Program 2022
International Literature Festival – polip
Prishtina
12th Edition
13-15th May 2022
https://polipfestival.wordpress.com
http://www.qendra.org
PRE-PROGRAM
Thursday, 12.05.2022
BOOK LAUNCH 18:00 – 19:30 Venue: ODA Theater
Slepec by Mitja Čander, translated into Albanian by Nikollë Berishaj and published by Qendra Multimedia
Discussion between the author Mitja Cander (SLO) and the translator Nikollë Berishaj (MNE)
PROGRAM
Friday, 13.05.2022
Official Opening of the 12th edition of polip – International Literature Festival
The Writer is Present?!
19:30 – 20:00 | Venue: ODA Theater Alida Bremer, Saša Ilić, Jeton Neziraj
READINGS 20:00 – 21:30 | Venue: ODA Theater
Readings with: Şebnem İşigüzel (TUR), Eqrem Basha (RSK), Ivana Bodrožić (CRO), Carsten Jensen (DEN), Jovica Ivanovski (NMK), Joël Vernet (FR), Mitja Čander (SLO)
Moderators: Saša Ilić (SRB) & Jeton Neziraj (RKS)
MUSIC PERFORMANCE
21:30 – 23:00 | Venue: ODA Theater
With: Edona Reshitaj & Band
Saturday, 14.05.2022
PANEL 1 11:00–12:30 | Venue: ODA Theater
Life vs. Literature
Who is Telling Stories and Who is Sharing Stories?
Panelists: Şebnem İşigüzel (TUR), Mirishahe Syla (RKS), Alida Bremer (CRO/DE).
Moderator: Ivana Bodrožić Discussion in English.
PANEL 2 15:00 – 16:30 | Venue: ODA Theater
War in Ukraine – What Can Writers and Translators Do Now?
Panelists: Carsten Jensen (DEN), Edis Galushi (RKS), Daniel Gustafsson (SWE), Petra Nagenkögel (AT)
Moderator: Tatjana Radmilo (CRO) Discussion in English
READINGS 20:00– 21:30 | Venue: ODA Theater
Readings with: Zvonko Karanović (SRB), Petra Nagenkögel (AT), Daniel Gustafsson (SWE), Mirishahe Syla (RKS), Aidan Hehir (UK), Rozafa Shpuza (ALB), Mechthild Henneke (DE), Tatjana Radmilo (CRO)
Moderators: Ivana Bodrožić (CRO), Alida Bremer (CRO/DE)
Sunday, 15.05.2022
PANEL 3 16:00 – 17:30 | Venue: ODA Theater
Historical narratives and collective memory as origin of ethnic wars, or as means for healing and reconciliation for post-war societies? How can writers influence the outcome?
Panelists: Aidan Hehir (UK), Aleksandar Pavlović (SRB))
Moderator: Ardiana Shala Prishtina (RKS) Discussion in English
READINGS 20:00– 21:30 | Venue: ODA Theater
Readings with: Katarina Mitrović (SRB), Luan Buleshkaj (NL), Nikola Nikolić (MNE), Edis Galushi (RKS), Vlora Ademi (RKS), Alida Bremer (DE), Radmila Petrovic (SRB), Daim Miftari (NMK)
Moderators: Saša Ilić (SRB), Aurela Kadriu (RKS)
MUSIC PERFORMANCE 21:30 – 23:00 Venue: ODA Theater
With: Linda Rukaj (FR/AL)
Panels / Debates & other events
Thursday 12.05.2022, PRE-PROGRAM
BOOK LAUNCH 18:00 – 19:30 | Venue: ODA Theater
Slepec by Mitja Čander, translated into Albanian by Nikollë Berishaj and published by Qendra Multimedia
Discussion between the author Mitja Čander (SLO) and the translator Nikollë Berishaj (MNE)
The main character, and narrator, in Blind Man is a successful book editor and critic who since birth has had problems with his eyesight, although he has never had much to do with the visually impaired community and doesn’t really feel like he is one of them. But when he is offered a chance to enter the world of politics, he is “blinded” by the lure of power, and this easy-going, level-headed husband and soon-to-be father gradually turns into a self-absorbed careerist.
The author, without pontificating and with a measured dose of humour, paints a critical, unsparing portrait of a small European country and through it a convincing satire on the psychological state of contemporary European society. What, or who, do we still believe in today, and who should we trust? Politicians, apparatchiks, the media? The bureaucratic system? Greater and lesser luminaries? Empty pledges, absurd situations?
Speeches laden with buzzwords and grandiose promises break down the flimsy façade, as the protagonist’s own insecurity suggests that things are not always what they seems. In the end, social blindness is worse than any physical impairment, and worst of all is to be blinded by your own ego.
Blind Man is a superb Gogolian novel about the current state of Slovenian – and European – society.
The book was translated into Albanian by Nikollë Berishaj and published by Qendra Multimedia in 2022. The Albanian translation of the book was supported by The Slovenian Book Agency.
PROGRAM
Saturday, 14.05.2022
PANEL 1 11:00–12:30 | Venue: ODA Theater
LIFE VS LITERATURE
Who is Telling Stories and who is Sharing Stories?
Panelists: Şebnem İşigüzel (TUR), Mirishahe Syla (RKS), Alida Bremer (DE)
Moderator: Ivana Bodrožić (CRO)
Discussion in English.
It is not only important who is writing books but it is also important who is hired in a publishing houses, agencies, cultural institutions, ministries of cultures. The diversity that we have among writers should be followed by diversity in literary industry which right now is not the case. Literature told by others based on different narratives about gender, class, sexuality disabilities and such is often not reaching large audience because is not recognized as something worth supporting. For a long time interesting stories for international publishers and audience from our territory were war stories, and when that was no longer actual topic, in a way we have disappeared from the international scene. In these times there is a big gap between (especially) younger female authors which are writing great literature and system which is strongly patriarchal, and this is reflected in the literary scene. How to point those topics and realize that is all connected, or in other words, to realize that engagement is necessary to bring literature into the focus.
PANEL 2 15:00 – 16:30 Venue: ODA Theater
War in Ukraine – What Can Writers and Translators Do Now?
Panelists: Carsten Jensen (DEN), Edis Galushi (RKS), Daniel Gustafsson (SWE), Petra Nagenkögel (AT)
Moderator: Tatjana Radmilo (CRO) Discussion in English
Since Russia brutally invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the entire world has entered a very strange phase altogether, especially if we take into account that the World War III started in the midst of pandemic that has lasted for more than two years now. So, what is the role of Ukrainian, but Russian authors, as well? This Panel aims to touch on issues, such as “inter arma silent Musae”, on dignity of silence as opposed to voices that need to be heard, writers and translators as heroes of an invisible Ukrainian army and their Russian counterparts under threat of prosecution and 15 years prison term if they let their voices be heard…
Also, we will discuss what can global literary community do to help? Once the war is over, what kind of literature will be needed and how not to fall into the traps of post-war propaganda?
PANEL 3 16:00 – 17:30 | Venue: Oda Theater
Historical narratives and collective memory as origin of ethnic wars, or as means for healing and reconciliation for post-war societies? How can writers influence the outcome?
Panelists: Aidan Hehir (UK), Aleksandar Pavlović (SRB)
Moderator: Ardiana Shala Prishtina (RKS) Discussion in English
Both books we are promoting in this panel are in a sense each in their own way a story about stories. Some questions that arise from both of them deal with issues of how historical narratives influence generations of people. We then want to ask, what is a writer’s power to change or influence how the other is represented in stories? If historical narratives have been constructed to fuel wars, how can we deconstruct them and construct other stories that can make peace possible? What does it mean to “never forget” and how can remembrance and collective memory help deal with the past and make peace possible in a wider, local and international socio-political context where mere facts of a genocide are contested, and denial of genocide is normalized and accepted? As is for example, the case with Serbian political discourses in “Republika Srpska”, but also with awards like the Nobel Prize for Handke. These are just some of the topics that we will discuss in the panel with both authors.
Aidan Hehir – The Flowers of Srebrenica, translated into Albanian by Gazmend Bërlajolli and published by Qendra Multimedia
The book of Aidan Hehir “The flowers of Srebrenica” is inspired by his visit to the ‘Srebrenica Memorial Center’ and thematizes collective memory and the question of witnessing the truth and dealing with it in a post-war period. Underlined in this story is the need and struggle of people to deal with the trauma of the past by telling their own stories, but also through becoming witnesses and bearers of victims’ testimonies, and thus the truth that should not be forgotten. The immense heat in that particular day of this visit, in that summer day, somehow reflects the inner struggle of people searching for peace and reconciliation while remembering the painful past and the heat of the war which took the lives of so many.
Aleksandar Pavlovic – Imaginarni Albanac, translated into Albanian by Anton Berishaj and published by Qendra Multimedia
Pavlovic’s book “The imaginary Albanian” deals with questions of historical narratives and the construction of “truths” through Serbian nationalist folklore. It raises the question of how in an environment where there is little to almost no knowledge about “the other” stories are used to construct “the other”, in this case the Albanian, as the enemy that suddenly defines the core of the Serbian identity. This enemy is positioned at the core of justifying the survival of a nation, as a threat that must be destroyed to achieve it. In overall the author discusses Serbian folk poems of the 19th century and what he considers to be the birth of the construction of the Albanian as the enemy that threatens Serbs.
International Literature Festival – polip
Prishtina
11th Edition
10–13 September 2021
https://polipfestival.wordpress.com
http://www.qendra.org
PROGRAM
Friday, 10. 09. 2021
PANEL 1
16:00 – 17:30 Venue: Faculty of Philology, University of Prishtina
Literary criticism in the age of ‘cancel culture’
Panelists: Ralph Hammerthaler (DE), Jehona Kicaj (DE/RKS), Bardh Rugova (RKS).
Moderator: Valon Veliqi (RKS)
Discussion in German and Albanian
READINGS
19:00 – 21:00 Venue: Oda Theater
Official opening of the polip festival (Alida Bremer, Saša Ilić, Jeton Neziraj)
Readings with: Arlette-Louise Ndakoze (DE/RW), Dimitris Lyacos (GR), Francesca Borri (IT), Miloš Živanović (SRB), Etrit Hasler (CH/RKS), Arben Idrizi (RKS), Šaban Šarenkapić (SRB).
Musician: Arif Muharremi
Moderators: Saša Ilić (SRB) & Jeton Neziraj (RKS)
Cocktail
Saturday, 11. 09. 2021
PANEL 2
11:00–12:30 Venue: Oda Theater
Discussion on knowledge, art and language
Panelists: Arlette-Louise Ndakoze (DE/RW), Adela Demetja (ALB/DE), Genc Kadriu (RKS), Etrit Hasler (CH/RKS)
Moderator: Eli Krasniqi
Discussion in English.
PANEL 3
14:30 – 16:00 Venue: Oda Theater
Which books help us understand the world in 2021?
Panelists: Slavenka Drakulić (CRO), Dimitris Lyacos (GR), Nikola Madžirov (MKD)
Moderator: Miloš Živanović (SRB)
Discussion in English
READINGS
19:00– 21:00 Venue: Oda Theater
Readings with: Milica Denković (SRB), Nikola Madžirov (MKD), Jehona Kicaj (DE/RKS), Marko Dinić (AT/SRB), Danilo Stojic (SRB), Stanka Radjenović Stanojević (MNE), Alida Bremer (CRO/DE), Adelina Tërshani (RKS)
Musician: Arif Muharremi
Moderators: Saša Ilić (SRB) & Eli Krasniqi (RKS)
Sunday, 12. 09. 2021
PANEL 4
12:00 – 13:30 Venue: Oda Theater
On freedom, culture and free speech vs. “cancel culture”
Panelists: Francesca Borri (IT), Darija Davidović (AT/SRB), Agon Rexhepi (RKS), Ralph Hammerthaler (DE)
Moderator: Alida Bremer (DE/CRO)
Discussion in English
DISCUSSION
17:00–18:30 Venue: Oda Theater
Discussion with Elif Shafak
Moderation: Alida Bremer
Discussion in English.
