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We talked about the complicated identity of Vilnius with Herkus Kunčius, and about the memory of the noble Commonwealth in Poland and in Lithuania with Kristina Sabaliauskaite.
Asli Erdoğan talked about her literary and journalistic work, which has become the target of Turkish politicians’ attacks. The evening passed under the theme of irony – first, Petr Šabach, the icon of what we call “Czech humour”, put us in a great mood. Perhaps the next conversation with György Spiró, the Hungarian scholar of Polish romanticism, was not as light-hearted, but it was just as substantive.
During the meeting “The storyteller, who does not want to be boring”, Petr Šabach was one hundred percent true to the title. He had no difficulties in establishing contact with the audience, immediately winning the hearts of the participants and making the room at the Pałac pod Baranami ring with laughter again and again. The writer did not hide that that was what he wanted, and that laughter in literature is a good introduction to a lighter approach to reality. As he said, “What we call ‘tragedy’ and ‘comedy’ is really the two sides of come comedy. And if you are laughing at it, it’s good.”
György Spiró brought a fresh look at romanticism, especially at its esoteric areas, to the Festival. Many know the story of Towiański and his religious sect, but Spiró was able to extract from the fate of its members a diagnosis of Polishness that is still current today. Although Spiró is amused by the culture captured and exaggerated by Gombrowicz, in which we are told to repeat “Słowacki was a great poet”, he himself values romantic texts – especially Beniowski (perhaps because, as he mentioned, he did not have to read it in school). Above all, he searches literature for irony, which takes different forms. In his opinion, it is curious that although so much connects Poles and Hungarians, they do not understand “their own ironies” very well.
Saturday at the festival passes clearly under the sign of the children’s programming – we have many interesting propositions for the youngest enthusiasts of literature (or simply interesting and creative experiences). At 6 pm, at the Pałac pod Baranami, “the man from the literary district” will appear – namely Gonçalo M. Tavares, known as the “Portuguese Kafka”. Right after his appearance, at 8 pm, we will meet with Jonathan Franzen, one of the most anticipated writers of this edition of the Festival.
In addition to the “Correction of the world” meeting, will also take part in tomorrow’s Conrad Award Gala. The honour will be awarded to the best of the five nominated literary debut authors, whose books are voted on by the readers themselves. Voting is open until midnight tonight – take part in this exceptional event, cast your vote and become part of the development of literary life in Poland.
See you at the Festival!
The festival has been going on for a few days, but there is no sign of fatigue in our guests or the participants. On the contrary!
Thursday turned out to be a very energetic day, especially in light of two fantastic meetings: first with Kamel Daoud, and later with Hanna Krall, Mariusz Szczygieł and Wojciech Tochman. The great interest of the participants – who once again filled the Pałac Pod Baranami – speaks to the great value of the discussions.
It was certainly worth it. Part of the pretext for the meeting was the book KRALL, recently written by the two reporters, but the festival evening was mainly an opportunity to once again experience the phenomenon of the author of To Outwit God. Hanna Krall herself wowed the participants with her sensitivity to the human histories she has heard in her life. Some of them were difficult, others a bit lighter, and the good mood continued throughout (also thanks to the personalities of Wojciech Tochman and Mariusz Szczygieł), accompanied by loud applause. All of the histories allowed us to better understand the meaning of being open to the stories hiding in other people and what the role of the reporter is, who preserves human memory despite the frequently occurring experience of lack and non-existence.
The conversation with Kamel Daoud, called “Looking from Algeria – responsibility and anger”, was focused mainly on the experiences of the author of The Meursault Investigation in his home country. His writing was shaped not only by the difficult political fate of Algeria, but above all his enormous sensitivity and imagination (visible during the meeting), as well as his deep roots in Western Culture. To the writer standing on the border between the Arab world, Europe and the United States, his multilingualism is a key to the literary way of building interpersonal understanding.
Earlier in the day, the “Traces of Judaism” conversation with Agata Bielik-Robson, Adam Lipszyc and Przemysław Tacik took place. The invited guests – philosophers who specialise in writers, thinkers and scholars of the Jewish tradition, talked about its particular place in Western culture – the specific way of “hiding” and companionship, far from the temptation of mastering other languages of thinking. Thus the category of “traces”, which expresses not only the impermanence and the “weakness” of Jewish topics, but also the enormity of the tradition of texts, from which only a fragment of the full picture can ever be extracted.
