Bohemian Anthem

About the Book

BOHEMIAN ANTHEM is a loose continuation of FETCHING STRANDED SOUL PIECES, author’s first volume of short stories, composed as a record of songs with interwoven themes of dreams, day-dreaming, cat-naps, nightmares, visionary lucid states of mind of her characters, who often bear traits of travelers, adventurers, discoverers, healers; some mere visitors, some almost homeless, some freshly uprooted, some lost, some fallen from the sky, but almost all women. This volume overlaps in certain themes, embracing mostly individuals who search for their place physically, emotionally, spiritually – this time not as much dreaming, but on foot, in the real world that feels elusive, often nightmarish. The title BOHEMIAN ANTHEM suggests among other metaphoric meanings also the first line of the Czech national anthem: “Where is my home, where is my home …?” The author writes in English as her second language.

About the Author

The author grew up in Czechoslovakia during the fifties. Early on, she decided to study languages not to limit herself to the totalitarian government’s publishing decisions. Musical arts were almost the sole source of independent education, an invisible bridge to the world behind the Iron Curtain. She began writing letters, poems, diaries; studied literature, drama, film. The Soviet invasion in 1968 ended all hopes for continuous relations with the free world. Her life led to immigration to USA in 1987. Having found impossible “catching up”, she’d gradually given up the futile race and took account of her path in writing.