READINGS
19:00– 21:00 Venue: Oda Theater
Readings with: Adela Demetja (ALB/DE), Halil Matoshi (RKS), Ralph Hammerthaler (DE), Genc Kadriu (RKS), Nurie Emrullai (MKD), Dhurata Hoti (RKS), Agon Rexhepi (RKS), Nora Prekazi Hoti (RKS)
Musician: Arif Muharremi
Moderators: Aurela Kadriu (RKS) & Kushtrim Sheremeti (RKS)
Panels / Debates & other events
Friday, 10. 09. 2021
PANEL 1
16:00 – 17:30 Venue: Faculty of Philology, University of Prishtina
Literary criticism in the age of ‘cancel culture’
Panelists: With: Ralph Hammerthaler (DE), Jehona Kicaj (DE/RKS), Bardh Rugova (RKS).
Moderator: Valon Veliqi (RKS)
Discussion in German and Albanian
For quite some time now the public cultural discourse in Kosovo has been plagued by a crisis of content and a threat of oblivion: with numerous media and media portals superficially covering political events and more seriously and profoundly covering the celebrities – while bypassing almost entirely the artistic creativity– many essential questions arise about how cultural discourse is constructed and more specifically, in our case, how is constructed an opinion on literary creativity. So, who writes literary criticism today in Kosovo? Who writes criticism today in Germany? What transformation has affected literary criticism in the age of being ‘politically correct’ and of ‘cancel culture’ and what impact does it have on reader and on writers?
This discussion deepens into the dimensions of the quality of literary criticism that is created today in Kosovo and Germany with a focus on its impact on the reader. In general, the discussion seeks to provide some essential answers about the landscape of literary publications in Germany and Kosovo by focusing on the impact of the ‘cancel culture’ movement on literary criticism as an indicator of the border between creative freedom and of being ‘politically correct’ within the cultural discourse.
Saturday, 11. 09. 2021
PANEL 2
11:00–12:30 Venue: Oda Theater
Discussion on knowledge, art and language
Panelists: Arlette-Louise Ndakoze (DE/RW), Adela Demetja (ALB/DE), Genc Kadriu (RKS), Etrit Hasler (CH/RKS)
Moderator: Eli Krasniqi
Discussion in English.
When researching in social sciences, the production of knowledge often remains western-centric, due to domination of western schools of thoughts and methodologies. Knowledge sometimes is shaped between framing and language. The form of the latter becomes more and more specialised which in turn hides the content more than it reveals. How can these issues be discussed in literature and visual arts?
This panel aims to further stir the discussion and involve intersectional experiences on knowledge, arts, and language, beyond the Western center ones.
PANEL 3
14:30 – 16:00 Venue: Oda Theater
Which books help us understand the world in 2021?
Panelists: Slavenka Drakulić (CRO), Dimitris Lyacos (GR), Nikola Madžirov (MKD)
Moderator: Miloš Živanović (SRB)
Discussion in English
The world is changing rapidly, and to grasp a point of orientation in it is not a simple task. It would seem that we necessarily need experiences of others, books that have perhaps offered explanations or more likely asked the questions about what is happening to us. Pandemic year 2020. has brought a strong renewed interests, for Camus, or Boccaccio, as if that once classical works have started to function as guides for maneuvering through the world of virus.
Public display of both the subordination predicament and the harassing treatment that women receive in cinematography business and entertainment industry, has created a wave of reviews, questions and new readings of literature, fiction and theory, and not only contemporary literature. Climate changes, migrant movements, wars, recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, alongside everlasting pandemic, are marking the year 2021. How to understand these processes and where to look for interpretations? Or correspondents?
In this conversation we intend to ask known authors about the books that maybe have become important to them in the last year, and about the reasons for that. In regional or global context, but also on the very personal level. What is it that draws our attention towards certain literature and what kind of books have become unavoidable in the past year? Polip Festival will afterwards try to assembly a list of literature that might serve as an intellectual beacon for 2021.
Sunday, 12. 09. 2021
PANEL 4
12:00 – 13:30 Venue: Oda Theater
On freedom, culture and free speech vs. “cancel culture”
Panelists: Francesca Borri (IT), Darija Davidović (AT/SRB), Agon Rexhepi (RKS), Ralph Hammerthaler (DE)
Moderator: Alida Bremer (DE/CRO)
Discussion in English
What is the relationship between freedom and freedom of expression, and when does the freedom of expression of one group threaten the freedom of another group?
In recent times two issues have dominated public debates, especially in the West: All identities have the same right to exist and they all demand equal treatment, but sometimes their interests are in opposition to one another. A protest against one opinion is often labelled “cancel culture”. Can racism, homophobia and transphobia be concealed under the cloak of blame for “cancel culture”? Or do we extend political correctness to the point of stifling art, humour, and debate? Has class been forgotten in the debate over identity politics as some leftist thinkers suggest? Is a poor, unemployed straight white male with no education still more privileged than a lesbian black girl with a university education from a wealthy family? Is it even possible to talk about group identities, especially in literature, which is primarily about individual destinies? Did the debate about the translation of Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem reach an impasse when the discussion became no longer about the quality of the translation but about the identity of the translators? Do these discussions put disadvantaged minorities at odds with themselves?
When does the free speech of some people become a disadvantage to others? When does the protection of minorities result in their ghettoization? How can minorities assert themselves in a world dominated by privileged majorities without reaching the dead end of intolerance? There are no easy answers to these questions, but in our panel we will try to explore the current discussions about these topics.
DISCUSSION
17:00–18:30 Venue: Oda Theater
Discussion with Elif Shafak
Moderation: Alida Bremer
Discussion in English.
Elif Shafak is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist. She has published 19 books, 12 of which are novels. She is a bestselling author in many countries around the world and her work has been translated into 55 languages. Her 2019 novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and RSL Ondaatje Prize; and was Blackwell’s Book of the Year. The Forty Rules of Love was chosen by BBC among the 100 Novels that Shaped Our World. The Architect’s Apprentice was chosen for the Duchess of Cornwall’s inaugural book club, The Reading Room. Shafak holds a PhD in political science and she has taught at various universities in Turkey, the US and the UK, including St Anne’s College, Oxford University, where she is an honorary fellow. She also holds a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Bard College.
International Literature Festival – polip
Prishtina
10th Edition
11–14 September 2020
https://polipfestival.wordpress.com
http://www.qendra.org
Program
Friday, 11. 09. 2020
19:30 – 20:00 – Meeting point: Former Qendra Multimedia venue (in front of Xhemail Mustafa school)
FM Poetry Drive, A poetical journey through Prishtina
Actors: May-Linda Kosumovic & Adrian Morina
Poems by: Sibel Halimi, Lulzim Haziri, Faruk Šehić, Tomislav Markovic, Nora Prekazi Hoti, Loer Kume, Plator Gashi, Katja Grcić and Ana Kove.
Curated by: Dukagjin Podrimaj & Florent Mehmeti
20:00 – 21:30 Venue: Oda Theater
Official opening of the polip festival (Alida Bremer, Saša Ilić, Jeton Neziraj)
Readings & music
Readings with: Bora Ćosić (SRB/DE), Anna Kove (ALB), Ariane von Graffenried (CH), Plator Gashi (RKS), Laura Freudenthaler (AUT), Tomislav Marković (RKS), Lulzim Haziri (MK).
Moderators: Saša Ilić (SRB) & Arif Muharremi (RKS)
Live music: Ilir Bajri (RKS)
Cocktail
Saturday, 12. 09. 2020
15: – 17:00 Venue: Oda Theater
Discussion Face to Face
Saša Ilić (SRB) and Jeton Neziraj (RKS)
In Albanian and Serbian with English translation
18:00–19:30 Venue: Online at Qendra Multimedia’s Facebook page
PANEL 1: Change your language!
Panelists: Izabela Kisić (SRB), Ivana Bodrožić (CRO), Dimitris Lyacos (GR)
Moderator: Una Hajdari (RKS)
Discussion in English
Readings
20:00– 21:00 – Venue: Oda Theater
Readings with: Sibel Halimi (RKS), Faruk Šehić (BiH), Loer Kume (ALB), Nurduran Duman (TU), Denijen Pauljević (SRB/DE), Anja Kampmann (AT), Aurela Kadriu (RKS), Svetlana Slapšak (SLO).
Moderators: Agron Bajrami & Jeton Neziraj
Sunday, 13. 09. 2020
13:00–13:45 Venue: Online at Qendra Multimedia’s Facebook page
Screening of the monodrama “02.08.1944” by Edis Galushi
18:00–19:30 Venue: Online at Qendra Multimedia’s Facebook page
PANEL 2 About the Freedom & About the Limits
Panelists: Alida Bremer (CRO/DE), Karen Kohler (DE), Ivana Skoja (CRO)
Moderator: Natasha Tripney
Discussion in English.
Readings & music
20:00– 21:30 – Venue: Oda Theater
Readings with: Nora Prekazi Hoti (RKS), Saša Ilić (SRB), Artrit Bytyçi (RKS), Lydia Haider (AT), Dimitris Lyacos (GR), Olivera Ćorveziroska (MK), Katja Grcić (CRO), Craig Chisholm (USA), Jeton Neziraj (RKS).
Moderators: Aurela Kadriu (RKS), Arif Muharremi (RKS)
Live music: Bystandr
Panels / Debates & other events
Friday, 11. 09. 2020
19:30 – 20:00 – FM Poetry Drive
A poetical journey through Prishtina
Actors: May-Linda Kosumovic & Adrian Morina
Poems by: Sibel Halimi, Lulzim Haziri, Faruk Šehić, Tomislav Markovic, Nora Prekazi Hoti, Loer Kume, Plator Gashi, Katja Grćic and Ana Kove.
Curated by: Dukagjin Podrimaj & Florent Mehmeti
FM Poetry Drive is a literary journey organized by polip festival in collaboration with the Festival of Arts in Public Space HAPU. The audience is invited to join us with their cars in front of the national Library of Kosovo and from there, with their cars or in an organized way by the festivals to follow this poetic journey towards the ODA Theatre where the official opening of the polip festival will take place. During this journey, through their radio FM frequencies, they will be able to listen to the poetry of some of the participating authors of the polip festival. The Festival of Arts in Public Space HAPU is organized by ODA Theatre and this year it has been conceptualized as HAPUDEMI. The festival will take place in the remaining part of 2020 through many artistic interventions which invite the audience and the artists to meet with each other in ways that current circumstances allow in physical public space and digital public space – the internet and information technology tools.
Saturday, 12. 09. 2020
DISCUSSION
15: – 17:00 Discussion: Saša Ilić (SRB) and Jeton Neziraj (RKS): Face to Face
Venue: Oda Theater
In Albanian and Serbian with English translation
Eleven years in between, ten editions of the polip – International Literature Festival. Over ten books published in Albanian and Serbian in Kosovo and Serbia, over three hundred writers and intellectuals involved. First and foremost, a healthy collaboration beyond political barriers, beyond media hostility, attacks and labelling, a collaboration has been built upon mutual trust, understanding and out of the need for change. For the change that goes beyond conflicts of the past, beyond today’s misunderstanding, beyond linguistic differences and any other difference – for the change that must reach to the people of all religions and ethnicities: Albanians and Serbs, Roma ad Turks, Macedonians and Croats. And all the others living in these areas.
This is a short balance of an intense and dynamic collaboration between Qendra Multimedia from Prishtina and Komuna Links [former Beton group] from Belgrade, through all these years. A tangible balance.
Sasa Ilić from Belgrade and Jeton Neziraj from Prishtina, two co-leaders and curators of the polip festival (who were later joined by Alida Bremer from Split) discuss with each other about these ten years of collaborations, the challenges, benefits, the impact and opportunities that this collaboration has created for writers, for the audience and for the societies in Kosovo and Serbia.
