Writing Europe II - Cities of Exile
Debat

With regard to the theme of Amsterdam World Book Capital, Open Book, we will discuss the phenomenon of exile literature in the (recent) European past and the present. In a series of 8 evenings we attempt to give an overview of some of the faces of exile in European literature in the 20th century, but we will also look into the present forms of exile literature.

The influence on European literature of Eastern European exile writers like Kundera, Škvorecký, Kiš, Milosz and Gombrowicz can hardly be overstated. They were, in the Cold War era, not only towering literary figures, but also a symbol of resistance to totalitarianism. Since 1989, especially with the enlargement of the EU, a new, 'velvet' curtain has been created. What are the present forms of exile under these conditions? What is, to the new exiles, the value of this great Cold War tradition from Eastern Europe?

With: Guido Snel (NL), Igor Štiks (Bosnia), Magdalena Platzova (Czech Republic). Moderator: Pieter Steinz.

I.s.m. Spui 25, Federation of National Cultural Institutes in The Netherlands, European Cultural Foundation, en De Bezige Bij