Straight From ICR New York: Recent Romanian History & Literature in Focus

THIS COMING WEEK, IN WASHINGTON AND NYC:
RECENT ROMANIAN HISTORY AND LITERATURE IN FOCUS

November 14 & 15 |  Washington D.C.
IDEOLOGICAL STORMS:
Intellectuals and the Totalitarian Temptation
RCINY is pleased to announce that the series of conferences dealing withRomania and Europe’s recent past continues for the fifth year in Washington D.C., on November 14 and 15. The two day conference, entitled “Ideological Storms: Intellectuals and the Totalitarian Temptation,” will take place at the WoodrowWilson International Center for Scholars (Day 1) and the Embassy of Romania (Day 2). The series was initiated in 2007 by the Center for the Study of Post-Communist Societies (under the directorship of Professor Vladimir Tismaneanu) at the University of Maryland (College Park) and the Romanian Cultural Institute, in collaboration with the Cold War International History Project (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars) as a series of conferences in Washington D.C. focused on providing, by means of reflection on watershed moments of post-1945 history, an overview of the global dynamics characteristic for the 20th century and its lessons and impact upon the 21st.

Leading intellectuals and scholars from Romania, the U.S., Hungary, Poland, Italy, Macedonia, Serbia or the Czech Republic will gather to investigate the main issues raised by the temptation of the extremes in the 20th century and their weight upon the contemporary world. Participants include: Mark Lilla (Columbia University), Jeffrey Herf (University of Maryland),  Balazs Trencsenyi (Central European University, Budapest), Michael Scammell (Columbia University), Michal Kopecek (Institute of Contemporary History, Prague), Cristina Vatulescu (NYU), Vladimir Petrovic (Institute for Contemporary History, Belgrade), Mircea Mihaies (Vice President, Romanian Cultural Institute) and Horia-Roman Patapievici (President, Romanian Cultural Institute). Professor Vladimir Tismaneanu, the initiator of the conference series, will give a keynote address on “Radicalism, History, and Utopia. Re-reading E. M. Cioran.”

Previous editions focused on the Sovietization of Eastern Europe, the promises of 1968, the meaning of 1989, and on the process of overcoming a traumatic past in post-authoritarian societies. This initiative is an attempt to chart the map of and explain what Hannah Arendt called “the ideological storm” of a century second to none in terms of violence, hubris, ruthlessness, and human sacrifices. READ MORE

November 15-20 | Various locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens, NY
8th New Literature from Europe Festival
CRIME SCENE: EUROPE
Writer Ana Maria Sandu and Cristi Puiu’s “Aurora” featured in the literary festival co-presented by RCINY and seven other European cultural institutes in NYC
The eight installment of the annual New Literature from Europe festival, taking place November 15-20 throughout New York in the framework of EUNIC, is devoted to the crime novel and thriller, providing ample clues to the diverse creative interpretations the genre offers across the continent.

Romanian writer Ana Maria Sandu will join Caryl Ferey (France), Zygmunt Miloszewski (Poland), Stefan Slupetzky (Austria), Jose Carlos Somoza (Spain), Jan Costin Wagner (Germany), and U.S. guest author Dan Fesperman in a series of readings and conversations from November 15-17. Sandu will present her latest novel, KILL ME! (Omoara-ma), a captivating story about the perverse power of storytelling and the way fiction can become more ‘real’ than reality. The calendar of literary events is as follows:

// TUE, Nov 15, 7 pm | The Czech Center, 321 East 73rd St, NYC
BOOKED! CRIME SCENE: EUROPE. Opening event with festival guest writers reading from their featured novels. The readings will be followed by a reception.

// WED, Nov 16, 6:30 pm | The Center for Fiction, 17 East 47th St, NYC
THE SHIFTING SCENE. Festival writers in conversation with Dan Fesperman, author of The Small Boat of Great Sorrows, The Double Game and Layover in Dubai. The event will be moderated by Professor B. J. Rahn.
Please RSVP to [email protected], or by phone at 1-212-755-6710

// THU, Nov 17, 7 pm | BookCourt, 163 Court St., Brooklyn, NY 11201
RETURN TO THE CRIME SCENE. Looking for more clues? Don’t miss this reading with five of the guest authors.

FREE ADMISSION TO ALL LITERARY EVENTS.

From November 18 to 20, a special film series complements this year’s spoken word programs. Co-presented with the Museum of the Moving Image, it features adaptations of crime novels as well as innovative approaches to the genre. One of its highlights is the 2010 critically acclaimed production of AURORA, written and directed by Cristi Puiu, “a slow-burning tour de force.” (Manohla Dargis, The New York Times). 

// SAT, Nov 19, 7:00 pm | Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Avenue (at 37 Street), Astoria, NY 11106
AURORA, written and directed by Cristi Puiu
FREE ENTRANCE WITH MUSEUM ADMISSION FOR ALL SCREENINGS

You can read excerpts from all festival authors on Brooklyn Rail’s InTranslation or READ MORE.