They will discuss without any moderator or mediator, just like they have been discussing and communicating for all these years.
PANEL 1
18:00–19:30 Venue: Online at Qendra Multimedia’s Facebook page
PANEL 1 Change your language!
Panelists: Izabela Kisić (SRB), Ivana Bodrožić (CRO), Dimitris Lyacos (GR)
Moderator: Una Hajdari (RKS)
Discussion in English.
Authors who use language for creating parallel worlds agree that the language they use in their literary works is the best one to express their deepest turmoil. Politicians consider the language they use on a daily basis (including English, used for official international communication) as the best sign system for resolving the issues their respective electorates encounter. The language(s) of mass media and social networks are becoming ever more dominant and it sometimes seems as if they actually shape our reality; these languages are in fact codes, comprising photographs, montage and message(s), with the visual aspect becoming a significant element of such languages. On the other hand, during this year the COVID-19 pandemic obliterated one crucial dimension from the human communication – namely, live personal contact, in which non-verbal expression and body language play an extremely important role.
The language used in literature and the one utilized in politics or the one employed by media and social networks, on the other hand, have never been the same. These are usually seemingly similar communication systems, but it always turns out in the end that the differences between them are substantial. There is a particularly significant difference between a kind of literature which strives to critically examine and reflect on our times, even during the pandemic, and politics. For this kind of literature to exist at all, it had to make its own language shift, especially in post-conflict zones, as was the case with the post-Yugoslav countries. The literature that has emerged in this region since the 1990s (and especially after the year 2000) has started a quiet revolution in discourse while attempting to distance itself from the 1980s literary production, which became way too close to the militaristic narratives of the mainstream politics.
The language of politics in the post-Yugoslav societies remained rather trapped in the past, not having the capacity to even validly describe the issues those societies have been facing (not to mention that resolving them is impossible if we are unable to even name the problems). Limited vocabulary, rigid use of grammar with frequent use of polite form of address, as the only signifier of the pro-European agenda, have led to the exhaustion of possibilities for solving deep political problems. The change of language is the only viable form of the system’s reform. Not speaking like we spoke yesterday – not writing like we wrote the day before yesterday – means not thinking like we did in all those past decades. Is this leap forward possible?
Sunday, 13. 09. 2020
13:00–13:45 Online screening of the monodrama “02.08.1944” by Edis Galushi
The monodrama “02.08.1944” was staged by Edis Galushi in January 2019 at the “Bekim Fehmiu” theatre in Prizren. This play talks about the victims among Roma population during World War II. While the exact figures or percentages remain unknown, historians estimate that the Germans and their allies killed up to 220,000 Roma people in Europe during the World War II genocide. In the Auschwitz camp alone, close to 23,000 Roma are said to have been imprisoned. The night of August 2, 1944 was known as the “final solution” for the Roma in Auschwitz. That night by order of SS leader Heinrich Himmler a total of 2,898 Roma were exterminated in the gas chamber. After the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945, only 4 Roma people survived. Through the personal story of the only character of this play is told the horrible treatment of the Roma before and during the Second World War. This project is supported by the Culture for Change program funded by the European Union, managed by the EU Office in Kosovo and implemented by Qendra Multimedia and the Goethe-Institut.
PANEL 2
18:00–19:30 About the Freedom & About the Limits
Venue: Online at Qendra Multimedia’s Facebook page
Panelists: Alida Bremer (CRO/DE), Karen Kohler (DE), Ivana Skoja (CRO)
Moderator: Natasha Tripney
Discussion in English.
“The limits of my language are the limits of my world” wrote Ludwig Wittgenstein, thus formulating a thought that still occupies us today: What can language do, what is it allowed to do? What can literature do, what should it do and what should it rather not do? Who decides about it, who judges?
How does literature relate to the construction of the sexes and how to the critic of this construction? How does literature relate to racist and sexist concepts? And does literature, because there must be freedom of art, stand above all other discourses? Where are the limits of freedom of expression and freedom of art, if it exists at all, and who decides about it? Is the person of the artist inviolable in the name of the freedom of art? When does criticism become censorship?
At the latest the debate on the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Peter Handke in 2019 showed that there is no agreement on these questions. While some believed that a poet has the right to stand up to journalists, lawyers and experts with his literary works, others believed that a poet must be committed to the truth and not to any ideology. But what is the truth? Is there a poetic truth that stands above a historical truth and above the experiences of “ordinary people”?
We want to discuss all these questions without promising that we will find a definitive answer to any of them.
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International Literature Festival – polip
Prishtina
9th Edition
10–13 May 2019
https://polipfestival.wordpress.com
http://www.qendra.org
&
International Graphic Novel Festival – GRANFest
1st Edition
10 – 12 May 2019
Program
Thursday, 9. 05. 2019
11:00 – 12:00 – Venue: Amphitheater of the National Library of Kosovo
Media conference (Gani Jakupi, Agron Bajrami & Jeton Neziraj) announcing the 1rst edition of the International Graphic Novel Festival and the 9th edition of the polip – International Literature Festival
Friday, 10. 05. 2019
19:00 – 21:30 – Venue: Modalarium, Faculty of Architecture
Official opening of the GranFest (Gani Jakupi & Agron Bajrami)
GranFest exhibition: Hermann (BE), Dave McKean (UK), Frank Margerin (FR), Fumio Obata (JP/UK), Aude Samama (FR), Tom Kaczinsky (USA), Marcello Quintanilha (BR), Ville Ranta (FIN).
Cocktail & music by Ilija Ludvig (SRB)
Official opening of the polip festival (Alida Bremer, Saša Ilić, Jeton Neziraj)
Readings
Lindita Ahmeti (MK), Sreten Ugričić (SRB/CH), Besnik Mustafaj (AL), Tom Kaczynski (USA), Olga Grjasnowa (AZ/DE), Tanja Raich (AT), Sarah Hehir (UK).
Moderators: Agron Bajrami (RKS), Alida Bremer (HR/DE)
21:30 – 00:00 – Venue: Menza Ramiz Sadiku
Live music: Ilija Ludvig (SRB)
Saturday, 11. 05. 2019
14:00–15:30 Venue: Qendra Multimedia
PANEL 1 Age of Opinions
Panelists: Melinda Nadj Abonji (CH), Ivana Bodrožić (CRO), Olga Grjasnowa (AZ/DE), Besnik Mustafaj (ALB), Robert Prosser (AT).
Moderator: Alida Bremer (CRO/DE)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
16:00–17:30 Venue: Qendra Multimedia
PANEL 2 Literary Deal – Revolutionary Road
Panelists: Veton Surroi (RKS), Sreten Ugričić (SRB/CH)
Moderator: Saša Ilić (SRB)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
20:00– 21:30 Readings
Melinda Nadj Abonji (CH/SRB), Robert Prosser (AT), Ivana Bodrožić (HR), Fumio Obata (JP/UK), Marek Šindelka (CZ), Ivana Maksić (SRB), Azem Deliu (RKS)
Homage to Bekim Lumi, with: Afrim Muçaj, Gresa Pallaska, Bujar Ahmeti.
Moderators: Jeton Neziraj (RKS), Sasa Ilić (SRB), Matteo Colombi (DE/IT)
21:30 – 00:00 Venue: Soma Book Station
Jam Session: Gani Jakupi (RKS/ES), Fumio Obata (JP/UK), Dave McKean (UK), and many others…
Sunday, 12. 05. 2019
11:00–12:30 Venue: Qendra Multimedia
PANEL 3 (GranFest) Creative vs. manipulative information
Panelists: Fumio Obata (JP/UK), Dave McKean (UK), Sarah Hehir (UK), Ville Ranta (FIN), Tom Kaczynski (USA), Marcello Quintanilha (ARG).
Moderator: Gani Jakupi (ES/RKS)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
15:00–16:30 Venue: Qendra Multimedia
PANEL 4 Paralelní polis, a dissident concept haunting the present
Panelists: Alida Bremer (HRV/DE), Lena Dorn (DE), Marek Šindelka (CZ), Shkelzen Maliqi (RKS)
Moderator: Matteo Colombi (DE/IT)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
20:00 – 00:00 Venue: Menza Ramiz Sadiku
Readings & music
Jasna Dimitrijević (SRB), Mariklena Niҫo (ALB), Eleni Suela Douxi (AL/GR), Petar Matović (SRB), Gerhard Meister (CH), Frank Margerin (FRA), Ermirë Vrella (RKS).
Readings from “The WORD LITERARY FORUM, a Spoken Word Co-op Project”: Gerhard Meister, Dragan Protić Prota and Shpetim Selmani.
Moderators: Shpetim Selmani (RKS), Lura Limani (RKS).
Live music: Arshikët e Gjakovës (RKS)
Complementary Program:
Friday, 10.05.2019 – Prishtina
11:00 – 12:30 Alliance Française.
(GRANFest)
Conversation with Aude Samama (FR)
Friday, 10.05.2019 – Prishtina
14:00 – 15:30 Restaurant Napoli
(by invitations only)
Reading and discussion with Melinda Nadj Abonji (CH/SRB)
Friday, 10.05.2019 – Gracanica
16:00 – 18:00 Civic Energy Center / Centar Gradjanske Energije
Reading and discussion with Petar Matović (SRB), Ivana Bodrožić (HR) Jasna Dimitrijević (SRB), Ivana Maksić (SRB).
Moderator: Alida Bremer (DE/HR)
Friday, 10.05.2019 – Prishtina
17:00 – 18:30 Alliance Française
Opening of the exhibition “Spirou4rights” featuring the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights depicted by Spirou’s most talented artists and authors. With Frank Margerin (FR)
The exhibition will be displayed until 17 May.
Saturday, 11.05.2019 – Prishtina
11:00 – 12:00 Menza Ramiz Sadiku
Small talk with: Besnik Mustafaj (ALB), Sreten Ugričić (SRB/CH), Hermann Huppen (BE), Frank Margerin (FR) & Literami (DE/IT/CZ).
Saturday, 11.05.2019 – Prishtina
12:00 – 13:30 American Corner at the National Library of Kosovo
GranFest Workshop with Tom Kaczynski
Sunday, 12.05.2019
17:00 – 20:00 – Kino Armata, Prishtina
International Graphic Novel Festival – GRANFest is having its first Edition this year from 10th – 12th of May 2019. Anibar is having its tenth edition this year from 15th till 21st of July. And all of this is happening during the week of Polip Festival which is having its 9th edition from 10th to 13th of May. We are cooperating to bring you the best of Anibar 2018 and a retrospective and presentation by Dave McKean at Kino Armata.
A glimpse into the edition which dealt with gender equality, women empowerment and women in animation; The Anibar 50/50 presented with the selection of the finest short animated films screened during the festival. The program covers a range of techniques, stories and emotions! Join us at Kino Armata this Sunday from 17:00
David McKean is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art and sculpture. At GRANFest Dave will be showing a program of shorts and clips as well as introduce the films himself.
Monday, 13.05.2019 – Prishtina
11:00 – 12:30 University of Prishtina
Reading and discussion with Gerhard Meister
Monday, 13.05.2019 – Prizren
14:00 – 15:30 University of Prizren (Library Österreich Punkt)
Reading and discussion with Tanja Raich
Monday, 14.05.2019 – Prishtina
17:00 – 18:30 Qendra Multimedia
Promotion of the book Beta testing the Apocalypse by Tom Kaczynski
Published in Albanian by GRANFest and translated by Agron Bajrami
Tuesday, 14.05.2019 – Prishtina
11:00 – 13:00 University of Prishtina (amphitheater of the Philological Faculty)
Reading and discussion with Robert Prosser
Panels & Debates
Saturday, 11. 05. 2019
PANEL 1
14:00–15:30 Age of Opinions
(Venue: Qendra Multimedia)
Panelists: Melinda Nadj Abonji (CH), Ivana Bodrožić (CRO), Olga Grjasnowa (DE), Besnik Mustafaj (ALB), Robert Prosser (AT).
