RT Journal Article SR Electronic A1 Hrtánek, Petr T1 "There is a need for a change..." On the expressive possibilities of political and social commitment in contemporary Czech prose JF Bohemica Olomucensia YR 2015 VO 7 IS 1 SP 53 OP 65 DO 10.5507/bo.2015.004 UL https://bohemica.upol.cz/artkey/boh-201501-0004.php AB The debate about the so-called "engaged literature" is one of the significant discussions in recent Czech literary life. The discussed concept was soon realized especially in poetic works, although in contemporary Czech fiction appeared several prosaic books that are reviewed in the context of the mentioned discussion: among others, they are novels Mafie v Praze (Mafia in Prague, 2011) and Mráz přichází z Kremlu (Frost is coming from the Kremlin, 2012) by Michal Viewegh or the prose Skutečná událost (The Real Event, 2013) by Emil Hakl. Based on analyses of these books, this study attempts to present literary engagement as the category of expression in contemporary Czech prose, as the category that is-in this specific case-realized in a range of two different orientations: on one hand, it is orientated to pop-literature (M. Viewegh), on the other hand, it is orientated to art ambitious works of fiction (E. Hakl)