The National Library of Czech Republic in Prague will hold an exhibition of Czech literature translated into Persian.
The title of the exhibition is ‘Czech Authors in Persian Translation: Literary Art and Professional Works, Translated and Published in Iran.’ It is slated for release on March 15-April 28 at the library’s exhibition corridor from Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to the website of the library, En.nkp.cz.
The exhibition documents how the Iranian public gradually built up relations with Czechoslovakia and later Czech culture through the mediation of translations of Czech authors into Persian. It is surprising and pleasing at the same time that such a small country can be proud of having so many of its works translated into a geographically distant language.
“The sources and books to be presented at the exhibit are selected from among the Persian translations of Czech magazines and literary, cultural and artistic articles published in Iran and collected in 20 years,” Persian translator, Reza Mirchi, who is based in the Czech Republic, told Mehr News Agency.
“I received a proposal from the National Library of Czech Republic to curate an exhibition of Czech works translated and published in Iran, along with feedbacks from Iranian audience. So I had a few meetings with the organizers of Iran National Library and informed them of the collection of such works. Eventually, we decided to organize the biggest possible exhibition,” Mirchi said.
Year-Long Preparation
The follow-up in Iran for filling the gaps of the exhibit took over a year. On the Prague side of the event, officials have been preparing for the exhibit. The job’s done now and we are giving the final touches to the exhibit, he added.
Mirchi, 70, studied nuclear chemistry in the Czech Republic, but was attracted to culture, especially literature and theater. He has been working in the field for several decades now.
Apart from publishing the first Czech-Persian dictionary and bilingual textbooks, he devoted great efforts on the works of Czech writer Vaclav Havel (1993-2003) which he has translated and published in Iran.
He has been working on an almanac of Czech writers whose works are linked to Iran and whose books have been translated into Persian. He is also working on a large archive of Czech-Iranian relations.
Besides literature, Mirchi is also interested in theatrical and marionette art, and has endeavored to bring the cultures of the two countries closer and promote cultural understanding.