Moderator: Alida Bremer (CRO/DE)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
Do you also have your opinion about measles vaccination, about climate change, about democracy, about refugee crisis, about EU, about bureaucracy in Buxelles, about neo-Nazis in Europe, about Greek debt, about Italian debt, about “yellow Vests” from France, about Islam, about headscarf? About pornography, about media, about Pope, about capitalism, about financial capitalism, about guilt in the First World War, about guilt in the Second World War, about gilt in the wars in former Yugoslavia, about guilt in the war in Syria, about guilt in the war in Ukraine, about Putin and Trump? And do you express this opinion in internet forums, social networks, Facebook and Twitter? Are you dialogue-oriented or do you just want to give your opinion to the world? And if you would want to find out more about these topics, which source would you choose? Wikipedia, Internet forums, online blogs? Do you even write essays, articles or books on these topics? How do you find out the facts about them, how do you actually form your opinion?
We live in the age of opinions. The ubiquitous access to information seems to increase our knowledge, but is that really true? On what basis do we form opinions? And what can literature do in this flood of opinions, postings, comments, self-made videos? What can literary criticism do in the age of Amazon and Goodreads commentaries? Whom do you believe, whom do we believe, whom can you believe at all in the epoche of internet?
PANEL 2
16:00–17:30 Literary Deal – Revolutionary Road
(Venue: Qendra Multimedia)
Panelists: Veton Surroi (RKS), Sreten Ugričić (SRB/CH)
Moderator: Saša Ilić (SRB)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
The recent history of peace building has noted several important moments that have changed the image of the modern world. One has changed the image of the post-WWII Europe (The Elysée Treaty – 1963), the second did the same for the image of the Balkans (The Prespa agreement – 2018). Even though the Brussels agreement was reached between Serbia and Kosovo back in 2013, almost no progress in its implementation has happened. This year it will be twenty years since the signing of the Kumanovo agreement, which ended the Kosovo War in June 1999, but reconciliation has not yet taken place. On the one hand, the European Union is to be held accountable for insisting on negotiators who are not fit for the historical task, on the other the local political elites are to be blamed, as they ignore the current social and cultural reality, denying that the cooperation between Serbia and Kosovo’s independent cultural scenes even exists. Is the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo possible, after all? How strong is the literary deal between these two countries? Is it possible to transform the political landscape that brought life to the standstill? History is telling us that it is possible. Possible, of course, if the deal is not about certain individuals profiteering from the frozen conflict, but instead is about the victory of culture and progress of society over the destructive politics of the past.
Sunday, 12. 05. 2019
PANEL 3 GranFest
(Venue: Qendra Multimedia)
11:00–12:30 Creative vs. manipulative information
Panelists: Fumio Obata (JP/UK), Dave McKean (UK), Sarah Hehir (UK), Ville Ranta (FIN), Tom Kaczynsku (USA), Marcello Quintanilha (ARG).
Moderator: Gani Jakupi (ES/RKS)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
One of the latest trends in graphic novels is graphic journalism. Its different forms (documentary, reportage and investigation) though far from unseating popular graphic genres, are gaining unstoppable momentum. Will this trend continue in a climate where non-fiction far outsells fiction? Is graphic journalism bringing a breath of fresh air to conventional journalism or does it seek to challenge it? And what is the role that graphic novels can play in our era of fake news?
PANEL 4
(Venue: Qendra Multimedia)
15:00–16:30 Paralelní polis, a dissident concept haunting the present
Panelists: Alida Bremer (CRO/DE), Lena Dorn (DE), Marek Šindelka (CZ), Shkelzen Maliqi (RKS)
Moderator: Matteo Colombi (DE/IT)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
The panel focuses on the concept of the „paralelní polis“ or the “parallell polis”. Originating in 1970s and 1980s Czechoslovak dissident thought it aimed at challenging the Socialist regime by establishing parallel cultural, political, educational, and economical structures. We want to discuss a) the potential ambiguity of dissident concepts such as the “parallel polis”, since on one hand, they played a key role during the country’s post-1989 transition to democracy, while, on the other hand, they also created the grounds for “parallel poleis” that programmatically discriminated agains certain groups of people (migrants, women, LGBTIQ*, intellectuals…); b) the relationship between the “parallel polis” and the main topic of this year’s polip festival, the “literary deal”; c) the relationship between the “parallel polis” and experiences from other countries, such as the alternative educational system created in Kosovo.
International Literature Festival – polip
Prishtina
8th Edition
18–21 May 2018
https://polipfestival.wordpress.com
http://www.qendra.org
Program 2018
Friday, 18. 05. 2018
19:30–20:00 Official opening of the polip festival
Qendra Multimedia, Prishtina
20:00–22:00 Readings and music
Dragan Velikić (SRB), Bashkim Shehu (ALB/ES), Evelyn Schalk (AT), Antoine Jaccoud (CH), Edi Matić (CRO), Miruna Vlada (RO), Gonca Özmen (TR), Nikola Madžirov (MK).
Moderators: Lura Limani (RKS), Saša Ilić (SRB)
Live music: Nita Latifi & Murat Bajrami (RKS)
Saturday, 19. 05. 2018
PANEL 1
15:00–16:30 Building Radically Progressive Society: A Women-Led Revolution in Rojava
Panelists: Agron Tufa (ALB), Ann Cotten (AT), Tinka Kurti (RKS), Laura Huerga (CAT), Elona Pira (ALB/USA)
Moderator: Svetlana Rakočević (SRB/GB)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
PANEL 2
17:00–18:30 Language and secession: contexts and policies
Panelists: Gonca Ozmen (TUR), Bashkim Shehu (ALB/ES), Alida Bremer(CRO/DE), Ardian Vehbiu (ALB/USA), Shkumbin Brestovci (KS)
Moderator: Lura Limani (RKS)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
20:00– 22:00 Readings and music
Hamam bar, Prishtina
Jürgen Jankofsky (DE), Ardian Vehbiu (ALB/USA), Rina Krasniqi (RKS), Matteo Colombi (DE), Majlinda Bregasi (ALB/IT), Josep M. Rodriguez (ES), Ann Cotten (AT), Manjola Nasi (ALB).
Moderators: Svetlana Rakočević (SRB/GB), Jeton Neziraj (RKS).
Live music: Lenhart Tapes ft. Mirjana Raić (SRB)
Sunday, 20. 05. 2018
PANEL 3
16:00–17:30 The Birth of Fascism From the Spirit of Poetry
Panelists: Antoine Jaccoud (CH), Zora Del Buono (CH), Matteo Colombi (DE), Manjola Nasi (ALB), Clemens Meyer (DE).
Moderator: Alida Bremer (CRO/DE)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
20:00 – 00:00 Readings and music
Qendra Multimedia, Prishtina
Susanna Rafart (CAT), Alida Bremer (CRO/DE), Zora Del Buono (CH), Tinka Kurti (RKS), Agron Tufa (ALB), Ilire Zajmi (RKS), Peter Wawerzinek (DE), Elona Çuliq (ALB), Clemens Meyer (DE).
Moderators: Sasa Ilić (SRB), Arif Muharremi (RKS)
Live music: Nezafete Shala & band (RKS)
Complementary Program:
Friday, 18.05.2018 – Prizren
Municipality Library of Prizren, from 11:00 to 12:00
Reading and discussion with Gonca Özmen (TR)
Saturday, 19.05.2018 – Prishtina
Soma book station, from 11:00 – 12:00
Small talk with: Dragan Velikic (SRB), Bashkim Shehu (ALB/ES), Ann Cotten (AT), Nikola Madzirov (MK), Majlinda Bregasi (ALB/IT).
Saturday, 19.05.2018 – Prishtina
Soma book station, from 12:00 – 13:00
Small talk with: Ardian Vehbiu (ALB/USA), Antoine Jaccoud (CH), Jurgen Jankofsky (DE), Clemens Meyer (DE).
Sunday, 20. 05. 2018, Prishtina
Oh, you lazy Sunday, you lazy Sunday…
Coffee, Cigarettes & Literature at Dit’ e Nat’, from 11:00
Monday, 21.05.2018 – Ferizaj
“Sadik Tafarshiku” Municipal Library of Ferizaj, from 11:00 – 12:00
Reading and discussion with Susanna Rafart (CAT), Josep M. Rodriguez (ES) and Laura Huerga (CAT).
Panels & Debates
Saturday, 19. 05. 2018
PANEL 1
15:00–16:30 Building Radically Progressive Society: A Women-Led Revolution in Rojava
Panelists: Agron Tufa (ALB), Ann Cotton (AT), Tinka Kurti (RKS), Laura Huerga (CAT), Elona Pira (ALB/USA).
Moderator: Svetlana Rakočević (SRB/GB)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
Can we think beyond the concept of the nation state? Is a democratic and truly equal society possible without the liberation of women from the oppressive system of patriarchal order? There is a radical experiment in direct democracy taking place in the Middle East, giving some answers to these questions, while putting women’s equality at the center of this process.
Democratic Confederalism (the “commune of communes”), as built up in Rojava in northern Syria, proposes a unique solution model for the fundamental conflicts of the Middle East. The borders, which were drawn by foreign powers one hundred years ago, continuously reproduce crises in the region. It is becoming increasingly clear that new border drawings/new nation states would not solve any of the problems either. Today the Kurds in Rojava and Bakûr (Southeastern Turkey) have become the new avant-gardes of the commune of communes. This model, based on ethnic and cultural pluralism, is currently being built up with the leading role of women. Formulated by Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, this is a form of libertarian socialism that focuses on social and environmental justice, with women at the heart of the struggle against all forms of exploitation (patriarchy, capitalism and the state).
This panel will look at how progressive forces in the Balkans can learn from the Rojava radical experiment and women’s revolution taking place there. Also, with the Turkish invasion of Afrin, we need to think together how this new vision of a radically progressive society that rejects reactionary nationalist ideology could be defended and implemented elsewhere.
PANEL 2
17:00–18:30 Language and secession: contexts and policies
Panelists: Gonza Özmen (TUR), Bashkim Shehu (ALB/ES), Alida Bremer(CRO/DE), Ardian Vehbiu (ALB/USA), Shkumbin Brestovci (KS)
Moderator: Lura Limani (RKS)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
Language and Secession: contexts and policies
When talking about national identity, language is the principal feature and signifier of origins, sameness or differences among nations and cultures. After the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, language played a crucial role in identity (trans)formation in the successor states. Language policies reinforced a differentiation as part of the separation of the former federation, just as a previous emphasis on commonalities between Slavic languages (and dialects) reinforced sameness.
In Kosovo, the struggle was different. The Albanian intellectuals of the Yugoslav province made concerted efforts to codify and standardize the Albanian language in line with their Albania. The ‘unification’ of Albanian language was decided with the Standard Albanian Language at the Congress on Language in Tirana in 1972. The standardized language, which was then adopted both in Kosovo and Albania favored the southern Albanian dialect toskë. After the 1999 war and with Kosovo becoming independent, the exclusion of the northern dialect became a matter of public discussion, raising questions on language, cultural identity, and national cohesion.
The former Yugoslav states, and Kosovo and Albania, are in no way unique. Drawing from other political and cultural contexts as well, this panel aims to discuss the relationship between language and secessions. In that regard, the main question of this panel remains: in what way does secession impact language, or how do language policies impact paths to secession?
Sunday, 20. 05. 2018
PANEL 3
16:00–17:30 The Birth of Fascism From the Spirit of Poetry
Panelists: Antoine Jaccoud (CH), Zora Del Buono (CH), Matteo Colombi (DE), Manjola Nasi (ALB), Clemens Meyer (DE)
Moderator: Alida Bremer (CRO/DE)
Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
Between September 1919 and the end of December 1920 there was an unusual state on the eastern Adriatic coast – Fiume, founded by Gabriele D’Annunzio / today Rijeka in Croatia. It was a state built on poetry, music and art, as well as on belief in and superior power of the Italian race. It is generally believed that with the conquest of Fiume, fascism took its course in Europe.
