Summer at the EESC

Literature lunches

16/ 23 June

07/14 July 2011

ÁDÁM NÁDASDY

JeroeN olYSlAegerS

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P. 8

ANToINe CASSAr

JACeK DeHNel

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InBETWEENLITERATURE LUNCHES 2011 AT THE EESC

‘InBETWEEN is the name of a set of literary readings carried out by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). It underpins the message of intercultural dialogue which is one of the main assets of all EESC cultural activities. As the voice of organised civil society, the EESC is a microcosm and mirror of social and cultural differences and has a key role to play in a process that comprises an open and respectful exchange or interaction between individuals, groups and organisations with different cultural backgrounds or world views.

In line with the guiding political message of EESC president Staffan Nilsson “Engaging people for a sustainable Europe”, the literature lunches aim to give the floor to contemporary authors who through their individual views express the concerns of people living in Europe while also inspiring the European public to engage in intercultural dialogue. Thus, the EESC also contributes to the concept of multilingualism as an important component of European identity.

The authors themselves cover a wide range of geographical and social backgrounds, drawing on these experiences in their writing. They express their thoughts and feelings in the different genres that literature offers, such as novels, short stories and poems. In their literary works they portray European grass-root situations and landscapes, discuss mobility issues and how people deal with life in Europe.

These readings are intended to be a significant contribution by the EESC to enhancing our understanding of European values such as solidarity, tolerance and democracy and to pose currently unanswered questions about the concept of participative citizenship.

«Europe is a great place to live!» If you share this view of our vice-president, Anna Maria Darmanin, and are ready to venture into the realm of human endeavours, then we would be more than happy to welcome you on the EESC terrace to taste our literature lunches under the Brussels sunshine!

P.S. This year we are celebrating a little anniversary – this is the fifth year that the EESC has arranged these literature lunches, which are more successful every year!

ÁDÁM NÁDASDY

12:30 > 13:3016 June / Június 16

BiographieAdam Nadasdy was born in 1947 in Budapest, Hungary. He has degrees in English and Italian, a PhD in phonology and has been teaching all his life. Nádasdy is a linguist, a translator, a poet and a university lecturer in English Linguistics; his literary activity is in Hungarian. Nádasdy has published several volumes of poetry, and has translated a number of English plays into Hungarian (including Shakespeare, Wilde, and Shaw).

BiographyNádasy Ádám 1947-ben született Buda-pesten, Magyarországon. Angol és olasz nyelvekből diplomázott, doktori címét fonológiából szerezte, egész életében tanított. Nyelvész, fordító, költő, egyete-mi tanár. Szépirodalmi munkáit magyar nyelven írja. Számos verseskötetet publikált, több angol drámát fordított magyarra (például Shakespeare,Wild és Shaw darabokat).

leCTure IN HuNgArIAN, TrANSlATIoN of TexT IN eNglISH

MAgYAr NYelvű előADÁS, ANgol éS NéMeT forDíTÁSSAl

PRESENTATIoN/ ELőADáS: PhD Gyorgyi Horvath, historian and literary critique / Horváth Györgyi PhD, történész, irodalmár

The Sculptures are Sweating – Verejték van a szobrokonPoems – 2010 / Versek – 2010

The sculptures are sweating is a volume of poetry in Hungarian, selected from poems published between 1984 and 2007. It contains descriptions of childhood and teenage memories from the 1950s and 60s in Hungary; some poems on religion, from a Catholic background, are asking about man’s relationship to God; and many love poems Practically all to or about men), about the poet’s lovers and his long-time partner; and, after this partner’s death, poems of mourning and remembrance.

A ‘Verejték van a szobrokon’ egy magyar nyelvű verseskötet az 1984 és 2007 között publikált versekből. Gyerek- és tinédzser-kori emlékek az 1950-es és ‘60-as évek Magyarországáról. Vallásról például: egy katolikus világból származó költő kérdései ember és Isten viszonyáról. Szerelmes versek: az író szerelmeiről (nagy részük férfiakhoz szólnak), majd partneréről, akivel hosszú időt töltött együtt, s kinek távozása után a versek gyászról és emlékezésről szólnak.