Today, Friday, will once again confront us with the issue of different cultures. More Lithuanian programming meetings will take place (with Herkus Kunčius, as well as with Kristina Sabaliauskaite), as well as a discussion with persecuted Turkish writer, Asli Erdoğan, the ICORN grant beneficiary. At 5 pm, we will host “the storyteller, who does not want to be boring” – one of the most widely read Czech writers, Petr Šabach. Tonight at 7 pm at the Pałac Pod Baranami, we will meet with György Spiró, the Hungarian writer who is also a prominent expert on the culture of Polish romanticism – thanks to whom we’ll be able to find out what we’re like to an “outsider”.
Each day of the Festival hides much more than we can present here – we encourage you to familiarise yourself with the full programme and continue celebrating literature!
Attention! We remind you that the voting for the Conrad Award is ongoing. You can cast your votes for one of the five finalists at www.conradfestival.pl, following the CONRAD AWARD link. Voting is open until midnight on the 24th of October.
The day passed mainly under the sign of fiction – whether in connection with Polish literature, or video games, increasingly visible with culture, or finally with the fascinating procedures that are the specialty of Robert Coover, the American writer-experimenter.
But what do we really need fiction for? On the third day of the festival, the problem was discussed by Inga Iwasiów, Agnieszka Taborska, Wit Szostak and Grażyna Plebanek, during the discussion “Polish fictions”. Thus the native context was of particular importance, in which fictions (beginning with the greatest of all of them that is “Polishness”) have a surprisingly large impact (although many do not want to admit it) and allow for the construction and criticism of one’s own identity. The writers also spoke about the difficult issue of the line between fiction and truth – which are sometimes set in opposition (to the detriment of literature), but are actually both necessary for everyday human life, in order to face the world and build ties with other people.
How can video games help with this? The meeting with Igor Sarzyński and Jakub Szamałek (called “Agon, or the muse of gamers”), who know the world of the biggest computer productions (starting of course with The Witcher 3), turned out to be a fascinating introduction to the subject. Today’s game scripts equal the literary panache of film screenplays, and games themselves are visual spectacles to rival Hollywood productions. The guests discussed not only the high and lowlights of the production and publication of games, but also the fact that computer games have ever greater possibilities of affecting the player. Thanks to this, they are not simply pure entertainment, but can effectively compete with other arts in the expansion of human experience – and even play a therapeutic role.
Finally, we met with Robert Coover (the meeting “Postmodernism isn’t what you think”), who often uses metafiction to test how far literature can go. The American writer not only introduced us to his thought on (post)modernism, but also indicated the perspectives of the interpenetration of the world of new electronic media and literature. In fact, it would be difficult to separate his reflections from life – the writer spoke fascinatingly about where he gets the ideas for his novels, why he spent a month in a small cottage reading Beckett and the Bible, and what drives him to renew writing, the novel and the way we think about narration. At the end, our guest read “Going for a Beer”, the story he brought especially for the meeting and received loud applause when he finished.
What awaits us today? We particularly recommend the 4 pm discussion “The traces of Judaism”, with Agata Bielik-Robson, Adam Lipszyc and Przemysław Tacik – it will be a continuation of the identity motif of our festival, showing how literature can renew the way we think about ourselves as a national, social and historical community. The session will not be the end of attempts at a “different way of looking”: at 6 pm (the meeting “Looking from Algeria – responsibility and anger”), we will have the pleasure of meeting the renowned Kamel Daoud. At 8 pm, there will be a discussion, with the eloquent title “KRALL” – dedicated of course to one of the eminent Polish writers and journalists, Hanna Krall. She herself will take part in the meeting, along with Mariusz Szczygieł and Wojciech Tochman – the authors of a new book about her.
The festival days are full of diverse and interesting meetings, where everyone can find something for themselves – we encourage you to familiarise yourselves with the full program. See you at the Festival!