Gabriele D’Annunzio was a sensitive poet, great rhetorician, decadent dandy and an Italian militant nationalist. He wrote erotic novels of high stylistic virtuosity and bombastic plays overloaded with heavy symbolism and not terribly well suited to being performed. He wrote nationalist speeches in which there was a real firework of rhetorical stylistic devices. He was a fervent supporter of the idea of the Latin Mediterranean mare nostrum and of the Italian right to the entire Mediterranean. With his firm belief in the superior Italian culture and the Latin Übermensch, whom he saw as embodied in himself, he paved the way for the ideas of Mussolini.
D’Annunzio was not only the pioneer, but also the very designer of fascism: it is to him that we owe the black shirts, the Roman salute, the bald head, the speeches from the balcony, the torches, the martial calls like “Eia, Eia, Alalà!”. In Italy in particular, but also elsewhere in Europe, D’Annunzio‘s contemporaries celebrated him as a great artist and at the same time as hero and as prophet. But some authors were disturbed by that remarkable mixture of poetry, rhetoric, life as a narcissistic work of art, and nationalism. It is no coincidence that there is currently much interest in D’Annunzios conquest of Fiume – especially in the circles of the new right in Europe. D’Annunzio’s example is one of the best known, but there have been many writers in the history of literature who have taken on important roles in various political contexts, sometimes very influential or simply dangerous ones. How do we position ourselves to their work and their actions?
LITERARY REPUBLIC POLIP
Two referendums for independence were held in Autumn 2017 in regions which had fought long-standing battles just to make voting possible. Eventualy, the days for casting votes arrived and the whole world followed the referendum processes in Catalonia and Iraqi Kurdistan. However, both referendums were met with fierce rejection by their home countries, Spain and Iraq, and, indirectly, by the European Union, Turkey and the international community. Kurdish President Masoud Barzani resigned, even though 90 percent of the Kurds in Iraq voted for independence, as the results backfired and triggered a regional crisis. Immediately after the Catalan referendum, President Carles Puigdemont fled to Belgium amid fears that he was likely to be prosecuted, after Madrid had declared the referendum illegal. While Kosovo’s declaration of independence in February 2008 was followed by the recognition of the new country by over a hundred states around the world, Kurds and Catalans were left unrecognized and abandoned. While he was stepping down from power, Mr Barzani repeated that old saying that “the Kurds have no friends but the mountains”, as his people were betrayed once again by the international powers.
In the shadow of these dramatic political processes, a very vibrant cultural and literary scene exists, together with the civil and NGO sector, which could surely offer some response to these events – especially on the question of the role of a writer in unstable political times and climate. It was quite interesting to observe the reactions of writers after the Catalan referendum, especially those who have inclined toward right-wing positions (as in the case of Mario Vargas Llosa). What happened to Kurdish writers during that turbulent referendum period, what is happening with Kosovan writers today and has freedom there finally “learnt to sing as the poets have sung of it’?
The repercussions of these political events on the lives of individuals and communities are both grave and long-term. These events will also affect the cultural landscapes of these regions and their immediate surroundings. Curiously, one region is in the very heart of the European Union, while the other one is in one of the most unstable and violent zones of today’s world. We witness the phenomenon of permanent wars and migrations, while at the same time walls are being rapidly built and state borders fortified; this being the case not only with the outer borders of ‘Fortress Europe’ but also with its internal borders, which are much less open now than they were only ten years ago. We also have the case of the United Kingdom and its departure from the EU. Can we draw parallels with some other movements for independence around the world? Are we allowed to debate on why Brexit IS possible, while independent Catalonia IS NOT, or does that debate makes little or no sense? We witness also the ever greater globalisation and seeming convergence of the world, although arguably mainly in the sphere of economy, while simultaniously the gap between the rich and the poor is growing on both the local and the global level. How do the attempts for independence of Kurds and Catalan people fit into these turbulences?
Even though certain political figures persist in reminding us about the singularity and uniqueness of the Kosovo’s case, we are witnessing the slowing down of the political resolution of the ‘Kosovo question’, as outlined in the Strategy for enlargement of the EU in the Western Balkans recently adopted by the European Commission. Does this mean that senior EU officials have linked the three Ks (Kosovo, Katalonija, Kurdistan) and tried to create balance at the expense of Kosovo?
The international literary festival POLIP will attempt to deal with this topic as a blind spot of the international community, which at one point turned to violence in order to preserve the status quo and existing order of nation-states. For this reason we invite authors from different countries to take part in POLIP debates and public readings, hoping that their engagement will cast some light on the recent events and offer some ideas regarding the challenges of our near future.
Therefore the POLIP Festival and its zone of influence could be seen as a certain Free Literary Republic, where Machiavelli’s Prince and Plato’s State, Elfride Jelinek’s Piano Teacher and Svetlana Alexievich’s Chernobyl Prayer meet, like in the eponymous Ray Bradbury’s story; but, above all, POLIP festival is a zone for people who wants to freely discuss the future of the world we all live in and which concerns us all.
International Literature Festival – polip
7th Edition 12–14 May 2017
https://polipfestival.wordpress.com
http://www.qendra.org
Program 2017
Friday, 12. 05. 2017
Preview
14:00 – 15:00 Reading and discussion with Gregory Pardlo (USA) North Mitrovica / American Corner
19:30 – 20:00 Official opening of the polip festival Qendra Multimedia, Prishtina
20:00–22:00 Readings
Gregory Pardlo (USA), Aïcha Arnaout (SYR/FR), Miloš Živanović (SRB), Laurence Boissier (CH), Gani Jakupi (RKS/ ESP), Lura Limani (RKS), Shqiptar Oseku (RKS/SE), Nir Baram (ISR).
Moderators: Qerim Ondozi (RKS), Saša Ilić (SRB).
Live music: Ana Ćurčin (SRB)
Saturday, 13. 05. 2017
Panel discussion
16:00–17:30 Gender, Literature and Media: experiences of exile
Panelist: Aïcha Arnaout (SYR/FR), Entela Tabaku Sörman(SE), Kefah Ali Deeb (SYR/DE), Gani Jakupi (RKS/ESP), Bernhard Studlar (AT)
Moderator: Eli Krasniqi (RKS) Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
Panel discussion
18:00–19:30 Power by Bigotry – Defying Right-Wing Fury
Panelist: Gregory Pardlo (USA), Nir Baram (ISR), Theodoros Grigoriadis (GR).
Moderator: Una Hajdari (RKS) Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
20:00– 22:00 Readings
Intro / music and reading: Kralj Čačka (SRB)
Ghayath Almadhoun (PSE/SYR/SE), Entela Tabaku Sorman (ALB/SE), Nina Cara (ALB), Arben Idrizi (RKS), Theodoros Grigoriadis (GR), Bernhard Studlar (AT), Kefah Ali Deeb (SYR/DE), Bardh Frangu (RKS), Fatime Kosumi (RKS/DE).
Moderators: Jeton Neziraj (RKS), Jazra Khaleed (CHE/GR).
22:00 – 00:00 Live music: Kralj Čačka (SRB) at Hamam Bar Prishtina
Sunday, 14. 05. 2017
Panel discussion
16:00–17:30 Where I’m writing from: Literature in times of exile, diaspora, displacement
Panelists: Jazra Khaleed (CHE/GR), Ghayath Almadhoun (SYR/SE), Ekaterina Petrova (BG), Hamed Abboud (SYR/AT), Shqiptar Oseku (RKS/SE).
Moderator: Lura Limani (RKS) Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
Panel discussion
18:00–19:30 The Balkans as the Avant-garde
Panelists: Fatos Lubonja (ALB), Lura Limani (RKS), Miloš Živanović (SRB), Dinko Telećan (CRO)
Moderator: Saša Ilić (SRB) Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Fatos Lubonja (ALB), Jazra Khaleed (CHE/GR), Naime Beqiraj (RKS), Hamed Abboud (SYR), Ekaterina Petrova (BG), Rrona Jaka (RKS), Dinko Telecan(CRO), Shpëtim Selmani (RKS).
Moderators: Saša Ilić (SRB) & Eli Krasniqi (RKS) Live music: tandem / Blerta Kosova & Oda Haliti
Monday, 15. 05.2017
18:00 – 19:30 Reading and discussion with Gregory Pardlo (USA) National Library of Kosovo, Prishtina
Panels & Debates
Saturday, 13.05.2017
PANEL 1
16:00–17:30 Gender, Literature and Media: experiences of exile
Panelist: Aïcha Arnaout (SYR/FR), Entela Tabaku Sörman (SE), Kefah Ali Deeb (SYR/DE), Gani Jakupi (RKS/ESP), Bernhard Studlar (AT)
Moderator: Eli Krasniqi (RKS) Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
The immediacy that characterizes the way we access information today, together with many other technological advances, adds a new dimension to the issue of exile and to our experience of political unrests. In addition, media text often is used to further reinforce gender stereotypes for developing countries or countries in political crisis. Specifically in focus are women for whom the exile experience may be double burdened because of their gender identity and identity attached to them because of the country of origin. Does literature helps to break these stereotypical images? Do artists, especially women, find themselves in situation to reconcile the perceptions about them in the ‘hosting’ country with those in the country of origin? Do women writers in exile are considered as/reduced to cultural interpreters?
PANEL 2
18:00–19:30 Power by Bigotry – Defying Right-Wing Fury
Panelist: Gregory Pardlo (USA), Nir Baram (ISR), Theodoros Grigoriadis (GR).
Moderator: Una Hajdari (RKS) Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
The discussion will focus on the respective contexts in the countries that writers and intellectuals Gregory Pardlo, Nir Baram, Fatos Lubonja and Theodoros Grigoriadis live and work in. Their verse is vivid in its portrayal of the complex realities that the communities they write about have faced over time, and we will try to place these realities in the current global political and societal context. Comparisons will be drawn between the situation in Pardlo’s native U.S., which is facing one of its most turbulent presidencies to date, Greece, which is still suffering the consequences of austerity and an inadequate economic plan amidst rising right-wing movements, and Israel, where Baram writes about equal rights for Palestinians.
How does a writer react to the situation, and to what extent does it influence their contemplations on society?
Sunday, 14. 05. 2017
PANEL 3
16:00–17:30 Where I’m writing from: Literature in times of exile, diaspora, displacement
Panelists: Jazra Khaleed (CHE/GR), Ghayath Almadhoun (SYR/SE), Ekaterina Petrova (BG), Hamed Abboud (SYR/AT), Shqiptar Oseku (RKS/SE).
Moderator: Lura Limani (RKS) Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
Human history is no stranger to migration, but it is in the age of global capital–sustained by transnational institutions, corporations and cooperation that we have witnessed the radical acceleration of all kinds of movement. In 2015, 244 million people were international migrants (living outside the country they were born in), and 20 million of these were refugees. ‘The refugee crisis’; the permanent state of war; the looming climate disaster; and the nationalist reawakening accompanying these phenomena raise questions about the role of the writer, especially the migrant writer, in what often feels like the end of time.
From Dante to Danticat, exile and heimweh, a longing for the lost home and ambiguity towards the newly found shelter and self have been at the heart of literature. This spatial and temporal experience marks the relation of the writer to their surroundings, the ties to their ‘homeland,’ the acceptance and rejection of their adopted home. What does this relation mean for contemporary writers? How can we define the tension between home and elsewhere today? How does it affect our language? How does that reflect on our imagined addresses – to whom do we write, and in what language do we address them? How does our spatial positioning force us to define ourselves and our work – who we are and what we do?
PANEL 4
18:00–19:30 The Balkans as the Avant-garde
Panelists: Fatos Lubonja (ALB), Lura Limani (RKS), Miloš Živanović (SRB), Dinko Telećan (CRO).
Moderator: Saša Ilić (SRB) Translation into English and Albanian will be provided.
