The Prague-based Franz Kafka Society has awarded this year’s Franz Kafka Prize to Israeli writer Amos Oz. Oz is coming to the award ceremony that will take place in October and I hope, like 2011 winner John Banville did, will come to Kafka Society HQ to speak more informally, read from his work and take […]
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Mariusz Czubaj in B O D Y
“Pale sky turned into a shabbily painted wall with paint flaking here and there, exposing the texture of old wooden boards. Instead of the white sails he saw the whites of the eyes with threads of broken capillaries. These were the eyes of a madman. He took a breath, greedily, but felt no relief. He […]
Murder Ink
The next two weeks of B O D Y’s Sunday European Fiction will be devoted to dark stories of crime and death. First up is the brutal opening of Polish crime writer Mariusz Czubaj’s novel 21:37, just published by Stork Press in a translation by Anna Hyde. This is the award-winning writer’s first book to […]
Literary roundup: Rózewicz at the London Lit Fest, Jasienski and translating the Russians
The London Literature Festival is underway with a wide range of guests and events, including appearances by James Salter, Paul Theroux, Aleksandar Hemon and George Saunders among many others. In the literalab universe one of the most unique events takes place May 25 at London’s Southbank Centre, “Mum, Dad, I’m a Poet,” with the great […]
Central Europe: The devil’s playground
Book World Prague roundup Prague’s book fair just came and went and though I missed seeing a lot of the bigger names and featured events I was left with one strong impression that seems highly significant for Central European literature and the region as a whole. It is that Central Europe is fucked – no […]
Irena Brezna in B O D Y
“Should I ask Jesus Christ for help, or should I write to our President in the capital? But even Jesus Christ himself is having a bad time and Comrade President could give an order to have Mama executed – after all, he is strict and fair. I’m afraid that Mama wouldn’t take her blindfold off […]
Literary roundup: Russian literature in prisons, on spies and some Czech honey
The Washington Post has an amazing article about teaching Russian literature in prisons in Virginia. Not only does it recount how convicted felons are getting enthusiastic about reading Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and company, and having their minds opened up to the wider possibilities of life by what they’re reading as opposed to being reformed or restrained […]
Book World Prague 2013
Prague’s book fair Book World Prague (BWP) 2013 runs from May 16 to 19, with some events having already taken place in various spots throughout the city. The main fair hosts Slovakia as this year’s Guest of Honor, with a significantly larger and less restricted group of writers attending the event than when, say, Saudi […]
Prague Microfestival
The fifth Prague Microfestival of poetry runs from May 12 to 14 with an extra night of readings on May 15. Celebrating “new and innovative poetry that ventures into the realm of experimentation and the visual arts, unfettered by the narrow boundaries of national literatures” the festival brings together 12 writers from Norway, Croatia, the […]
Valery Ronshin in B O D Y
“A good day to all our passengers,” she said, smiling. “My name is Masha. Our flight today will be at an altitude of 6,000 meters. We’re flying to Malaysia. The captain of our crew is pilot first class Ivan Potapov. He is a very experienced pilot. He’s been in five air disasters and all five […]
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