Worlds meet at multicultural European literature night: a presentation of 11 books from 10 European countries through readings and discussions. The evening will be moderated by Andrew Singer of Trafika Europe Radio.
This one-night-only special event is open to the public and will be held in the Ballroom of the Bohemian National Hall on Upper East Side on Monday, November 22, 2021 from 6:00 PM until 11:00 PM.
Register HERE*
Following a highly successful premiere in 2017, the European Literature Night (ELN) is coming back to New York City on November 22 from 6:00 PM until 11:00 PM, in a special collaboration with EUNIC and ten participating European countries. The evening will be moderated by Andrew Singer, Director and Editor in Chief of Trafika Europe, a literary radio station.
Participants include: Edoardo Ballerini (Italy), Sean Gasper Bye (Poland), Véronique Firkusny (Czech Republic), Sándor Halmosi (Hungary), Alta Ifland (Romania), Stefan Kutzenberger (Austria), Alek Popov (Bulgaria), Hugo dos Santos (Portugal), Elena Sokol (Czech Republic), Megan Thomas (Poland), Kirmen Uribe (Spain), and Katarina Vizina (Slovakia).
The evening’s program will be divided between several readings and a panel discussion "European Regions: Progress in Literary Culture", and the audience will be invited to engage in informal conversations with writers, translators, and actors. Authors have chosen excerpts from their works to serve as springboards for conversations with the attendees and for discussions about topics which are central to their writing.
All guests are welcome to participate in this spectacle which brings the process of writing and the works closer to their audiences. Join us for ELN 2021 and witness how literature becomes a medium for connecting ideas and launching vital conversations in our rapidly changing global world.
The European Literature Night is a project organized by the Czech Center New York in collaboration with the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC)**. ELN is one of the largest EUNIC projects in New York. It is a unique opportunity to present contemporary authors through a series of public readings. The aim is to increase public interest in contemporary European literature and to highlight the importance of multilingualism and translations from large as well as small languages.
Miroslav Konvalina, EUNIC vice-president and director of the Czech Center New York, said about ELN: ”We are very honored and excited to have the European Literature Night back live at the Bohemian National Hall in Manhattan. The historical Ballroom will serve as a venue for great readings by authors, translators and presenters as well as discussions about the current state of literary translation in different parts of Europe. I am happy that so many members of EUNIC in New York have shown their interest in this event.”
PROGRAM FOR NOVEMBER 22, 2021
6 PM – Opening remarks
6:10 PM – 7:50 PM: Live readings, questions and conversations featuring:
Edoardo Ballerini (Italy): Those Who from Afar Look Like Flies: An Anthology of Italian Poetry from Pasolini to the Present
Stefan Kutzenberger (Austria): Jokerman
Megan Thomas (Poland): The Career of Nicodemus Dyzma by Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz
Sean Gasper Bye (Poland): The King of Warsaw by Szczepan Twardoch
Véronique Firkusny and Elena Sokol (Czech Republic): City of Torment by Daniela Hodrová
Sándor Halmosi (Hu ngary): Decameron57, Everness80, The Dual Nature of Silence, Apocrypha, Meltdown.
8 PM – 9 PM: Panel discussion “European Regions: Progress in Literary Culture” moderated by Andrew Singer
9:15 PM- 11 PM: Live readings, questions and conversations featuring:
Alek Popov (Bulgaria): Mission Turan
Kirmen Uribe (Spain): Bilbao-New York-Bilbao
Katarina Vizina (Slovakia): The Bloody Sonnets by Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav
Alta Ifland (Romania): The Wife Who Wasn’t
Hugo dos Santos (Portugal): A Child in Ruins by José Luís Peixoto.
Select books will be available for purchase.
*Entrance free after registration. All attendees are required to present proof of vaccination in compliance with the New York State government. Attendees are required to follow all Bohemian National Hall safety protocols, including wearing masks during the program and observing social distancing rules. Registration does not guarantee entry. Capacity will be limited and attendees will be let in on a space-available basis throughout the evening.
** The event is organized by the Czech Center New York with the collaboration of partnering cultural institutions and consulates: Austrian Cultural Forum, Camōes Institute, Liszt Institute-Hungarian Cultural Center New York, Italian Cultural Institute New York, Consulate General of Slovakia in New York, Consulate General of Spain in New York, Polish Cultural Institute in New York, Romanian Cultural Institute, Consulate General of Portugal in New York, and the support of the European Union Delegation to the United Nations.
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