Essay, Other

Treasons is a 1396-page collection of critical articles and essays by Petr Král, which introduces the reader to an extensive yet relatively unknown and underappreciated part of the author’s work. The book is exceptional not only for its scope but also for the variety of its content, including texts about literature, painting, film, photography, jazz and even gastronomy.

Král is a poet, essayist, film theoretician, translator and Commander of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He emigrated to France in 1968 where he worked as a teacher, photo-laboratory worker and interpreter while continuing to study film. He returned permanently to Prague in 2006. Three of his books have been published in English by Pushkin Press — Loving Venice, In Search of the Essence of Place and Working Knowledge.