Charles Simic, an American poet of Serbian descent, observed in 2012 that “widespread ignorance bordering on idiocy is our new national goal”, referring to the United States of America four years before Trump even came to power. It seems that he was right. In addition, he claimed that the educated, well informed population is the only possible foundation of a true, functioning democracy. If politicians of dubious qualities come to power through the democratic process, then it is clear that the voters’ insight, knowledge and ability to make informed decisions should be questioned.
Simic does not offer any solutions to the issues he highlights. However, like himself, we – the participants of the Polip festival – feel urged to debate these issues, as they relate not only to global politics, but to regional politics as well. Furthermore, this is not the first time that the global events have had its most pronounced form in the Balkans. Whereas the great majority of people in the Western world are stunned by the latest developments and the spirit that has prevailed – not only in the United States, but in the EU too – the people in the Balkans are well used to the complex relations between ignorance and intelect, truth and lies, democracy and dictatorship. We could say that, in fact, the Balkans appear to be the avangarde, like it has been many times in the past, even though in the Western imagination it exists as a backward place. But, who was the first to spread fake news in order to create conditions for inciting hatred? Who was the first to mobilise masses and create policies using “alternative facts“? Who was the first to use the democratic process in order to gain power, only to abolish democratic institutions immediately after being elected? Hardly anyone could deny the Balkans all the hard work and the fervour put in creating this type of politics – without doubt this region merits the avant-garde status.
THE AGE OF BIGOTED
Literature in Exile/Elites in A Political Fever
The political arena has been shaken significantly in the year we have left behind– BREXIT, Trump’s victory, the rise of the right-wing populism across Europe – which,in turn, will bring about many changes. The Chinese ancient curse‘May you live in interesting times’, often quoted by Hanna Arendt in discussions on political crisis, comes to mind. A massive flux of refugees and migrants, with the right-wing on the rise, has exposed cultural, ethnic and religious tensions lurking beneath the surface in Europe. The post-Communist countries, including those in the Western Balkans striving to enter the EU, have also been deeply affected by the political turbulences, mainly because of their corrupt governments and the lack of tangible economic development.
A recent period which was marked by progress, albeit conditional, towards a more stable Western Balkans has now been replaced by a tumultuous phase of permanent provocations and suspended dialogue. In place of talks, the political elites chose instead high-risk performance acts. At the moment both Serbia’s and Kosovo’s political elites operate outside of The Brussels Agreement framework, while simultaneously maintaining their pledge that the process of normalization of their relations has no alternative. The relations between Belgrade and Zagreb, and between Belgrade and Sarajevo, are not much better either. The opposition in these countries offers no political solutions, while some representatives of the opposition demand radicalization of the relations or even for the dialogue to be completely abandoned. In such circumstances culture and literature are threatened by being subjected to ideological interferences and exposed to increased surveillance. Literature is,hence,forced into exile – both an external and internal one. In the spheres of culture and literature it is possible to look for the answers that politics is unable to offer, openly refusing to confront the problems in the first place. Finally, literature doesn’t offer solutions, that’s not its purpose, but rather proposes critical examination of the political and cultural processes, as Predrag Matvejević (1932-2017), one of the most prominent intellectuals of the Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav period, said in the past.
For many, if not for the majority, migration is the exit strategy from the political and economic crisis. Whereas some people from this part of the world want to leave ‘home’, others are forced to leave ‘home’ – predominantly people from Syria and other countries in the Middle East,thus confirming the state of exile as an inevitable part of the human condition.
The immediacy that characterizes the way we access information today, together with many other technological advances,adds a new dimension to the issue of exile and to our experience of political unrests. In line with this, one could pose a question – does literature adopt a new dimension of creation and consumption? How does literature respond to mobility (or a lack thereof)and to the idea of home or multiple ‘homes’? Simultaneously, saturation with images portraying political crisis, makes literature a space of possibilities, a bridge to plurality of experiences of the self in relation to others, of new spaces in relation to the known ones. The very use of language, being the sole medium of writers, enables us to grasp the complexity of human condition in a profound way.
‘Polip’, the International literature festival taking place in Pristina 12-15 May 2017 will bring together thirty authors from different parts of the world, some of them living and working in exile.
International Literature Festival – polip
6th Edition 13–15 May 2016
https://polipfestival.wordpress.com
http://www.qendra.org
Program 2016
Friday, 13. 05. 2016
19:00 – 19:30 Intro: Martin Bieri and Fitzgerald & Rimini
19:30 – 20:00 Offical opening of the polip festival
20:00–22:00 Readings
Xhevahir Spahiu (ALB), Viveka Sjögren (SE), Rosa Pock (AT), Flutura Açka (ALB), Bojan Babić (SRB), Donika Dabishevci (RKS)
Moderators: Qerim Ondozi (RKS) & Saša Ilić (SRB)
Live music: Ah Ahilej (SRB)
Saturday, 14. 05. 2016
Panel discussion
16:00–17:30 How can we speak about the contemporary moment?
Panelists: Mehmet Yashin (CYP), Peter Ahorner (AT), Katrin Thomaneck (DE), Annette Rosengren (SE), Jan Böttcher (DE)
Moderator: Alida Bremer (DE/HR)
Translation into English will be provided.
Panel discussion
18:00–19:30 What kind of literature do we need?
Panelists: Luljeta Lleshanaku (ALB), Rumena Bužarovska (MK), Bojan Babić (SRB), Xhevdet Bajraj (RKS/MEX), Rosa Pock (AT), Viveka Sjogren (SE)
Moderator: Saša Ilić (SRB)
Translation into English will be provided.
20:00– 22:00 Readings Xhevdet Bajraj (RKS/ MEX), Rumena Bužarovska (MK), Luljeta Lleshanaku (ALB), Peter Ahorner (AT), Annette Rosengren (SE), Jan Böttcher (DE), Mehmet Yashin (CYP) Moderators: Ardiana S. Prishtina (RKS) & Svetlana Rakočević (SRB/UK) Music and readings: Martin Bieri and Fitzgerald & Rimini (CH)
Sunday, 15. 05. 2016
Panel discussion
16:00–17:30 Theatre of the newcomers
Panelist: Sabine Kock (AT) Martin Bieri (CH), Stefan Schletter (DE), Senem Cevher (TR), Viveka Sjögren (SE), Ralph Hamerthaler (DE)
Moderator: Jeton Neziraj (RKS)
Translation into English will be provided.
Readings&discussions
18:00–19:30 Writing by the “politically inappropriate” of 1980’s
Readings & discussions by: Shukrije Gashi (RKS), Dije Neziri Lohaj (RKS), Shemsije Elshani (RKS), Myrvete Dreshaj Baliu (RKS)
Moderator: Eli Krasniqi (RKS)
Translation into English will be provided.
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Sabina Viktor Veizaj (ALB), Vladimir Tabašević (SRB), Svetlana Rakočević (SRB/UK), Katrin Thomaneck (DE) Gëzim Aliu (RKS), Gjergj Anton Filipaj (RKS)
In Memoriam: Home and World: Ales Debeljak as a child of Atlantis
Moderators: Alida Bremer (DE/HR) & Jeton Neziraj (RKS)
Live music: Bajram Kafu Kinolli & Faruk Banjska (RKS)
Panels & Debates
Saturday, 14.05.2016
PANEL 1
16:00–17:30 Literature and crisis: How can we speak about the contemporary moment?
Panelists: Mehmet Yashin (CYP), Peter Ahorner (AT), Katrin Thomaneck (DE), Annette Rosengren (SE), Jan Böttcher (DE) Moderator: Alida Bremer(DE/HR)
The refugee crisis and the crisis of the European Union create a painful impression that we are at the moment dealing with a very serious crisis. We feel that the world is getting closer, and on the other hand we feel that the conflict borders cut through our societies. How can we speak and write about this?
Can literature act beyond the other public discourses? Can literature change something? How does the literature respond to the contemporary problems? Is a reaction to immediate reality the task of literature at all? The range of topics that move contemporary writers is very large: freedom of speech, boundaries of politically correct speech, exploring of values, researching conflicts and transferring them into literary imagination, searching for the causes of the conflicts, discovering unknown aspects of the past.
Which aesthetical, ethical and political values do refugees bring into the polyphony of European voices? And are we capable of understanding them?
Some of the questions are more theoretical, others are more practical: In contemporary Arabic world writers are often persecuted, even sentenced to death; European authors have made such experiences in various totalitarian regimes in the past – is it possible to learn from experiences of each other and how we can show solidarity with persecuted writers?
In an open conversation we will approach the most important issues that today move writers and the world of literature.
PANEL 2
16:00 – 17:30 What kind of literature we need?
Panelists: Luljeta Lleshanaku (ALB), Rumena Bužarovska (MK), Bojan Babić (SRB), Xhevdet Bajraj (RKS/ MEX), Rosa Pock (AT)
Moderator: Saša Ilić (SRB)
Translation into English will be provided.
There are no easy answers to complex issues. Therefore maybe art, in all its forms, is the most equipped to respond to the contemporary moment using the power of its expression. That is also why we need literature – to explore the reality in the complicated world of our days.
One of the important questions is the question on the relationship between politics and literature. There is an infinite subject and it has not lost its relevance in our time. Even if the literature completely ignores political issues, it can be very political. That seems to be a paradox, but the literature is never created in a vacuum.
In this discussion we will also talk about the priorities of the literary work in our countries. In different countries there are different priorities of the current problems. Therefore literary works include this local component. These differences make the translated literature so interesting for us – we can learn from translations lot about other societies.
But on another hand literature offers us a way to consider the essential human dilemmas, the ones that never change. It’s why some books are so important for us — not because what they describe is so different from our experience, but because it is essentially the same.
Sunday, 15. 05. 2016
PANEL 3
16:00–17:30 Theatre of the newcomers
Panelist: Sabine Kock (AT) Martin Bieri (CH), Stefan Schletter (DE), Senem Cevher (TR), Viveka Sjögren (SE), Ralph Hammerthaler (DE)
Moderator: Jeton Neziraj (RKS)
Among the hundreds of thousands of refugees that have come from the Middle East, a few dozen or perhaps hundreds are theater artists. Some of them are already located in various states in Europe; others are on the way, coming…!
What are the challenges and opportunities for refugees who are theater professionals? How many of them can be integrated into theaters in Germany, Switzerland, Austria or Turkey and how can this be done? Are these refugees, the new “exotics”, people with whom everyone wants to collaborate? What kind of potential might they bring to our theaters today?
And another thing: what are the real problems of refugees that European theater can and should be addressing today?
While the public is being bombarded with news stories and information by the media, from politicians, from pro and anti-refugee groups, is it (or could it become) the theater that provides space for a third voice, which has so far been missing?
Dealing with the fate of refugees and their problems, articulating their experience of suffering, their needs and demands, can we presume that in this manner, the theater could indirectly represent those (refugees) to the receiving society?
Alternatively, can we agree that as the majority of theaters in Europe (especially independent theaters), are in a continual financial crisis, topics regarding refugees and emigrants are “attractive” precisely because they might also raise money more easily?
PANEL 4
18:00–19:30 Writing by the “politically inappropriate” of 1980’s
Readings & discussions by: Shukrije Gashi (RKS), Dije Neziri Lohaj (RKS), Shemsije Elshani (RKS), Myrvete Dreshaj Baliu (RKS)
Moderator: Eli Krasniqi (RKS)
Translation into English will be provided.
