Writer saves country, now wants to write again

Vaclav Havel, the playwright and former president of the Czech Republic, may resume his literary career soon. An aide said that Mr. Havel, 68, was preparing to spend two months studying at the Library of Congress in Washington. He plans to write an autobiography as well as a play based on Shakespeare's "King Lear." He has also discussed publishing a book of conversations with friends, including the former Polish dissident and journalist Adam Michnik and the British historian Timothy Garton Ash. Mr. Havel led the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia and was president from 1989 to 2003. A former chain smoker, he has long suffered from respiratory problems and had twice postponed his trip to Washington because of illness, but an aide said that he was now in good health. Good man. I saw a play of his in a basement once. Jackie Kennedy sat next to me. She was hot, the play a little dreary.