This week, our team members report on poetry and performance art, multilingual panel discussions, and inventive book events. From a cinematic book launch in Bulgaria to a night of diasporic literature in Berlin and a poetry installation in Shanghai read on to find out more!
Michal Zechariah, Assistant Managing Editor, reporting from Berlin
I have moved countries twice—once when I moved from Tel Aviv to Chicago for my graduate studies in English literature, and the second time when I moved from Chicago to Berlin for a postdoctoral fellowship. One thing I hadn’t anticipated about that second move was how it would affect my relationship not with my first language, Hebrew, but with English, my second. I started questioning the place of the language that has become so important to me, even though it wasn’t my mother tongue, in my new life.
For this reason, I was immediately drawn to an event titled Literature in Diaspora hosted by the Berlin Center for Intellectual Diaspora at the Katholische Akademie Berlin last week (the choice of location is interesting; perhaps for those of us who look forward to the afterlife, the earthly world presents a diasporic experience of sorts).
The event consisted of a panel discussion with four authors living outside their homelands: Meriam Bousselmi (Tunis), Moshe Sakal (Israel), Faribā Vafī (Iran), and Antonio Ungar (Colombia), followed by a poetry reading by Israeli poet Dory Manor and singing by Eva Glasmacher and Deniza Popova. Listening to a mixture of languages in speech and song was one of the joys of this evening, and of course the richness of the discussion defies summary. But I can share a few insights that I found especially touching in the hope it brings you closer to the atmosphere of the event: Immigration makes one a stranger even when they return home, as even Odysseus learned when he returned to Ithaca (Bousselmi). Although you can support social and political struggle in your home country from afar, you cannot do so as part of the people (Vāfi). Immigration is one of the most powerful experiences of independence and creating your own life (Sakal). And being uncomfortable can be a nice feeling (Ungar).
Andriana Hamas, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Bulgaria
As far as book premieres go, that of Ekstasis (Ciela, 2023), Radoslav Bimbalov’s latest novel, was quite unorthodox and utterly enjoyable. The event was part of the annual Plovdiv Chete (“Plovdiv Reads”) Literary Festival and took place at Plovdiv’s Lucky Cinema, the only theatre in town showing independent films.
Not long after one of the halls had started bursting at the seams, the team backstage dimmed the lights, while actor Spartak Pantaleev, positioned on a chair in front of the audience, read a few pages from the new novel. This introduction was followed by a trailer for Ekstasis, a title which, as was later explained, comes from the Greek word for “leaving one’s body and attaining complete peace for your soul.” Soon, the author himself also appeared and promptly notified the public that he would host the event and be the one to ask the questions. The first part of his talk was aided by a slideshow of images, playfully illustrating his thoughts on technological progress and the fast-tracked lifestyle changes he has witnessed firsthand. He also shared a video of Charlie Chaplin’s iconic speech in The Great Dictator, as well as one of Jonny Cash’s song Hurt, both of which induced a kaleidoscope of emotions among the attendees.
The second part more closely resembled the more traditional discussion everyone initially expected, except that, as promised, Bimbalov was the person asking the questions, aiming them at his childhood friend and fellow writer Zhoro Peev and the journalist and psychologist Slavena Shekerletova. There were two more seats next to them as well, reserved for the author’s late parents: A chance for his mother and father to reach the longed-for ekstasis and a chance for us to revise old notions of presence and absence. All thanks to the power of imagination.
Jiaoyang Li, Editor-at-Large, reporting from China
From July 1st to August 1st, 2023, artist and poet Jinjin Xu’s poetry installation work, “108 Days,” is exhibited at Shanghai’s “SYSTEM Systems” art space. The installation consists of 108 vibrating transparent water bags, each one imbued with a recording of one of the 108 mesmerizing poems Jinjin Xu wrote during the pandemic, creating a captivating sound experience. This work is a collaboration between Jinjin Xu and ten other female performers worldwide who expanded on the work with their own improvised performances, capturing secret voices and exploring themes of loneliness, isolation, and human connection. It serves as a testament to the power of storytelling for survival, freezing fleeting illusions into narratives. Amidst a stagnant world, the artwork prompts reflection within the confines of the bedroom, symbolizing our collective existence. “108 Days” highlights resilience, creativity, and empathy, transcending boundaries.
And in New York City, Bungee Space, and Accent Sisters, two Chinese women-owned independent bookstores, have collaborated to organize The Rehearsal Art Book Fair. A specially curated program in this book fair will be showcasing independent publications from China and other Chinese-speaking countries. The fair will be hosted at the University Settlement near Manhattan’s Chinatown, a community hub for immigrant workers since the 19th century. Within its unique spaces, the fair seeks to explore the essence of independent publishing within highly capitalist or censored contexts. The open call for Chinese applicants ends on July 25th, and the book fair is scheduled for September 15th. Stay updated on Instagram by following @rehearsalartbookfair @bungeespace and @accentsisters for the latest news.