The theme for this year’s Prague Writers’ Festival follows loosely in the same vein as last year’s “Heresy and Rebellion” by asking, with some irony, “Who likes it hot?” Inspired partially by the headlining Samuel Beckett quotation, “Find the wrong path that suits you best,” this theme aims to stir up a hornet’s nest of questions concerning modern-day crises that beset the literary and intellectual world. What path will you take?

Guests of the festival will discuss hot topics. The festival’s thematic conversation titles draw attention to conflict between the superficial world of images and the intimate world of literature — to quote PWF president Michael March: “Appearance does violence.” Conversations will also address global social and political issues, especially those relevant to Europe and the Mediterranean. The festival will explore the cultures of Turkey and Greece, their relationship at present and its half-hostile, half-symbiotic nature in the past. Discussions will examine recent events in the Mediterranean, which highlight many problems plaguing Europe and the globe. The festival’s theme is summed up graphically by its poster image, an Antonín Kratochvíl photo from the cycle “Moscow Nights.”

Prague Writers’ Festival begins on Saturday, April 16, with a book-signing at Starbucks café, followed by an afternoon discussion and reading in Gallery Louvre. The Commissary for Culture of the European Union will open Sunday’s gala evening, which will also be attended by the Ambassadors of Greece and Turkey. Following the opening, Turkish star Zülfü Livaneli will introduce himself to a Czech audience for the very first time with a solo musical performance. Last but not least, Jan Urban will moderate a discussion, “How hot was the Cold War?”

This year’s theme addresses the tension between the world of images and the invisible world of the intellect. Festival participants, fifteen prominent figures in contemporary literature, represent the world of intellect. Confirmed attendees include the Saint Lucian Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott (Selected Poems – Feast); one of the best-known American writers, Don Delillo; and Pullitzer Prizewinner, Junot Díaz, (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) who was born in Dominican Republic. Two guests, both Turkish writers, are especially significant from a geo-political perspective: Nedima Gürsel was accused of insulting Islam in his novel, The Daughters of Allah; Zülfü Livaneli (Bliss) is a true star of Turkish cultural, social, and political life. There will be readings by several Greek authors (Athena Papadaki, Dionysis Kapsalis, Constantine Kokossis) as well as Czech natives (Petra Hůlová, Sylva Fischerová and Tomáš Kafka). Francophone literature will be represented by two classics of poetry: laureate of many honors, Michel Deguy, and lyricist, Werner Lambersy. Notable also is the participation of Saadi Yousef, an Iraqi poet who, exiled from his homeland, lives in London.

But among these distinguished participants is one uncontested headliner. Don DeLillo — often referred to as “bard of the television age” —authors works of literature (White Noise, Underworld, Falling Man, Point Omega) that focus on problems inherent to a society super-saturated in media and communication. DeLillo explores the complexities and crises of modernity: his novel White Noise introduces the concept of television as family member; in Underworld, DeLillo draws a bizarre connection between a New York Giants’ victory and a Soviet nuclear test; Falling Man references the 9/11 terrorist attacks; his latest novel, Point Omega, paints a portrait of an aging secret war advisor.

Prague Writers’ Festival has made an important change of schedule this year. “Some Like it Hot” will take place from April 16^th – 20^th, two months earlier than usual. We hope these dates will accommodate students who, due to final exams, could not attend PWF during the summer months of years past. Some of the 2011 festival’s conversations are free of charge for students. Student discounts are also available for evening readings.

The festival’s main events will take place on the New Stage of National Theatre. Other calendar events will be held in various venues. Discussions will be held at the American Centre and at Gallery Café Louvre. All events will be simultaneously translated into various languages, including Czech and English, and streamed online. More information on Prague Writers’ Festival 2011 and its guests can be found at www.pwf.cz. In addition to pwf.cz, the Prague Writers’ Festival maintains a news site, www.literární.cz, subtitled “world literature live.”

     


Authors of the 21st Prague Writers’ Festival:

Michel Deguy (France)

Don DeLillo (USA)

Junot Díaz (USA)

Sylva Fischerová (Czech Republic)

Nedim Gürsel (Turkey)

Petra Hůlová (Czech Republic)

Tomáš Kafka (Czech Republic)

Dionysis Kapsalis (Greece)

Constantine Kokossis (Greece)

Werner Lambersy (Belgium)

Zülfü Livaneli (Turkey)

Athena Papadaki (Greece)

Vladimír Páral (Czech Republic)

Derek Walcott (Saint Lucia)

Saadi Yousef (Iraq)

Moderators:

Jan Urban, Jiří Pehe, Jay Tolson, Denis Molčanov, Tomáš Laně

Prague Writers’ Festival 2011 | February 28 2011 Václav Kovář | vaclav.kovar@pwf.cz, 608 204 823