"In 1989 Havel was awarded the International Peace Prize of the German Booksellers Association. It was presented in absentia at the Frankfurt Bookfair on October 15, 1989. Havel's acceptance speech was read by Maximilian Schell. His words, published here in the original Czech and its English translation... celebrate Prague and the book. An exhibition at the Cooper Union, presented in cooperation with the Charter 77 Foundation and Pen American Center."

Translation originally printed in The New York review of books, January 18, 1990. Reprinted from Open letters, New York : A.A. Knopf, 1991.

Designed by George Sadek and Charles Nix, and printed in an edition of 500 copies.

English and Czech on facing pages.