The most recent literalab post recounted the arrest and detention of Belarus Free Theatre director Natalia Koliada and the fact that she and her husband, Nikolai Khalezhin, subsequently went into hiding. Although updates on their whereabouts have been virtually non-existent I will pass on any information I discover. In the meantime you can support their […]
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The second part of an interview with Hungarian writer György Spiró
The work of György Spiró and his relationship to Central Europe As the first part of this interview indicated, being a Hungarian who can speak Polish and other Slavic languages has been a tremendously important facet of György Spiró’s scope and identity as a writer. Besides the influences previously mentioned he also cited Serbian poet […]
György Spiró interview: Part I
Angelus-award winning Hungarian writer discusses his connection with Poland and the writing of unpleasant truths The Angelus Central European Literary Award is a literary prize awarded to the best regional prose work in Polish, so it would be logical to assume that the Central European part of the name designates the qualifying countries and nothing […]
Belarus Free Theatre driven into hiding
My original idea was to write a series of posts about writing and theater in Belarus the week following the rigged elections to show the obstacles facing free expression in Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime. Although I felt that the political dimension of Belarusian writing is often overemphasized at the expense of literary qualities, it still seemed […]
Kafka and Schulz on display in Stockholm
Masters of the Borderland exhibit ties two 20th Century literary giants to Central Europe’s Jewish past and its role in their work. Writers are faced with an array of choices – of subject, style, even what name to publish under – but we tend not to think of their language as a matter of choice. […]
On the non-existence of Central European literature
Central European literary life A recurring obstacle to writing about Central European literature is the fact that it apparently doesn’t exist. As recently as this year, when Penguin UK brought out its series of Central European Classics, British novelist Adam Thirlwell began his overview of the collection by writing “I can put it like this. […]
Adam and Eve – Pindeldyboz
Adam and Eve by Michael Stein It began as the obscure idea of a German philosopher, that our bodies are nothing more than the physical manifestation of our wills, and that our fingers can find their way on a keyboard, tie knots and make obscene gestures because those are things we probably wanted to be […]
Persephone and Science – Cafe Irreal
Persephone is making her yearly ascent, trudging up the tunnel which leads from the underworld to the surface of the earth. A pinpoint of light guides her way, a distant star which gradually becomes a sun, before finally enveloping her in the blinding haze of daylight. As always, her mother is there waiting, although without […]
Potemkin’s Empress – McSweeney’s
Potemkin had built his legendary villages to be viewed from a distance as the Empress passed by in her carriage. They were meant to be merely glanced at, for effect, like a neon sign or a fashion model, and were created accordingly. But what if the Empress decides to leave the designated path, what if […]
A Fairy Tale (part 2) – Pindeldyboz
A Fairy Tale (part 2) by Michael Stein read part one The storyteller, meanwhile, is already far, far away, racing through time and leaving the past behind him, as the cliche wisely tells us to do. “Good riddance,” he says to himself smugly, if in fact it is well and truly gone. For his trained […]
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