Who am I

Author: (Czech) Bohumil Hrabal
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Bohumil Hrabal, this Czech writer is somewhat unfamiliar to us; he didn’t publish his first book until he was 49 years old. He created the Czech-style "Pabitel" figure, won numerous literary awards, and his novels were adapted into many films. This Czech writer is also special, and his specialness lies in his ordinariness. After obtaining a law degree, he left the polished life we imagined and moved into a slum, working as a steel mill laborer, warehouse clerk, salesman, scrap packer, and stagehand. Hrabal said, "If others can live in a steel mill, why can’t I?" He wrote amidst his heavy work, depicting the overlooked people like workers, small shop owners, drivers, and scavengers, writing about their kindness, simplicity, and vices. "Who Am I" is both the title of one of Hrabal’s books and a question he often reflected on. For a person who was both timid and cynical, humble and self-reproaching yet also a writer who, frequently asking himself, "Who am I?"—it must be a profound question. In the "Hrabal," this issue titled "Who Am I" is a translation and selection of some of his works, statements, essays, and notes, accompanied by his interview titled "Handkerchief Knot" and a chronology. We present it as a supplement to the translation and introduction of several of his works, in honor of the readers.