In Prague, Zofka Kveder Day: from writer to cultural mediator
Prague, 17th April 2026 / The Czech capital hosted Zofka Kveder Day, dedicated to one of the most important Slovenian writers and cultural mediators, who left a lasting mark on Prague in the early 20th century. The event shed light on the author's remarkable contribution to bridging Slovenian and Czech culture through a walk along key locations from her life and work, followed by a literary evening.
On the 17th April 2026, Prague hosted Zofka Kveder Day, held as part of a series of events within her commemorative year, proclaimed by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. The day began with a walk along sites connected to the life and work of Zofka Kveder. At these locations, Prof. Dr. Alenka Jensterle Doležal, Professor of Slovenian Literature and Slavic Literatures at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague and Prof. Dr. Katja Mihurko, head of the Research Centre for the Humanities of the University of Nova Gorica, presented an account of Zofka Kveder's life in Prague, where she arrived at the end of February 1900. During the six years she spent in the Czech capital, she published five books and forged numerous creative ties with the local Czech and Croatian communities as well as with German-speaking writers. In the German-language Prague newspaper Politik, she published translations of works by Cankar, Kersnik and Tavčar, and it was thanks to her efforts that Cankar's play Za narodov blagor received its world premiere in Prague. In the first decade of the twentieth century, she also published several books and numerous articles in Czech. During the literary walk, visitors also discovered how she wove Prague motifs into her literary work.
The importance of her role as a mediator between Czech and Slovenian culture was also reflected in the obituaries written at the time of her death. Among the tributes, particular note was made of the wreath placed on her coffin by the Czechoslovak consul — said to be the most beautiful of all — a gesture expressing the deep esteem of the Czech people for a woman who had spent decades working to bring the two brotherly nations closer together.
At each stop along the walk, her voice was brought to life through readings of excerpts from her texts and letters. The walk concluded at the commemorative plaque on Kamenická Street 656/56, erected in 2024 by the Slovenian Writers' Association in collaboration with the Slovenian Embassy in Prague, on the initiative of writer and poet Cvetka Bevc and Zofka Kveder researchers Prof. Dr. Alenka Jensterle Doležal and Prof. Dr. Katja Mihurko.
This year's event concluded at the Slovenian Embassy in Prague, where Ambassador Aleš Balut highlighted the significance of Zofka Kveder's cultural mediation. The day ended with a poetry reading by her literary successors, dedicated to her memory. Poet Cvetka Bevc read poems from the collection Sled ognjenega svinčnika (Trail of the Fiery Pencil), a poetic biography of Zofka Kveder. This year's award winner at the young literature festival of the Public Fund for Cultural Activities, Urška Alja Pušič, also read a selection of her own poems.
The event was organised by the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague, the Research Centre for the Humanities of the University of Nova Gorica, the Public Fund for Cultural Activities of the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovenian Embassy in Prague, and the Association Pot pisateljic (Path of Women Writers).
Text: Prof. Dr Katja Mihurko