In this week’s dispatches, our editors report on the continual remembrance of iconic poets, interdisciplinary festivals, and writing that draws attention to the climate crisis. Read on to find out more!
Sofija Popovska, Editor-at-Large, reporting from North Macedonia
Sixty years after the tragic passing of Danica Ručigaj, iconic poet and pioneer of écriture féminine in North Macedonia, an anniversary edition containing the entirety of her oeuvre was published this month. The collection, entitled Srebreni nokjni igri i zarobenici na vetrot (Silver Nighttime Games and Prisoners of the Wind) was prepared by two prominent publicists and journalists working at Radio Skopje, Sveto Stamenov and Iskra Cholovikj, who have dedicated over two decades to researching Ručigaj’s reception and sustaining the vivacity of her legacy.
Ručigaj (1934–1963), sometimes referred to as the Sylvia Plath of North Macedonia for the unabashed vulnerability of her writing, studied ancient Greek, Latin, and Southern Slavic literature, and also worked for the Cultural Ministry of North Macedonia. She passed away at the age of twenty-nine in the 1963 Skopje earthquake—a devastating event that resulted in numerous casualties and left the entire city in ruins. Two poems famously discovered in the ruins of Ručigaj’s home—“Circles” and “Untitled”—will be featured in the anthology, along with essays about her work by prominent scholars and a complete bibliography of publications containing Ručigaj’s writing.
Ručigaj’s poetry, informed by her academic background and nonconformist, taboo-defying artistic attitude, occupies a prominent position in Macedonian literary history. Her refusal to comply with patriarchal norms continues to retain its relevance, as anti-equality sentiments are rising amidst the public. In one of her best-known poems, “No, Do Not Speak to Me” (“Ne, Ne Zboruvaj Mi”), a feminine voice laments the death of a bird who lived “within eyes that have now dried up”, simultaneously noting that its death might be a relief to some: “Come hither, do not fear / Those eyes no longer shine / And so, come hither.” As the poem progresses, we begin to realize that the owner of the eyes is the feminine speaker herself; without the bird—their inner songsmith—they no longer pose a threat to the Other that the poem is directed to. This poem remains an accurate image of gender relations in Macedonian society, where equality is still considered a threat to the “sanctity of the family”.
MARGENTO, Editor-at-Large, reporting for Romania
In Romania, the most important event of the past few days was the fifteenth edition of the poetry and chamber music festival, Poezia e la Bistrița (Poetry Lives in Bistrița). Poets and writers from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, as well as international guests from Croatia, Poland, Serbia, and Spain gave readings, public interviews, and talks; jazz-rock(-poetry) and classic music artists threw concerts; visual artists opened exhibitions or gave workshops. During the festival, prizes were also awarded to literary highlights such as Gabriela Adameșteanu, who received the Bistrița City Literary Prize, as well as to presses (Cartier in Moldova) and bookstores (Cărturești in Romania). Top billing for the festival included Romanian poets such as Ion Mureșan, Asymptote contributor Ruxandra Cesereanu, Ioan Es. Pop, and to prestigious international guests like Spanish writer Manuel Vilas. Internationally awarded Romanian artist Ion Barbu gave a much sought-for exhibition where, in addition to his irresistible cartoons, he featured a stunning section of pietropoeme (stone-poems), whose counterpart was artist-in-residence Dumitru Gorzo’s show, Utopia Is Worth It.
Another major event of the summer, Gellu Naum Festival, kicks off today, July 28, in Bucharest, and will continue tomorrow in Comana, the village off of the Romanian capital’s suburbs where Naum and his wife Lygia spent their latter years. Gellu Naum (1915-2001), whose poetry has been featured in Asymptote, is one of the greatest Romanian writers of the 20th century and a globally celebrated, one-of-a-kind Surrealist prophet-poet. The event is directed by Asymptote contributor Simona Popescu, who started the festival eight years ago and is an established critic of Naum’s work and curator of his legacy, as well as an internationally known poet and writer in her own right. Popescu has once again put together an impressive line-up of poets and authors celebrating Naum’s oeuvre and biography with readings and performances. This year’s edition features not only Romanian and (Romanian-)international, but multi and inter-cultural voices as well, with sections dedicated to German and Hungarian-Romanian literature (in Romanian translation) and a special guest from Croatia: Katja Grcić.
Eva Wissting, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Sweden
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg’s latest book, The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions, was published last year in both English by Penguin, and also in Swedish translation by Clas Bernes, Leo Gefvert, Maria Katerine Larsson, and Öyvind Vågen, from the publishing house Polaris. In the book, Thunberg shares her own experiences as an activist over the last few years, interwoven with texts by over a hundred experts from around the world, from scientists to philosophers. In spite of the dim picture of climate change, the book is intended to equip readers with the necessary knowledge to combat climate disaster, and also to inspire hope and action. Last week, an interesting spin-off of the book was published: an audiobook called Greta on the Climate Book (Greta om Klimatboken), available in Swedish through the book streaming service Storytel. It includes Greta’s own sixteen texts from The Climate Book, along with an extended, intimate conversation between Thunberg and her Swedish publisher Jonas Axelsson, where they discuss how The Climate Book came about and about the climate crisis in general.
Brand new British publishing house, Odd Publishing, specifically focuses on making Swedish writers accessible to English language readers through audiobooks, and has recently released work by another Swedish writer who is less well-known internationally, Erik Thulin. Thulin is a former journalist and policeman as well as the author of crime fiction, sci-fi, and YA novels—several of which have been translated into multiple languages, but not into English. His most recent book, published by Odd Publishing, is Essi and Ozzian – The Seven Cases (Essi och Ozzian – de sju fallen), which can be categorized as Nordic Noir for younger readers. Thulin has previously collaborated with Storytel Original, a branch of the book streaming company which publishes books originally written for the audio format. Odd Publishing’s CEO Tony Greenwood has over ten years of experience in book distribution, and he has explained that the new publishing house initially will publish the Swedish writers’ works in audio format in their original language, and then translate them into English, thereby making them available to a much larger readership.
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