Accuracy is key to Nádasdy’s poems, seemingly everyday facts and events are put in verse; his credibility is backed up by his unique, widely used language, calm and off-hand, homespun in its purity writing, and ruminate,sometimes sceptic-curious style. (K. KABAI Lóránt, in Műút)Nádasdy, with his etchy, prosaic words to himself and to the people evoked in the volume, creates a cruel, high temperature ouvre. To talk about the grief, he uses a breathtakingly profane and recklessly provocative voice, unusual in Hungarian literature. (ACSAI Roland, in litera.hu)

Nádasdy verseinek tétje a pontosság, a hétköznapi(nak feltűnő) tények és események minél precízebb versbe foglalása — hitelességét pedig sajátos, széles spektrumú nyelvhasználata, nyugodt és fesztelen, keresetlenségében tiszta verselése, illetve töprengő, olykor kételkedő-kérdező habitusa biztosítja. (K. KABAI Lóránt, in Műút)Nádasdy kellően karcos, prózai szavakkal önmagához és a kötetben megszólítottakhoz egyaránt kegyetlen, magas hőfokú lírát teremt. A gyász elbeszéléséhez új, líránkban szokatlan, meghökkentően profán és vakmerően provokatív beszédmódot használ. (ACSAI Roland, in litera.hu)

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This event is presented to you in cooperation with: Hungarian Culture Brussels (HCB).A rendezvény együttműködés a Brüsszeli Magyar Kulturális Intézettel.

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JeroeN olYSlAegerS

12:30 > 13:3023 June / 23 Juni

leCTure IN DuTCH, TrANSlATIoN of TexT IN eNglISH AND freNCH

lezINg IN HeT NeDerlANDS, De verTAlINg vAN De TeKST IN HeT eNgelS eN HeT frANS

PRESENTATIE /PRESENTATIoN: Sarah Faict, public affairs, Flemish-Dutch House deBuren programmering/ Vlaams-Nederlands Huis deBuren

citybook Utrecht: This is where you begin again – Hier begin je opnieuwShort story, 2009

‘This is where you begin again’ is a story about a woman who feels that she has shared her beauty (and body!) for way too long. She decides to hide in a friend’s apartment in the city of Utrecht. Trying to let go, she receives a strange visitor eve-ry night: a masked woman who ‘presses down on her throat and says: “It’s time. And you know it.”’ Will she be able to begin again?

‘Hier begin je opnieuw’ is een verhaal over een vrouw die naar haar smaak haar schoonheid (en haar lichaam!) veel te lang heeft gedeeld met vreemden. Ze bes-luit om onder te duiken in het Utrechtse appartement van een vriendin. Terwijl ze probeert zichzelf te hervinden, ontvangt ze elke nacht een gemaskerde vrouw die zegt: ‘Nu is het tijd. En je weet het.’ Zal zij opnieuw kunnen beginnen?

«Slowly but surely the comparison with the master becomes self-evident: in style, themes and narrative power, olyslaegers is an honorable bastard son of the great Claus». (Humo)

«Gaandeweg dringt zich zelfs een vergelijking met de meester op: in stijl, thematiek en verhalende kracht is olyslaegers een waardige bastaardzoon van de grote Claus.» (Humo)

This event is presented to you in cooperation with: Flemish-Dutch House deBurenDit evenement wordt u aangeboden in samenwerking met Vlaams-Nederlands Huis deBuren

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BiographieJeroen Olyslaegers (Mortsel, 1967) studied Germanic languages at the University of Antwerp. After his study, he worked as a researcher for the Louis Paul Boon documentation centre (1989-1992). He continued his career working for several organisations and festivals in the field of literature and cinema. olyslaegers wrote as a film critic for Humo and as a columnist for Studio Brussel, VPRo, IKoN and Radio Klara. So far, he has published the novels Navel (1994), open gelijk een mond (1999) and Wij (2009) and Il faut manger (1996), a collection of short stories. He has written several plays for theatres such as KVS and NTGent.

BiographyJeroen Olyslaegers (Mortsel, 1967) studeerde Germaanse Filologie aan de Universiteit van Antwerpen, waarna hij wetenschappelijk medewerker was bij het Louis Paul Boon-documentatiecen-trum (1989-1992). Vervolgens werkte hij bij verschillende organisaties en festivals op het gebied van literatuur en cinema. olyslaegers werkte als filmrecensent voor Humo en als columnist voor Studio Brussel, VPRo, IKoN en Radio Klara. Hij publiceerde de romans Navel (1994), open gelijk een mond (1999), Wij (2009) en de verhalenbundel Il faut manger (1996). Verder heeft hij een meerdere theaterproducties op zijn naam staan, onder andere voor KVS en NTGent.

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ANToINe CASSAr

12:30 > 13:3007 July / 07 ta’ Lulju

leCTure IN MAlTeSe, TrANSlATIoN of TexT AvAIlAble IN eNglISH, freNCH, AND gerMAN

QArI bIl-MAlTI, TrADuzzJoNI DISpoNIbblI bl-INglIż, bIl-frANċIż, u bIl-ĠerMANIż

PRESENTATIoN/ PREżENTAZZjoNI: Karsten Xuereb, Culture & Audiovisual Attaché, Permanent Representation of Malta to the European Union / Attaché Kulturali, Ir-Rappreżentazzjoni ta’ Malta għall-Unjoni Ewropea

Passport – Passaport2010

Passport is valid for all peoples, and for all landscapes. For all citizens and villagers of flesh and blood, wherever they were born. Your worth is not proportional to the population of your country. Entry free of duty, no need for a stamp or visa, the doors are unscrewed from the jambs.