Attention! A reminder that the voting for the Conrad Award is still ongoing! You can vote for one of the five nominees at www.conradfestival.pl on the CONRAD AWARD page. Voting goes on until midnight on the 24th of October.
The first day of the Conrad Festival started off with a strong accent. The thing we will most certainly remember was the presence of Nobelist Svetlana Alexievich and two-time Nike Award laureate Wiesław Myśliwski – but the inauguration of the Festival brought many more experiences.
Svetlana Alexievich, who was the first to take part in the Festival opening press conference, made the Audutorium Maximum of the Jagiellonian University the literary heart of the world for the duration of the “Unwomanly face of Russia” meeting. The discussion attracted crowds of people, who filled the auditorium that seats over 1000 people to the brim. It was well worth it – the writer spoke movingly about her journalist experiences (particularly the meetings with the women she described), her creative work, her plans for further books, as well as answering a long series of reader questions.
laureate Wiesław Myśliwski – but the inauguration of the Festival brought many more experiences.
After the meeting with Alexievich, festival goers gathered in great numbers at the Under the Rams Palace (Pałac Pod Baranami) to take part in the “Taming the world” discussion with Wiesław Myśliwski. As it turned out, the discussion was an opportunity to refresh the image of the writer, clearing away the many clichés laid over it, and to understand what peasant culture means for the author of the Treatise on Shelling Beans, along with the metaphorical way of thinking about the world connected with it and the world-creating possibilities of literature. What’s more, while answering a question from the audience about the “death of the author”, we heard the reassuring answer that Myśliwski has no intention of leaving this world and that his creative work is not done yet.
laureate Wiesław Myśliwski – but the inauguration of the Festival brought many more experiences.
“Whose Ukraine?” was the subject of the first festival day discussion by Igor T. Miecik, Paweł Pieniążek and Ziemowit Szczerek, along with Iryna Vikyrchak. The meeting showed how closely literature and politics can intermingle. The problems that were discussed are things we hear about every day: the political and social situation in Ukraine, the corruption in the country’s government, but also the hopes connected with the painfully-born citizenship attitudes and identity changes.
laureate Wiesław Myśliwski – but the inauguration of the Festival brought many more experiences.
These are only some of the experiences of the first day – the next day and further meetings with literary figures of great stature await us. First, at 7 pm, we will hear the “translator of culture” of Iran and America, Hooman Majd, who will introduce us to the world of “democracy of the ayatollahs”. Then (8:30 pm), thanks to Olga Tokarczuk, the laureate of this year’s Nike Literary Award, we will get closer to our own historical memory.
laureate Wiesław Myśliwski – but the inauguration of the Festival brought many more experiences.
Additionally, we will reach into other cultural circles – with Lukas Bärfuss, Leonidas Donskis and Tomas Venclova, as well as Varujan Vosganian. There will also be events connected with three exhibitions: “Unrecounted. Jan Peter Tripp”, “Pensioners” and “War!”. Finally, there will be a film screening of Taxi – Tehran, with an introduction by Hooman Majd himself.
laureate Wiesław Myśliwski – but the inauguration of the Festival brought many more experiences.
Join us!
Yesterday, we met with Olga Tokarczuk, two-time Nike Literary Award winner and Hooman Majd, an American-Iranian writer, who has in-depth knowledge of the problems in the Middle East. The enthusiasm of the participants does not cease to amaze us, as they follow festival events with great interest. Tuesday evening, they filled the Pałac Pod Baranami.
In moments like that, the coming together of the literary community is palpable. Olga Tokarczuk brought this fact up during the “Missing worlds” meeting, speaking about the ties formed with readers through books. Although, as she admitted, her books (not only the award-winning Books of Jacob) clearly exhibit a rebellious spirit, she tries to use her resistance to help build understanding – as well as a deeper understanding of oneself. This is a difficult proposition, especially in the case of group memory, which is why Tokarczuk tries to bring back to the readers the feeling of the complexity of the world, especially the historical one.