In 1980’s, Albanian political prisoners made around 80% of the total number of the imprisoned in Yugoslavia (Dragovic-Soso, 2002, quoted from Cocozelli, 2009:41). Some of the Albanian prisoners (perhaps majority) were part of the underground movement, known as the Ilegalja [Illegality]. This movement comprised various groups of young women and men, who since the end of the Second World War had adopted different programs in response to the political circumstances of the times in question. Right after the war, some of these groups aimed unification with Albania and by years of 1980’s – the creation of an Albanian Republic within Yugoslavia. Throughout all these period, the common denominator of all these groups was fighting against Yugoslav discrimination toward Albanians. Once imprisoned, the Ilegalja activists were systematically tortured, in contravention of all norms and rights guaranteed by international conventions. In the movement in general, especially in 1980’s, the activism of women was particularly important, not just on national, but also on gender grounds – concretely, by raising awareness among women about their rights. Literature was one of the ways which activism expressed ideals about freedom, diversity, life and equality. For some of the political prisoners, (some of whom were poets before they were imprisoned), writing was a survival mechanism inside prison, as well during the difficult times after prison. Literature written by women activists in the movement and those who were political prisoners communicate between time and reality, often still entirely unaccepted and sometimes even distorted. As part of the international poetry festival, “polip”, Alter Habitus has invited some poets, activists and former political prisoners from the 1980’s, to read their texts and then to discuss this literature, as a form of expression from brutal political times. Besides the importance of this creativity as a literary genre or as art of resistance, the panel will also be discussing or pose questions such as – how does this literature resists partial collective political amnesia in a patriarchal and transitional society like Kosovo.
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FRIDAY, 22.05.2015
19:30 – 20:00 Offical opening of the polip festival
20:00 – 00:00
Readings
Fatos Kongoli (AL), Biljana Srbljanović (SRB), Primož Repar (SI), Alida Bremer (GER), Elfriede Czurda (AU), Jurij Hudolin (SI), Margret Kreidl (AU).
Moderators: Qerim Ondozi (RKS) & Saša Ilić (SRB)
Live music: Nezafete Shala & band
SATURDAY, 23.05.2015
11:00 – 13:00
Let’s talk about freedom 1: How to Defend the Media Freedom?
Panelists: Elke Schmitter (GER), Hubert Spiegel (GER), Ralph Hammerthaler (GER)
Moderator: Alida Bremer (GER)
Translation into English will be provided.
17:00 – 18:30
Let’s talk about freedom 2: Freedom and repression in the Balkan states: Creating cultural and political alternatives as a platform for joint future
Panelists: Biljana Srbljanović (SRB), Veton Surroi (RKS), Arina Leka (ALB), Marko Pogačar (CRO)
Moderator: Saša Ilić (SRB)
Translation into English will be provided.
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Veton Surroi (RKS), Tanja Šljivar (BiH), Marko Pogačar (CRO), Stanislava Chrobáková Repar (SI), Edmond Tupja (ALB), Elke Schmitter (GER), Ervina Halili (RKS)
Moderators: Besa Shahini (RKS) & Jeton Neziraj (RKS)
Music: tbc
Sunday, 24.05.2015
15:00–17:00
Let’s talk about freedom 3: Freedom, literature, censorship: What are we allowed to write, here and now? How the market, past, politics and religion influnce the literary production in the region
Panelists: Margret Kreidl (AU), Edmond Tupja (ALB), Primož Repar (SI), Tanja Šljivar (BiH), Stanislava Chrobáková Repar (SI)
Moderator: Arian Leka (ALB)
Translation into English will be provided.
17:00–18:30
Let’s talk about freedom 4: Let’s talk about ‘sex/gender’ baby!
Panelists: Miroslava Malešević (SRB), Ervina Halili (RKS), Fjolla Hoxha (RKS), Stanislava Chrobáková Repar (SI)
Moderator: Eli Krasniqi (RKS)
Translation into English will be provided.
20:00 – 00:00
Readings
Fjolla Hoxha (RKS), Miroslava Malešević (SRB), Balsor Hoxha (RKS), Ralph Hammerthaller (GER), Vasko Raičević (MN), Vesa Qena (RKS), Arian Leka (ALB),
Moderators: Eli Krasniqi (RKS) & Arian Leka (ALB)
Live music: Edona Reshitaj & band
Panels & Debates
Saturday, 23. 05. 2015
11:00 – 13:00 Let’s talk about freedom 1: How to Defend the Media Freedom?
According to HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_Without_Borders”Reporters Without Borders, more than a third of the world’s people live in countries where there is no press freedom. How are media freedom and freedom of speech defined? What are their main principles? What is the journalistic ethics? Are there self-censorship or unintentional errors of prejudice and ignorance in the best European media and how to deal with it as a conscientious journalist? Are there other repressions beyond the political, for example those of the market? What is the relationship of the German media to politicians and other powerful people in their country? Do the media make influence upon social processes? These and similar questions Alida Bremer as moderator will interview the three guests from Germany, all of which have great experience in journalism and working for major German newspapers: Elke Schmitter (Der Spiegel), Hubert Spiegel (FAZ) and Ralph Hammerthaler (freelance writer of various newspapers ).
17:00 – 18:30 Let’s talk about freedom 2: Freedom and repression in the Balkan states: Creating cultural and political alternatives as a platform for joint future
We live in the times when all kind of rights and freedoms are violated – human, intellectual, creative and media ones. On the other hand, we can observe the rise of neo-liberal democracies in Europe taking the form of democracy, but suspending at the same time the fundamental rights and freedoms that used to be garanteed before. Those countries are recognised and supported because they seemengly fit into the ″acceptable″ ideology and current state of affairs. Such developments can be observed in the Balkans too, in the states formed after the break up of Yugoslavia. In which ways do these political developments affect the cultural sector and politics in general in these countries? In which ways are various forms of democratic developments turning against those who strive to preserve the basic rights and freedoms? What is lurking behind the idea of ″free market″ in these new states, where is the repression beginning to take place and how can one become aware of it? Are literature, theatre and the arts governed by the free market principles and what is the future of alternatives in the cultural sector? Has the concept of reconciliation in the region from year 2000 and onwards affected the cultural exchange in the Balkans and in which way?
Sunday, 24.05.2015
15:00–17:00 Let’s talk about freedom 3: Freedom, literature, censorship: What are we allowed to write, here and now? How the market, past, politics and religion influnce the literary production in the region
Each literary scene has its own tested and proved mechanisms, which are used to manage production and representation of cultural products, as well as the whole infrastructure of performing, publishing and presenting of literary awards. Touching upon the issue of censorship, only a rare EU official will confirm that censorship really exists. In the Balkans, the critical articles about those in power and about how the domain of public disourse is controlled can only be found in media outlets of the opposition. Generally, all forms of political or cultural subversive activity are declared illegal, destructive, against the state and even terroristic. Which place do literature and the arts occupy in these circumstances then? Is the domain of cultural activity restricted and by which forces exactly? What are we not allowed to write and talk about, and where do the signals that tell us that a topic is unwelcome or a taboo come from? Is satire under attack and is it just the religion which happens to be intolerant towards different forms of parody and artistic exposure of many issues, including social and cultural stereotypes?
17:00–18:30 Let’s talk about freedom 4: Let’s talk about ‘sex/gender’ baby!
There is a general perception that after the fall of socialism, societies in Western Balkans, or concretely in former Yugoslavia, have been re-traditionalized. In this line, if we accept this, one has to discuss also literature, and the impact (if any) of feminism, especially the aspect of language. Do women still remain objects of desire in literature rather then subjects? What is the language that women writer, or men writers use? Can literature be gender emancipatory? Does today’s literature still reinforce gender stereotypes? Do we need to de-romanticize literature so we could break down the clichés of metaphorical language about women? How can we break free from essentalization and moralization of women’s lives, women’s bodies, women’s voice in literature? Are there attempts from philologists or literature researchers to dig deeper about women writers? Some of them not even put to the surface. Is there a space within Universities for such researches? These are some of the questions that this panel will discuss by bringing examples of literature developments from countries in the region.
All activities happening in Qendra Multimedia
polip – International Literature Festival
5th Edition
22-24 May 2015
Organized by Qendra Multimedia, Prishtina
in cooperation with RK LINKS / Beton International, Belgrade
________________________________________________________________
Friday, 16.05.2014
15:30 – polip 2014: Press conference
16:00 – 17:30 The surveillance of literature 1: Book promotion + debate
Panelists: Visar Zhiti (AL), Filip David (SRB), Smajl Smaka (RKS)
Moderator: Adil Olluri (RKS)
20:00 Offical opening of the polip festival
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Eli Krasniqi (RKS), Filip David (SRB), Visar Zhiti (AL), Lisiana Demiraj (AL), Vladimir Arsenijević (SRB),
Moderator: Jeton Neziraj (RKS) & Saša Ilić (SRB)
Music: Unplugged: Edona Reshitaj
Saturday, 17.05.2014
15:00 – 16:30 The surveillance of literature 2: what can not be translated
Panelists: Zuzana Finger (DE), Hans-Joachim Lanksch (DE), Ulrike Syha (DE), Kim Komljanec (SI), Hakan Silahsizoglu (TUR)
Moderator: Blerina Rogova Gaxha (RKS)
Translation: Rexhep Bajrami (RKS)
17:00 – 18:30 The surveillance of literature 3: Contemporary literature, theater and the new political realities in the other EU
Panelists: Neda Nezhdana (UA), Andreas Flourakis (GR), Anja Quickert (DE)
Moderation: Boris Postnikov (HR)
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Neda Nezhdana (UA), Tomislav Marković (SRB), Kim Komljanec (SI), Jurij Hudolin (SI), Andreas Flourakis (GR), Zlatko Paković (SRB), Arian Leka (AL)
Moderation: Lulzim Haziri (MK) & Eli Krasniqi (RKS)
Music: Ana Ćurčin & Stray Dogg (Dukat) (SRB)
Sunday, 18.05.2014
17:00–19:00 The surveillance of literature 4: View on the future: Cultural cooperation between Prishtina and Belgrade 1989–2014
Panelists: Borka Pavićević (SRB), Shkelzen Maliqi (RKS), Jeton Neziraj (RKS), Saša Ilić (SRB), Tomislav Marković (SRB)
Moderator: Zlatko Paković (SRB)
Translation: Rexhep Bajrami (RKS)
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Shkëlzen Maliqi (RKS), Ardiana Shala Prishtina (RKS), Saša Ilić (SRB), Arber Selmani (RKS), Hristo Boytchev (BG), Adil Olluri (RKS), Hana Dalipi (RKS/SRB)
Moderator: Hana Marku (RKS) & Jurij Hudolin (SI)
Music: polip jazz night with Enes Bajramliq (drums), Ilir Bajri (keys) and Dukagjin Muhaxheri (sax)
Panels:
The surveillance of literature 1: Book promotion + debate
Reading and promotion of the book “Ëndrra per dashurine dhe vdekjen” [“Dreams of love and death”] by Filip David, author from Serbia, translated into Albanian by Smajl Smaka. Visar Zhiti, a poet from Albania, and Adil Olluri, writer from Kosovo will talk about the book. The author, the translator and the two speakers will also discuss literary translations and literary exchange in the context of Balkan. How much do we read one another, and can literature go beyond the usual prejudice and animosities of the people of the Balkans. Is anyone actually interested today in translating and exchanging literature amongst the people of Balkans?
The Surveillance of Literature 2: What cannot be translated
Translating literature is a reoccurring issue that has been present throughout all periods of literature. But how does literature rise above its own linguistic limitations? How much has Albanian literature been translated into German, and what is the role of translators from Albanian in German and vice-versa?
Albanian is a particular and complex language when it comes to its morphological and syntax structure. So, what are the challenges of translating Albanian literature into German?
What are the chances that the work of Albanian author finds its light in German? Does this depend on the quality of literature, the subject theme, or how it talks about the present, or is it simply, chance and individual efforts? How does translation determine the fate of the translated work, how much it is accepted or refused when it goes beyond its language barriers?
What is the difference or what are the main differences between translating literature and other kinds of works? Are the skills and the talent of the translator the most important thing, or do ethics play a role too.
Translation is not only about words, but also about where those words come from. How much does the translator need to know about the writer, the culture of the language that they the belong to and its tradition?
Through translation we manage to know literature, great works of art, the cultures and the mindsets of other people. How do we approach translation of literature today, so we don’t get lost in translation?