Profits from the sale of the anti-passport are donated to local NGos providing legal and linguistic assistance to refugees and asylum seekers.

Passaport poetiku, validu għall-popli kollha, u għal kull pajsaġġ. Għal kull ċittadin jew raħli tad-demm u tal-laħam, twieled fejn twieled. Is-siwi tiegħek mhuwiex proporzjonali għall-popolazzjoni ta’ pajjiżek. Dħul bla dazju, m’għandekx bżonn viżi jew timbri, il-bieb maqlugħ miċ-ċaċċiż.

Il-qligħ mill-bejgħ tal-Passaport jingħata b’donazzjoni lil NGos lokali li jipprovdu għajnuna legali u lingwistika lir-rifuġjati u l-applikanti għall-ażil.

«Some like to say that poetry is mystery, revelation, that it is sacred, then they touch us with their poems, but disappoint us with their lives. A skin that moves the skin of sorrow to speak, that smiles before all the words of the world, is a skin offered without frontiers, a skin that is poetry for another skin. Antoine Cassar is a simple man who, in a Machadian way, has travelled faraway lands, with a light rucksack, like the men of the sea, amid the dust of the open road.» Chema Rubio, at the presentation of Pasaporte at Diablos Azules, Madrid, july 2010.

«Hemm min jgħid li l-poeżija hija misteru, revelazzjoni, li hija xi ħaġa sagra, imbagħad iqanqluna bi vrushom, iżda jiddiżappuntawna b’ħajjithom. Ġilda li tqabbad tkellem lil ġildet in-niket, li titbissem quddiem il-kliem kollu tad-dinja, hija ġilda li tingħata mingħajr fruntieri, ġilda li hija poeżija għal ġilda oħra. Antoine Cassar huwa bniedem sempliċi li, b’mod Machadjan, terraq id-dinjiet l-imbiegħda, b’barżakka ħafifa, bħall-baħħara, qalb it-trab tal-mogħdijiet.» Chema Rubio, waqt it-tnedija ta’ Pasaporte fi Diablos Azules, Madrid, Lulju 2010.

This event is presented to you in cooperation with: Migrants’ Solidarity Movement (migrantsmalta.org)Dan l-inkontru qed jittella’ bi sħab mal-NGO Maltija: Migrants’ Solidarity Movement

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BiographieBorn in London to Maltese parents in 1978, ANTOINE CASSAR grew up between England, Malta and Spain, and worked and studied in Italy, France and Luxem-bourg. A writer of Maltese and multilin-gual verse, Antoine Cassar has presented his poetry in a number of European and Asian cities, most recently Madrid, Fran-kfurt, Seoul, Hong Kong, New Delhi and Bangalore. His book Mużajk, an explora-tion in multilingual verse (Skarta, 2008) was presented at the Leipzig Book Fair and at the poetry festivals of Copenha-gen and Berlin. In 2009, his composition Merħba, a poem of hospitality was awar-ded the United Planet Writing Prize. His Maltese poems have been translated into over a dozen languages, including Spa-nish, French, Russian, Mandarin, Kannada and japanese. http://antoinecassar.info

BijografijaImwieled Londra fl-1978 minn ġenituri Maltin, ANTOINE CASSAR trabba bejn l-Ingilterra, Malta u Spanja, u ħadem u studja fl-Italja, Franza u l-Lussemburgu. Kittieb ta’ poeżija kemm bil-Malti kif ukoll multilingwi, Cassar ippreżenta x-xogħlijiet tiegħu f’għadd ta’ bliet Ewropej u Ażjatiċi, l-iktar riċentement f’Madrid, Frankfurt, Seoul, Ħong Kong, New Delhi u Bangalore. Il-ktieb tiegħu Mużajk, an exploration in multilingual verse (Skarta, 2008) ġie ppreżentat fil-Fiera tal-Ktieb ta’ Leipzig, kif ukoll fil-festivals ta’ poeżija ta’ Kopenħagen u Berlin. Fl-2009, il-kompożizzjoni tiegħu Merħba, a poem of hospitality ngħatat il-United Planet Writing Prize. Poeżiji Maltin ta’ Cassar ġew maqluba f’iktar minn 12-il lingwa, fosthom l-Ispanjol, il-Franċiż, ir-Russu, il-Mandarin, il-Kannada u l-Ġappuniż. http://antoinecassar.info

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JACeK DeHNel

12:30 > 13:3014 July / 14 Lipca

leCTure IN polISH, TrANSlATIoN of TexT IN eNglISH AND gerMAN

CzYTANIe w JęzYKu polSKIM, przeKłAD ANgIelSKI I NIeMIeCKI

PRESENTATIoN/ PREZENTACjA: Alexander Popowycz, Press & communication NL, Literature and History, Cultural Service of the Polish Embassy/ prasa & komunikacja NL, literatura i historia, serwis kulturalny polskiej ambasady