During the “Translator of cultures” meeting with Hooman Majd, we had the opportunity to look at Iran from the point of view of a resident of the country, deeply rooted in its culture, but at the same time remaining at the boundary between the worlds of the West and the East. The writer spoke not only about his difficult experiences and living in the state of constant surveillance and control, but also about hope for change, tied especially to generational changes. As we found out, Majd is a writer who is also very interested in our country – especially thanks to diplomatic friendships.
Leonidas Donskis and Tomas Venclova’s discussion “Violence and imagination”, part of the festival’s Lithuanian programme, was an opportunity to consider the dangers of totalitarianism in a part of the world that is much closer to home. Once again, literary tropes were helpful – especially Huxley’s and Orwell’s dystopias, as well as Houellebecq’s work – and they became the central point for the commentaries about the political changes in Europe.
This look at the festival events is only a small portion of what participants could experience on the second day. However, the third day of the festival is upon us! Join us for “Polish fictions”, a meeting with Inga Iwasiów, Wit Shostak, Agnieszka Taborska and Grażyna Plebanek, who will talk about which fictions are necessary and which ones we should give up immediately. We will also look at something that exceeds traditional understanding of literature. At 5pm, we will meet with Igor Sarzyński and Jakub Szamałek from CD Projekt, to talk about “Agon, or the muse of gamers” and the new position of video games in culture. In the evening, we will be joined by Robert Coover (during the meeting “Postmodernism isn’t what you think” meeting), the creator of fascinating stories that experiment with literature and the boundaries of fiction, provoking readers to take a critical look at reality.
That is a lot for one day, but the Festival has much more to offer – it is well worth checking for yourself. Join us!
The meeting with doctor Pietro Bartolo, who cared for hundreds of thousands of immigrants and refugees on the Italian island Lampedusa will take place on the 15th of October at 1:30 PM in De Revolutionibus bookstore (Bracka 44). The interview will be conducted by Jarosław Mikołajewski, author of Wielki przypływ [The Great Influx], where the fascinating interview with the heroic doctor can be found among other reports from the island. During the meeting, the guests will talk about their experiences, life on Lampedusa and the humanitarian crisis connected with the issue of refugees, which already involves the entire Europe. They will ask important questions about the responsibility of the inhabitants of Central Europe for the fate of thousands of people running away from war and famine, looking for freedom and safety.
Pietro Bartolo is currently in Krakow to participate in the International Conference “The Return of the Fallen Empires”, and the accompanying event – the 12th edition of the Polish Prize of Sergio Vieira de Mello, organised by The Villa Decius Association.
Because when I’m talking, everything hurts. Badly. And I agreed to talk only because I want someone to hear my words, otherwise we are wasting our time. I’m talking to you because I want you to tell people what happens here, on the Mediterranean Sea, and thus, make a change.
– P. Bartolo, from J. Mikołajewski Doctor Bartolo Welcomes You to a Better World
The City of Krakow, the Krakow Festival Office, the Villa Decius Association, the Consulate of Italy in Krakow and the Italian Institute of Culture in Krakow are partners of this event.
Lampedusa – a silent witness of dramatic events
Passage through the Mediterranean Sea on a primitive rafts, overloaded past its limits does not always end well. The refugees, often at the mercy of the smugglers, arrive at Lampedusa dehydrated, hypothermic, often burned. Pietro Bartolo, a local doctor, witnessed some of the most dramatic moments of the humanitarian crisis. He had to care for hundreds of thousands immigrants who required help. Bartolo saw the faces of people he could not save. Mikołajewski talked with him at Lampedusa, and because of that he could look at the events on the island from a particular perspective – perspective of a man, fighting for dignity of people who flee from terror to the world, which often does not want to accept them.
According to TripAdvisor – the biggest tourist portal in the world – the most beautiful beaches in Europe are there, on Lampedusa. It is a small Mediterranean island, located only 100 kilometres from the African shores, with an area of only 20.2 km2. The turquoise water, white sand and idyllic sights do not, however, attract crowds of tourists any more. Over the last few years, Lampedusa has become a symbol of the desperate efforts of immigrants who want to get to Europe, as well as the place where the biggest humanitarian crisis in Europe is taking place. The influx of refugees and fugitives, primarily from Libya, Somalia, Eritrea, Mali, Nigeria and other countries of Sub-Saharan Africa is beyond the capacities of Lampedusa and the six thousand people who live there. Europe either does not comprehend the true scale of this problem, or knowingly distances itself from it. Given that background, the efforts of Jarosław Mikołajewski – a reporter, poet and a translator – are extraordinary. He gathered his experiences from the island, giving voice primarily to the inhabitants, who need to find themselves in the new reality. His newest book, Wielki przypływ [The Great Influx] is a shocking reportage from the borderlands of Europe.
