Books
Cross-cultural connections
By Chitralekha Basu and Yang Guang (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-25 10:11
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Chinese authors will join fellow writers from around the world at the nation's biggest literary feast. While some will revisit old haunts, others are hoping to make the discovery of a lifetime. Chitralekha Basu and Yang Guang report.
The book carnival season across China starts on Saturday, with Tom Keneally of Schindler's Ark fame raising a toast to the power of the written word at the Capital Literary Festival in Beijing. For four weeks it will be raining authors, who are arriving from as far away as Reykjavik, Iceland, to take part in events across six locations - two in Beijing, one each in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chengdu and Suzhou. Here we preview some of the favorites.
Yan Lianke, China
Claim to fame: The master of satire has won the prestigious Lu Xun and Lao She awards and been translated in over 20 languages. His last novel, The Dream of Ding Village, takes a long hard look at the social ostracization of AIDS victims.
Authorspeak: Attending literary festivals does not help a writer in concrete terms. One's writing can improve by reading other writers, not necessarily interacting with them.
But then, had it not been for this exchange between writers, writing would be so much more of a lonely job. Literary festivals give writers a chance to get away from writing.
I look forward to meeting those who have read my works and who truly love literature. I would love to meet Franz Kafka at the festival, but who could make that happen?
Event: 6 pm, March 17, The Bookworm, Beijing
Bi Feiyu, China
Claim to fame: Short-listed for 2010's Man Asian Literary Prize, for his poignant study of the female mind in Three Sisters, a tale set in 1960s rural China, Bi Feiyu is also an accomplished screen writer, having collaborated with Zhang Yimou on Shanghai Triad.
Authorspeak: I like discussing literary topics with anybody. Conversations make me happy and also realize the power of literature, which is both magical and futile. Talking to people vindicates the idea that human beings are more interesting than we expect them to be.
Participating in literary festivals does not really provide anything that I might use in my writing. Normally I wouldn't put real-life experiences into writing. I enjoy making up stories and dislike confining myself merely to facts as they are.
Event: 8 pm, March 9, The Bookworm, Beijing
Peter Zilahy, Hungary
Claim to fame: Photography, new media and performance mingle with the written word in Peter Zilahy's work. The Last Window Giraffe, a memoir about growing up in Hungary, has been translated into 27 languages.
Authorspeak: I have been here before a long time ago, so I'm excited to see how much China has changed in more than a decade. I hope to find some inspiring people and revisit places of fond memories. I would also like to be surprised, just be taken in by China once again.
Lao She was always a big favorite of mine, (along) with Tao Te Ching, so I am re-reading his work before my trip. I take it slowly, believing that "a journey of 1,000 miles starts from beneath one's feet".
Event: 4 pm, March 5 and 6, The Bookworm, Beijing
