Danuše Siering and Ondřej Cikán (Ketos Verlag) discussed how to discover and present treasures of Czech literature to a German-speaking audience. The German translation of Miroslav Hlaučo’s novel Letnice (Pentecost) was also presented at the booth (Anthea Verlag, translation: Raija Hauck). The event was moderated by Mirko Schwanitz, with interpretation provided by Nella Nitrová.
Two books were presented at the Czech National Stand: First, Petr Hanel introduced his novel You Don’t Know Shit About Stars (Anthea Verlag, translated by Hana Hadas), a brutal coming-of-age story about masculinity and the search for one’s identity in the age of the internet. Marie Iljašenko then followed with her poetry collection People Hear Very Little (Anthea Verlag, translated by Julia Miesenböck), which captures the urban space inhabited by both humans and animals. The discussion was moderated by Ruben Höppner, with translation by Nella Nitrová and Michala Čičváková.
Petra Dvořáková and Michal Ajvaz made their appearances in the impressive setting of the Leipzig Passagen at the Mädler Art Forum. Petra Dvořáková presented The Crows (Anthea Verlag, translated by Hana Hadas), a poignant novella about coming of age, painful family relationships, and the generational divide. Christina Frankenberg moderated the evening, and Steffi Böttger read from the book. Michal Ajvaz then spoke about his novel Passages Under Glass (Allee Verlag, translated by Veronika Siska), whose plot unfolds in the Leipzig Passages into a multi-layered, imaginative narrative. Maximilian Mengeringhaus moderated the discussion, and Steffi Böttger also gave the reading.
Pictures: Sabine Felber/Literaturtest