It flies by memory

Josef 'Pepson' Snětivý, the long-standing editor and publisher of Miloň Čepelka, says of this publication, released for the eighty-seventh birthday of the versatile artist and co-founder of the Jára Cimrman Theatre:

“I won't be very original if I call Miloň Čepelka a 'little big man'. And an apparent contradiction immediately comes to mind: despite his physical lightness, he doesn't just skim the surface or settle for the foam of the day, but with an almost childlike curiosity and an unquenchable desire, he dives deep into the metaphorical water beneath that foam. Sometimes that water is murky, other times surprisingly clear and pure, and then again, 'ordinary' – but always alive. He himself is always like that: as an actor, lyricist, playwright, poet, prose writer, and commentator.

In the last-mentioned role, he has already created two publications, and after the title A Jump Here, a Jump There, he now presents the book How Time Flies in Memory. I am glad that despite the verb 'flies', the movement of his memories, thoughts, and observations is calm enough for him to capture it, and for us to be able to read them.

This perceptive observer of his own life and the destinies of others does not convince us of 'his truth' or force us to believe him; rather, he puts things into context, offers alternatives, and allows everyone to form their own judgment. That in itself is no small thing in today's world, which many have plagued with appeals to hold categorical, even irreconcilable, judgments about everything.

Read at your own pace, stop and start, think, 'just' be entertained or learn something, believe or don't believe. I'm not forcing you to do anything either, I only ask for one thing: that we don't believe Miloň's words about a 'swan song'. On the contrary, let's hope that the book How Time Flies in Memory is not his final work.”