Weil, J. (2021-2023). Spisy Jiřího Weila. Sv. 1-4, 8

Abstract

The review is concerned with the unique 13-volume collection of works by the Czech writer, journalist, and translator Jiří Weil (1900–1959), published by the Prague-based Triáda press under the general editorship of Michael Špirit, professor at Charles University. A brief analysis of the five already published volumes reveals the period in Weil’s life that was closely connected with the USSR: his regular publications in the Czech left-wing press covered Soviet literary and cultural events; for two years, he was stationed in Moscow as a translator for the Comintern, eventually spending months in political exile in Central Asia. For the first time in years, the new collection features Weil’s entire journalistic output concerning Soviet reality, literature, and culture. In addition, it contains a specially commissioned scholarly commentary of Weil’s unique novel Moscow-Border [Moskva-hranice] (1937), set in 1930s’ Moscow and with foreigners as protagonists.