 4QR
  • United Kingdom
  • Tel +44(0)20 7605 1360