caption death_date death_place birth_place notableworks birth_date spouse image article_title name occupation
josef Škvorecký in 2004 3 january 2012 toronto , ontario , canada náchod , czech republic , at that time czechoslovakia '' zbabělci '' '' tankový prapor '' 27 september 1924 zdena salivarová josef skvorecky.jpg josef Škvorecký
 josef Škvorecký writer , publisher
josef Škvorecký

josef Škvorecký , cm -lrb- ; september 27 , 1924 -- january 3 , 2012 -rrb- was a czech-canadian writer and publisher .
he spent half of his life in canada , publishing and supporting banned czech literature during the communist era .
Škvorecký was awarded the neustadt international prize for literature in 1980 .
he and his wife were long-time supporters of czech dissident writers before the fall of communism in that country .
Škvorecký 's fiction deals with several themes : the horrors of totalitarianism and repression , the expatriate experience , and the miracle of jazz .
