Third Literature Sleepover Held in Faculty of Education












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            * Third Literature Sleepover Held in Faculty of Education
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            On the night of 15th to 16th of November, for the third year in a row, a literature sleepo

            in the Faculty of Education of Charles University, where students and academics could join
            literature, socialise, play musical instruments and sleep in the faculty building itself.
            The event, running from 6pm Friday to 10am Saturday, attracted about 25 individuals, drawn

            departments of the Faculty of Education. In a small, dimly lit room, the participants gath
            sitting on small carpets, with the floor littered with food, drink, and books, lots of boo
            Two of the organisers of this event, lecturer Štěpánka Klumparová and student Lucie Michál

            the Faculty of Education of Charles University, tell me that the event is meant to enable 
            different departments and different years in the faculty to come together and socialise. L

            that students are put in ‘learning circles’, which are often changed, and this along with 
            there is not a lot of time between lectures, and that students don’t often go to the same 
            each other, means that students get very little opportunity to get to know each other, a c

            school, where you would get the same group of people studying with each other for four yea
            there are not enough events like this organized for their students, and she stresses its i
            bringing students together. Though only a very small number of students come, both Lucie a

            me that this situation is ideal. Too many people would prevent everyone having the chance 
            speak.
            This year, the participants, rather than being asked to bring books they liked, were inste

            bring books that they think are obscure, problematic, and/or they do not agree with or und
            year, according to Lucie and Štěpánka, the books that people liked were too familiar and t
            discussions uninteresting.

            The result of this was that a variety of different and interesting titles were introduced:
            books such as Viktor Fischl’s The Clowns in a Court, about World War 2 era concentration c
            forced to be clowns to entertain their captors, and Václav Renč’s Cinderella of Nazareth, 

            that was created by the author while interred in a Communist labour camp, but which he had
            completely, as he couldn’t write it till he was released. Also present were books that are
            known in the Czech Republic, though are well known in my own homeland of Britain: Aldous H

            New World (translated in Czech as The End of Civilisation), P.D James’s Death Comes to Pem
            mystery Pride and Prejudice spinoff), a compilation of Conrad James stories (including his
            masterpiece, Heart of Darkness), Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and my own contribution, In a Gl

            Sheridan Le Fanu.
            Everyone was asked to introduce their book; give a little background information on the au
            and read one or two short extracts. Also, they were asked to write about their choice in a

            that’s passed around, so that anyone interested can look up the titles and explore them th
            myself joined in, however in my case I had to have people translate for me, as the event (
            is only done for Czech-speaking students. To further complicate the matter, I once ended u

            or too complex for one of my translators to decipher what I was saying! Nonetheless, I man
            great length about In a Glass Darkly, a book not well known outside of Britain.
            Clearly, the event is an unusual, but brilliant way of bringing people together, and enabl

            speak at length about literature that they feel passionate about, and to socialise amongst
            they otherwise would not have the opportunity to meet or know well. To Štěpánka, that’s wh
            event so crucial. For her, different perspectives are important, and at this event, that’s

            expressed.                                                                                
                                                William Francis Hannell is an Erasmus student from Bri
                                                Arts in Charles University.                           
                                                Email is wfh(zavinac)hannellfamily.plus.com [ MAIL "wf