A New York gallery presents an exhibition of art inspired by the concepts behind Milan Kundera’s 1995 novel “Slowness” The writing of Milan Kundera has had considerable influence in the world of literature since his first novel “The Joke” was published to international acclaim in 1967. Kundera has also written extensively on music, film and […]
An innovative animated film shows often dark passages of Czech history through the eyes of a small-town stationmaster At a press conference presenting the film “Alois Nebel,” Jaroslav Rudiš recounted how he and co-writer Jaromír 99 (the pen name of Jaromír Švejdík) came up with the original idea for the comic on an autumn evening […]
Ten years after it came into print in English I finally overcame my reluctance to read Andrey Kurkov’s Death and the Penguin. So what was holding me back all this time? Honestly it was some of the reviews I read – the ones which talked about how the book provided a convincing portrait of post-Soviet […]
The European Culture Congress wraps up on September 14 in Wrocław, Poland. Among the literary participants were Dubravka Ugresic, Dorota Masłowska and science-fiction writer Jacek Dukaj. Umberto Eco, Václav Havel, and Amos Oz were all members of the Honorary Committee. Masłowska was involved in a collaboration with Polish theater director Krystian Lupa titled “Waiting Room. […]
A Hungarian production of Vladimir Sorokin’s Ice, Romeo and Juliet in the housing projects and Orestes in the modern age are just some of what is on offer at the 19th International Festival Theatre in Plzeň. For an article on the festival continue reading … Photo from a production of Chekhov’s “The Seagull” by Kladno’s […]
Russian novelist and celebrated war correspondent Vasily Grossman is the focus of a conference at Oxford as well as a radio dramatization of his epic novel Life and Fate on BBC Radio 4. The conference is taking place on September 9 (which is today, so hurry) and includes discussions of Grossman’s work and life, its […]
The 11th International Literature Festival Berlin (internationales literaturfestival berlin) is in full swing with its typically amazing lineup of writers and events. The focus this year is Asia/Pacific and with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 coming in the middle of the festival there is bound to be a lot of discussion surrounding the myriad of […]
Danielle de Picciotto’s Berlin memoir begins with her arrival in the divided city in 1987, though its story follows threads back into her and her family’s past as well as the dark, glittering history of the German metropolis itself. Artist, musician, filmmaker, curator, co-founder of the Love Parade and more, she brings a wealth of […]
On September 9, the British Library will host an evening devoted to the great Polish science-fiction writer Stanisław Lem. Discussions of Lem’s work and film screenings will take place in conjunction with the publication launch of Lemistry: A Celebration of Stanisław Lem, an anthology featuring three previously untranslated stories as well as commissioned works by […]
On Dorota Masłowska’s play – “A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians” It is hard to be subversive in the 21st century. Writers and artists of all kinds have been aiming in that particular direction for so long now that it seems almost old-fashioned. And if you’re from what is commonly referred to as Eastern Europe, […]
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