I’m reading [Mikołajewski’s] story from Lampedusa. It is the best, the most prominent proof that reportage may also be poetry…
– Michał Nogaś
Krakow – City of Literature, City of Refuge
The event will take place as a part of the Krakow – UNESCO City of Literature programme. The efforts to sensitize people about the human rights, freedom of speech and expression are an important part of the City of Literature strategy. For six years, the Villa Decius Association, the City of Krakow and the Krakow Festival Office have been carrying out the protection program for the writers who are persecuted for their beliefs, known as ICORN (International Cities of Refuge Network).
The International Cities of Refuge Network offers refuge to the writers and defenders of human rights who cannot live and create in their own country because of the persecution. It was created in 2006 in Norway. The goal of ICORN is to promote the inalienable values of the freedom of speech and expression by building a network of international solidarity and cooperation. During 10 years of the network’s operation, the participating cities offered a temporary refuge for hundreds of writers, intellectuals, bloggers and human rights activists. ICORN coordinates the Shelter City initiative, and is an important organisation, cooperating with the governments, European Commission, the UN, UNHCR, and the International PEN Club, fighting for human rights and the implementation of protective policies for the authors who are persecuted due to their activity.
ICORN is a dynamic network of over 50 cities, and its activity is one of the strongest voices in defence of the freedom of convictions and speech, as well as international solidarity. Since 2006, 130 writers and artists found shelter in the ICORN network cities.
In 2011, Krakow joined the International Cities of Refuge Network, by virtue of the Resolution No. XVI/171/11 of the City Council of Krakow adopted on the 25th of May 2011. Since that day, Krakow hosted four writers as a part of the residency programs: Marie Amelie (Madina Salamova, Northern Ossetia / currently in Norway), Kareema Amera (Egypt / currently in Norway), Mostafa Zamani Nia (Iran), Lâvon Barščèŭskì (Belarus) and Aslı Erdoğan (Turkey), currently in Krakow on a scholarship. City of Krakow, Krakow Festival Office and the Villa Decius Association are responsible for the organisation of the International Cities of Refuge Network in Krakow, the latter is responsible for the grants and provides care and a place for creative work.
As part of the Interkulturalia Festival, we would like to invite you to a meeting with Asli Erdoğan, Turkish writer, journalist and tireless human rights activist, on the 18th of October at 5:00 pm at Spółdzielnia “Ogniwo” in Krakow.
In her books and articles, Asli takes on such subjects as state-inflicted violence, discrimination and human rights violations, as well as women’s rights. In her books and articles, she takes on subjects such as state-sanctioned violence, discrimination and human rights violations. She has been a freedom activist since 1993, as a result of which she has been persecuted, fired multiple times and has spent over a dozen years in exile. Since July 2015, Asli has lived in Krakow as part of an ICORN network scholarship.
The conversation with Asli about her stay in Krakow, her experiences as a migrant and exile (both the pleasant and unpleasant), as well as her idea of home, roots and nation, will be led by Konrad Pędziwiatr.
The ICORN International Cities of Refuge Network Programme in Krakow is organised by the City of Krakow, the Krakow Festival Office and the Villa Decius Association, which carries out the scholarship program and provides a place to work.
The meeting is organised by the Interkulturalni Association, the Krakow Festival Office and the Villa Decius Association.
Find out more about ICORN here.
