Vanished Worlds, Astonishing Trees, Wild Adventures
Book Talk European Literature Days Reading online event online event
Four young European writers – four books that, in their different ways, trace forms of wilderness and being wild. Peter Balko’s novel Zusammen sind wir unbesiegbar tells a Tom Sawyeresque and Huckleberry Finn-style story at the Hungarian-Slovakian border. Daniela Emminger found accommodation in Hitler’s birthplace in Braunau. She changed into a gorilla costume when writing, to fathom out how power and morality are being redefined in our time. Anna Ospelt held the 2019 Deutscher Preis for Nature Writing. In Wurzelstudien, she explores the story of a tree, its relations and ‘elective affinities’. Filip Springer’s Kupferberg traces how nature incorporates what is man-made and a small mining town vanishes from the earth.
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Daniela Emminger, b. 1975, is an Austrian writer. She was a copywriter in Hamburg and Berlin and an editor in Lithuania and Latvia. She lived in the Kyrgyzstan steppe for her latest novel. Recently published: Kafka mit Flügeln, 2018. “Daniela Emminger is one of the most original voices of contemporary Austrian literature, changeable, grotesque and language-crazy.” Sebastian Fasthuber, Die Tageszeitung |
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Peter Balko, b. 1988 in Lučenec/Lošonc, is a Slovakian writer. He is well-known as a screenplay writer and has won many awards for his debut novel. Published in German: Zusammen sind wir unbesiegbar, 2020. “Myths and cheeky children’s pranks, sadistic Nazis and his grandparent’s love story – it’s impressive how Peter Balko interweaves the most diverse set pieces as building blocks for his Slovakian Macondo.” Wolfgang Popp, Ö1 Kulturjournal |
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Anna Ospelt, b. 1987, is a Liechtensteiner writer. She studied sociology and media studies in Basel. She lives in Vaduz. Recently published: Wurzelstudien, 2020. “Anna Ospelt’s perception of nature focuses on filigree detail and alternately expands the view to the metaphorical horizon. Her book does justice to the title. Her studies collect material for something bigger, maybe a novel that is hinted at in this book.” Beat Mazenauer, Viceversa Literatur |
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Filip Springer, b. 1982, is a Polish writer and photographer. He publishes in various Polish magazines. His debut Miedzianka: Story of Disappearing was shortlisted for the Ryszard Kapuściński Award for Literary Reportage. Published in German: Kupferberg, 2020. “Filip Springer has unearthed Kupferberg/Miedzianka by means of reportage. He lets the small town, established in the 13th century, re-emerge with great intensity. What has emerged is the precise, laconic story of a disappearance.” Cord Aschenbrenner, Neue Zürcher Zeitung |