Lala, SaturnNovel 2006 / Novel 2011

«Lala» is a novel about an elderly Polish lady, who retells her whole life to her grandson. Her story, which reflects the history of 20th century Poland, gradually disappears as the old age and illness take over and grandmother becomes senile; on the other hand, grandson changes from a fragile child to an adult men, who takes care of the senile grandmother and continues retelling the story of her life.«Saturn» tells the story of three men from the Goya family: famous Spanish pain-ter, Francisco, his son javier and grandson, Mariano, entangled in a terrible oedi-pal conflict. The mysterious cycle of «Black paintings» with the central figure of Saturn devouring his own son, becomes an untypical commentary to the emotio-nal storms within a strict, patriarchal system.

«Lala» to nowela opowiadająca o starszej polskiej pani, która całe swoje życie poświęciła swojemu wnukowi. jej historia, która przybliża czytelnikowi dzieje Polski dwudziestego wieku, stopniowo się kończy. Kobieta poprzez nadchodzącą starość i postępującą chorobę zanika. Z drugiej jednak strony ukazana jest pr-zemiana wnuka, który z delikatnego dziecka staje się mężczyzną i teraz to on opiekuje się niedołężną babcią czym zaczyna powielać historię jej życia.„Saturn” opowiada historię trzech mężczyzn z rodziny sławnego hiszpańskiego malarza Goi. Francisco Goya , jego syn javier oraz wnuk Mariano, uwikłani są w tragiczny konflikt Edypa. Tajemniczy cykl „Czarnych obrazów” z powtarzającym się głównym motywem Saturna pochłaniającego jego syna, staje się niecodzien-nym komentarzem do burzy uczuć pośród panującego w rodzinie surowego pa-triarchatu.

No twenty-years-old can show such a maturity of style, consciousness of form nor literary culture, for such well-read and intelligent young men simply do not occur in nature. Dehnel is an exception that proves this rule.

Taką dojrzałością stylu, świadomością formy i kulturą literacką nie może się popisać żaden dwudziestolatek, ponieważ tak oczytani i inteligentni młodzieńcy nie występują w przyrodzie. Dehnel jest wyjątkiem potwierdzającym tę regułę. Dariusz Nowacki, Gazeta Wyborcza

This event is presented to you in cooperation with: Polish Cultural Institute, BrusselsTo wydarzenie jest współorganizowane przez: Instytut Polski w Brukseli

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BiographieJacek Dehnel (born 1980 in Gdańsk), a poet, writer, translator. He has published five books of poems, two novels, two collections of short stories, one volume of essays on old photographies, a set of four novellas, translations of Ph. Larkin and K. Verdins. Awarded with numerous literary awards, including Koscielski Prize (2005), Polityka’s Passport (2007), twice nominated for the Nike Award. He works also as a painter and draughtsman. Lives in Warsaw. His novel “Lala” has been translated to eight languages (three other will follow), the copyrights to “Saturn” have already been sold to Germany, The Netherlands and Great Britain.

Biografia Jacek Dehnel (ur. 1980 w Gdańsku), poeta, prozaik, tłumacz. opublikował pięć tomów wierszy, dwie powieści, dwa zbiory opowiadań, tom esejów o starych fotografiach, cykl minipowieści, przekłady Ph. Larkina i K. Verdinsa. Laureat licznych nagród literackich, m.in. Nagrody Kościelskich (2005) i Paszportu Polityki (2007), dwukrotnie nominowany do Nike. Zajmuje się również malarstwem i rysunkiem. Mieszka w Warszawie. jego powieść “Lala” została przetłumaczona na osiem języków (trzy kolejne wydania ukażą się wkrótce), prawa do “Saturna” zostały sprzedane do Niemiec, Holandii i Wielkiej Brytanii.

ProgrammE 12:30 > 13:30

16 june ÁDÁm NÁDaSDY

23 june JEroEN oLYSLaEgErS

07 july aNToINE CaSSar

14 july JaCEK DEHNEL

InBETWEENLiterature Lunches at the EESC 2011

Refreshments will be served with the lecture.Don’t forget your sunglasses! Free entrance

Reservation required - please send an email to: literature@eesc.europa.eu

For more information:Michael Stanczyk02-546 8318Michael.Stanczyk@eesc.europa.eu

Sylvia BingerSylvia.Binger@eesc.europa.eu

European Economic and Social Committee

99, rue Belliard B-1040 Bruxelles

http://eesc.europa.eu

16 june ÁDÁm NÁDaSDY

23 june JEroEN oLYSLaEgErS

07 july aNToINE CaSSar

14 july JaCEK DEHNEL