As a part of our cooperation with Edinburgh City of Literature, this week we welcomed Colin Salter to Krakow. The writer came to us thanks to a grant, funded by the Consulate of the Republic of Poland, the City of Edinburgh, and the Edinburgh City of Literature Trust. The goal of the writer’s visit in Krakow is to become acquainted with the literary heritage of our city, as well as its contemporary literary landscape. Primarily, he will be looking for differences and similarities between the two Cities of Literature – Edinburgh and Krakow. Based on his experiences and reflections Salter is going to write an article, which will be used to promote our partnership, literature and participation in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
Both cities are not only UNESCO Cities of Literature, but they are also both on a list of World Heritage Sites, maintained by the organisation. In 1985, Krakow and Edinburgh became partner cities, and during last year’s edition of the Conrad Festival, the cooperation between the cities was renewed by the signing of a declaration concerning the strategic development of the partnership, most particularly in the area of heritage management.
Colin Salter: Biography
Colin Salter is a professional author of non-fiction literature, writing about a variety of subjects, such as popular history, science or music. His latest works concentrated on his book Science Is Beautiful (the subject of which were medical imaging techniques), a short biography of Mark Twain, movie star Johnny Depp, as well as space travel pioneer Neil Armstrong. He also wrote a series of essays on American soul music from the 60s, a guide to the architecture of Washington and a book on British bird species.
He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and received his school education in Edinburgh, where he later went to the university and currently lives there. Before he fully devoted his time to writing, he achieved many successes in performing arts (theatre and music) and utilitarian arts (ceramics and furniture production). He currently works at Stranger Than Fiction, an association of writers of non-fiction literature in Edinburgh, which offers support and reviews to colleague 0authors, and also promotes creative non-fiction writing in the society.
In his free time, he writes a weekly article on the Internet about the issues of social history, as seen through the eyes of his great ancestors. Currently he writes the history of his family library, which was started 250 years ago by one of his ancestors from his father’s side – son of a miller, who lived five generations ago, and now it was inherited by Colin Salter after his father, English literature lecturer. The books tell the history of the family, its ability to read and write and its connections with literary groups in the beginning of the 20th century, including acquaintance with Bloomsbury Group.
Edinburgh City of Literature
In 2004 Edinburgh became the first city to participate in the UNESCO Cities of Literature network. The city was a hub of Scottish literature, which is distinguished by its centuries-old tradition. In particular, Edinburgh was an important centre of English language Enlightenment literature in the 19th century. Without doubt, the most important Scottish writer was Sir Walter Scott, known primarily as an author of Ivanhoe, a romantic historical novel, published in 1820. Among other prominent writers from Edinburgh there is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of stories about Sherlock Holmes, which became an archetype for the modern detective fiction, as well as Robert Louis Stevenson, author of the classic adventure stories such as Treasure Island and Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. J.M. Barrie, author of the famous play for children, Peter Pan, studied at the University of Edinburgh.
The literary heritage of the city is not limited only to prose. Many of the prominent historical figures lived there, such as one of the most important philosophers of the Enlightened, David Hume, or the father of modern economics, Adam Smith. Charles Darwin also studied at the University of Edinburgh.
Today, influential writers still live in the city. The most prominent of them is Irvine Welsh, one of the pioneers of the cyberpunk genre. His best-known book is Trainspotting, which presents the lives of Scottish drug addicts from the lowest parts of the society, as well as Porno, Filth and Glue. Welsh writes his books with perfectly used Scottish city slang, therefore his books are sometimes hard to comprehend for the uninitiated. J.K. Rowling, the British writer, began writing her popular Harry Potter series in a café in Edinburgh.
You can learn more about Edinburgh here.
Today at 1 PM, the Swedish Academy announced that Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarusian writer and journalist is this year’s laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature. She is the 14th woman in history to be awarded the prestigious Prize. The Nobelist will meet the readers on the 19th of October, during Conrad Festival.
Alexievich is known for her courageous books about the often overlooked and repressed history of Russia: the Chernobyl disaster, the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, the participation of women in World War II, wartime fortunes of children and everyday life after the fall of Communism.
The writer is a laureate of many international awards, such as National Book Critics Circle Award, Swedish Pen Club Award, Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding and the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize. She was also awarded the French Order of Arts and Letters in the degree of Officer.
The Polish readers will have an opportunity to meet Alexievich during the literary Conrad Festival in Krakow. We would like to invite you to the meeting on the 19th of October at 5 PM in Under the Rams Palace (Pałac Pod Baranami).