Josef Skvorecky, in Memoriam—David Frum

Michael Ledeen remembers the great Czech-Canadian writer, and eloquently conjures Skvorecky’s achievements and importance:

[H]is legacy ... extends well beyond his books. He had a radio show on VOA, and it consisted of him reading the classics of Czech literature. Just that. No thumb sucking, no commentary, just the literature.

Shortly after the wall came down, I visited Prague and asked a professor at the university about Skovercky. “He saved the Czech language with his radio show,” the prof said. “Under Communism, public language degenerated, and words simply disappeared, or changed their meanings. He reminded us what the language really was.”