Write to us!

Dear Readers,
I’ve been writing to you for over 20 years. Now on the eve of the feast of St. Wenceslas, I would like to ask YOU to write.

In 2000, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stopped sending our magazine abroad, it certainly looked like its end. However, we had been able to continue, because there was a certain number of dedicated readers who were willing to subscribe and also we got a grant from the American Fund for Refugees for the several following years. I really don’t want to list all the problems that are encountered publishing a magazine such as ours in the Czech Republic at this time. The situation is such, that we have absolutely no funds for further publishing. We really don’t feel like writing the END so we’d rather write that we are discontinuing the printed version starting next year. However, we’ll be on the Internet. Actually we have been there for quite a while now, but this time, we would like to create a magazine in such a format as to have even pictures so that those interested could print out a page or even the whole magazine.

There exist various ways. It would either be freely available to all interested, or it could be locked and available only to paying subscribers. There would be no cost for printing and postage, but even that Internet version costs something.

Shall the readers be willing to send a donation for the Internet version? And how many would there be? Ten, a hundred, a thousand?

It’s a difficult decision and we need to deal with the graphic artist, the webmaster, and it would be nice to have a secretary or an assistant if there were any , but unfortunately I am alone with only my colleague Mrs. Fialkova. It is to her credit that the magazine is still being published because she looks for and arranges advertisements. Besides us, there are great volunteer authors, translators, and other helpers, without whom I would have had to give up a long time ago. Many thanks to all of them.

Now to get back to business: Starting next year you will most probably find the Czech Dialogue only on the Internet. Let me know whether you would like to read it every month, perhaps even a shorter version, or a bi-monthly. From my experience, a quarterly version would not be successful.

Also let me know what had so far interested you in the magazine, and what you would like us to add in the future. It is our intention to have younger authors involved, which we had already started doing. We plan to reduce political information, which often causes nothing but depression. Besides, you have a chance to read about it in all the other newspapers and magazines. We would like to write more about the beauties of our country, which contrary to politics always have something to admire. We also want to introduce successful Czechs from home and from abroad.

There will be space for letters, and opinions of the readers.

Please take a look at the last few issues of the Czech Dialogue and let us know what caught your attention in a positive way or even a negative way.

We’ll be grateful for any advice, ideas, or opinions.