Tag: writing

Elias Khoury: “Literature is the history of ordinary people” (interview)

I met Mr. Elias Khoury in Bucharest just before he presented his last book, The Children of the Ghetto - My name is Adam, at Bookfest, an international book fair held annually not only in the Romanian capital, but also in other cities across the country. His novel was recently translated in Romanian by Polirom Publishing House, and I was very honored to ask Mr. Khoury several questions about his book, about how he conceives literature, its meaning, its relation to reality and act of writing itself. Citeşte tot articolul


Interviu cu Immanuel Mifsud

Interview with Immanuel Mifsud: „I’m always embarrassed to say how I became a writer”

Immanuel Mifsud is a very well-known Maltese writer. Moreover, he is considered to be the leading writer of the Maltese Generation-X. He started to write when he was sixteen, both prose and poetry. Some of his works have been translated and published in a number of European countries and USA. He also worked with experimental theatre groups, directing his own plays and later works by Chekhov, Dario Fo, Max Frisch, Federico Garcia Lorca, Harold Pinter, etc.  Citeşte tot articolul

Write in Transylvania

Long to write short stories? Stuck with your novel? Puzzled about publishing? Come to our idyllic mountain village for a few days to develop your craft. In your time off, relax with yoga, a scenic tour, even a spot of bear watching! Citeşte tot articolul

Interview with Gheorghi Gospodinov: „I think the writer should be on the streets”

Gheorghi Gospodinov is one of the best known and most translated Bulgarian writers after 1989. He published four books of poetry, a volume of short stories (And Other Stories, 2001), two plays - D.J. (Don Juan's initials, 2004) and The Apocalypse Comes at 6 pm (2010, the American premiere was in 2014), but he also wrote scripts for short films (the most recent film is Omelette; mention at Sundance Film Festival, 2009) and he created a graphic novel, The Eternal Fly (2010, together with the artist N. Toromanov). Citeşte tot articolul

Interview with Guillermo Arriaga: „Stories never die”

Guillermo Arriaga was a guest at the International Literature and Translation Festival from Iași, Romania. He was invited to meet with the Romanian public in the second evening of the festival, on the scene of the „Vasile Alecsandri” National Theater, accompanied by the Romanian literary critic Marius Chivu, who addressed him many good questions. The public fell immediately in love with the Mexican author, screenwriter, director and producer. He was the sensation of the festival. Citeşte tot articolul

interviu cu Lars Saabye Christensen si recenzie la cartea Frati pe jumatate

Lars Saabye Christensen: “If you write one extra word in the sex scene it becomes extremely embarrassing for everybody” – interview

Lars Saabye Christensen is one of the most representative contemporary Norwegian writers. Even though he also wrote children's books, scripts, plays, poetry, he is best known as a novelist. He published over twenty novels, out of which Beatles and The Half Brother were sold in over 500 000 copies together and have been translated in many languages. For The Half Brother Christensen won the The Nordic Council's Literature Prize, the most important distinction for works of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries. He is also a member of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature. Citeşte tot articolul

Interview with Mike Ormsby: ”Writing a novel is like being in a band or a sports club: you need a good team”

Mike Ormsby is a British writer and former BBC journalist, World Service trainer and musician. In December 2013 he published his first novel, Child Witch Kinshasa, about so-called child witches in Kinshasa, Congo - as seen mainly by Frank Kean, a journalist who lands in a strange place and tries to discover its "secrets", to understand a completely different world (see synopsis and excerpts here). As I was reading this, absorbed, the second part of his novel was published - Child Witch London.  Citeşte tot articolul

Interview with Andrei Kurkov: ”I decided to be a writer when I found out that writers don’t go to work”

Andrei Kurkov was one of the special guests at the International Festival of Literature and Translation from Iași. Then, I had the opportunity to have a conversation with him, who is one of the best known Ukrainian authors, who mostly writes in Russian. He has so many stories to tell, some of them seem fantastic, and others make a strong impression on you. We spoke about his most recent book translated in Romanian, A matter of death and life, about how he chooses his themes, about writing, being a writer, about spaces, identity, translations and so many more. I invite you to discover all of them in the following lines.  Citeşte tot articolul