The surveillance of literature 3: Contemporary literature, theater and the new political realities in the other EU
The crises in Ukraine, after the economic crises of Greece, have created a new political reality in Europe. Borders re-appeared again as an issue and a parallel is being drawn often between Kosovo and Crimea. What exactly happens to literature and theater in these circumstances, in these countries that are referred to as “the other European Union” (former countries of Eastern Europe)? How does literature and theater address these “emergent” political and social issues? Is the word “engaged” automatically added to literature and theater that is created during the time of “crises” and do writers (of literature and theater) have enough courage to look beyond the national lines of the problem? On the other hand, how are these political and social crises dealt with by the literature and theater of “spectator” countries, respectively, countries that follow these crises only through media! What is actually considered “sexy” to be treated by the European theater? Theater and literature vs. political and social crises in the other Europe.
The surveillance of literature 4: Looking into future: Cultural cooperation between Pristina and Belgrade from 1989 – 2014
The problem of cooperation between cultural scenes of Pristina and Belgrade ever since the fall of the Berlin wall and after Yugoslavia’s melt down, until today, is an important topic to discuss, in its historical, political and cultural sense. Considering that that for a long time there was almost no contact at all, misunderstanding ensued and as ethnical stereotypes from the past were reinforced, at one point the two sides could only look at one another from this perspective. Even in such a state, when we look back, a few important historical bits and pieces happened in different segments of cultural industry: in visual arts, theater, performances and literature. The publishing of the cross anthologies From Pristina with love and From Belgrade with love in 2011, with the support of TRADUKI, marked the beginning of a new period of reading one another’s works, between authors of Kosovo and Serbia, but also on a wider context of the region. On how important these non-institutional initiatives were, that only happened more and more often afterwards, and how these activities helped establish a peaceful process of dialogue, this all will be discussed by our panelists who during the 1990ties and onwards have contributed in overcoming the conflict through artistic projects.
Music:
Ana Ćurčin & Stray Dogg (Dukat) (SRB) are independent musicians that have been intensively occupying Belgrade and regional indie scene in past two years, performing on the most prominent festivals such as Exit Festival in Novi Sad and travelling around Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia. These young, talented and beautiful voices have been uniting for some time now, from the Americana Festival in Belgrade all over the Belgrade club scene which has always been packed. Next to their own songs, they line up with careful choice of covers which they interpret in a stripped down acoustic arrangements with all their sensibility and carefulness, bringing the new life to classics of Neil Young , Portishead, Elliot Smith etc.
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All activities will happen at:
Qendra Multimedia
Rr. Idriz Gjilani 7/9 – 1
Lagja Dardania
(Përballë Shkollës Fillore “Xhemajl Mustafa”)
10000 Prishtina, Kosovo
Contact:
info@qendra.org
www.qendra.org / https://polipfestival.wordpress.com/
Tel: 038 555 799
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Program 2013
Friday, 10.05.2013
19:30 – 20:00 Offical opening of the polip festival
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Tal Nitzán (IL), Tomislav Marković (SRB), György Dragomán (HU), Eftychia Panayiotou (CY), Beqë Cufaj (D/RKS), Ralph Hammerthaler (D)
Moderator: Sasa Ilić (SRB), Sunita Kurti (RKS)
Music: Trio Mozaic (AL)
Saturday, 11.05.2013
14:00 – 15:00 Public presentation of the performance “Internally Displaced”
Performance realized during the workshop of the Atelier of the Documentary Theater: “Transforming Trauma Through Art: War Rapes and the Re-Collection of Self and Community “ lead by Elizabeth Hess
Performers: Arberora Sylaj, Alketa Sylaj, Dhurata Hoti, Fjolla Hoxha, Vesa Qena, Vjosa Shala dhe Vlora Nikci
15:00 – 16:30 Panel I: “The literature market in Germany and the literature of the Balkans”
Panelist: Volker Dittrich (D), Jörg Sundermeier (D), Verena Nolte (D), Beqë Cufaj (D/RKS)
Moderator: Doris Akrap (D)
17:00 – 18:30 Panel II: “Literature and the unknown Others”
Panelists: Tal Nitzán (IL), Yolanda Castaño (ES), Eftychia Panayiotou (CY), György Dragomán (HU), Miloš Živanović (SRB), Blerina Rogova Gaxha (RKS)
Moderation: Mirela Kumbaro (AL)
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Faruk Šehić (BiH), Ivana Simić Bodrožić (HR) , Yolanda Castaño (ES), Dragoslava Barzut (SRB), Blerina Rogova Gaxha (RKS), Alida Bremer (HR/D)
Moderation: Sasa Ilić (SRB), Qerim Ondozi (RKS)
Music: Ah Ahilej (SRB)
Sunday, 12.05.2013
15:00–16:30 Public presentation and performances:
– “Subpoetics: Inner poetry in Performance” with Dr Seth Baumrin
Performers: Bashkim Ramadani, Fitore Broqi, Burim Koprani , Valmira Hoti, Muhamet Arifi, Shqipe Gashi, Afrim Muçaj and Fisnik Syka
– Panel discussion: Transforming Trauma Through Art
Panelists: Seth Baumrin, Eli Gashi, Fjolla Hoxha
Moderator: Abdullah Ferizi
17:00 – 18:30 Panel III: Does a post YU literature exist?
Panelists: Faruk Šehić (BiH), Ivana Simić Bodrožić (HR), Jovica Ivanovski (MK), Alida Bremer (HR/D), Basri Çapriqi (RKS)
Moderator: Sasa Ilić (SRB)
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Jovica Ivanovski (MK), Ervina Halili (RKS), Genc Kadriu (RKS), Ardian Haxhaj (RKS), Miloš Živanović (SRB), Arben Idrizi (RKS), Doruntina Vinca (RKS)
Moderator: Nita Hasani (RKS), Arben Zharku (RKS)
Music: Eldita Tarani & Pure Jazz Trio
Panels:
1. The literature market in Germany and the literature of the Balkans
The literature market in Germany is definitely one of the vibrant’s and dynamic markets in Europe. In addition to local authors, the literary market in Germany is also very open to other authors from around the world. But the focus of interest is changing fast and it is determined by different factors. What makes the literature market of Germany turn it’s attention towards a “small” literature, lets say the Kosovo, Montenegro or Macedonian literature? After the end of the wars in the Balkans, what still remains to be “sexy” in the Balkans, that encourages the translation of it’s literature in Germany? Good literature? How does the German publisher identify good literature from the Balkans?! How do the countries from the Balkans promote their literature in Germany? Is Croatia a good example in this case?
2. Literature and the unknown Other
The focus of this years edition of the polip festival is the literature of the separated worlds, more concrete of the neighbor countries that haven’t been in contact politically and culturally for decades, or cities that have been separated and function as two different worlds that insist to refuse constantly to know something about the other, that is on the other side. Does your literature know such a phenomenon and who is the unknown other in the literature meaning and which in the political? How is the literature developed in such environments in the proximity of the unknown other? Does this nearness of the unknown other and the denial affect the creating of contacts and the literal – cultural and political creation? How does this affect the creation of a literary canon and how in the forming of the national remembrance? Is it possible to establish contact with the unknown other? How do you name it in your texts and how in the political and cultural narratives?
3. Does a post YU literature exist?
14 years have pasted since the last war on the ex Yugoslavian ground. In the region there has been built a fragile structure of intercultural connections and they are mainly non institutional. There are some critics who follow the literary scene outside their own. There have been organized some post YU projects for literates and critics, like the price “Meša Selimović“ in Tuzla, which integrates the literature of the mentioned areas and a competition for drama from the region by Hartefakt. More often there have been organized residency programs for writers from the region (Split, Rijeka, Sarajevo, Prishtina, Belgrade). The writers started moving. Is there still something in common in the literature that remained in the pieces of what once used to be Yugoslavia, or is even the Yugoslav literature studied institutional? What do you think of the concept of a post YU literature?
Subpoethics: Inner poetry in Performance
Subpoetics is a process of elaboration whereby actors create physical actions associated with particular texts. These physical actions are shorn away from that text and perfected with precision. They are then attached to a different text even though the actions and the new text are unrelated. The actions are then justified to function as appropriate physical actions for the new text. The process of justification and adaptation of actions to different texts requires reducing, magnifying, or changing the rhythm of the original physical actions. In order to reduce or magnify a physical action, its original impulse in the torso must be located and retained. Subpoetics embodies a training/performance regimen enabling participants to learn how to learn; learn how to teach; auto-didactic methodologies for self-realization; group dynamics that engender cultural awareness. Weaning young people away from stereotypes promoted by electronic and popular media—virtual reality replaced by truth—by constructing their own identity. This kind of work is crucial during a period of potential cultural erasure as borders both real and artificial obscure the struggles of the individual.
Music:
Trio Mozaic (AL) is a acoustic Albanian Accordion trio. They perform: Balkan music, variete and french tango – piazzola. The musicians that are part of this trio are: Elton Balla, Erand Kurani and Mirjan Sulovari.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejKogV0SI6g
Ah Ahilej (SRB) is a band along the lines of black cabaret. Established in 2000 in Belgrade.So far published six albums:“Great Life”, “Music from Home”, “Autopsy”, “Objectively Worse Edition.”, “Songs of evil volsebnika” written by Tom Markovic”, “Opera for the dinar” written by Milos Zivanovic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phoPbV8NVSU
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All activities will happen at:
Qendra Multimedia
Rr. Idriz Gjilani 7/9 – 1
Lagja Dardania
(Përballë Shkollës Fillore “Xhemajl Mustafa”)
10000 Prishtina, Kosovo
Contact:
info@qendra.org
www.qendra.org / https://polipfestival.wordpress.com/
Tel: 038 555 799
__________________________________________________________________________
Program 2012
Friday, 11.05.2012
9:00 – 12:00 Parnassus Paper
Kujtim Paçaku (RKS), Ivana Simić Bodrožić (HR), Marko Pogačar (HR), Olimbi Velaj (AL), Olja Ivanćević Savićević (HR)
Workshop Leaders: Drew Cameron (USA), Drew Luan Matott (USA)
Moderator: Nick Dubois (UK)
19:30 – 20:00 Offical opening of the polip festival and the graphic, novel. exhibition
Sasa Ilić (SRB), Elisabeth Desta (D), Jeton Neziraj (RKS), Sonja Lau (D), Ute Friederich (D)
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Olimbi Velaj (AL), Marko Pogačar (HR), Olja Ivanćević (HR), Dragana Mladenović (SRB), Sibel Halimi (RKS), Dragana Tripković (MNE), Tomislav Marković (SRB)
Moderator: Saša Ilić (SRB), Adelina Berisha (RKS)
Unplugged: Edona Reshitaj & Faruk Banjska
Saturday, 12.05.2012
10:00 – 12:00 Parnassus Paper
Idro Seferi (RKS), Arben Idrizi (RKS), Nenad Joldeski (MK), Shpëtim Selmani (RKS), Sibel Halimi
Workshop Leaders: Drew Cameron (USA), Drew Luan Matott (USA)
Moderator: Nick Dubois (UK)
12:00 – 13:30 Panel I: Status of the independent intellectual in Kosovo and Serbia society
Saša Ćirić (SRB), Shkelzen Maliqi (RKS), Blerina Rogova Gaxha (RKS), Marija Karaklaić (SRB)
Moderator: Saša Ilić (SRB)
14:00 – 16:00 Parnassus Paper
Blerina Rogova Gaxha (RKS), Tomislav Marković (SRB), Enes Kurtovic (BiH), Lindita Arapi (AL)
Workshop Leaders: Drew Cameron (USA), Drew Luan Matott (USA)
Moderator: Nick Dubois (UK)
16:00 – 17:30 Panel II: Literature and Remembrance
Ute Friderich (D), Alida Bremer (D), Kruno Lokotar (HR), Halil Matoshi (RKS), Agron Tufa (AL)
Moderator: Roman Ehrlich (D)
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Agron Tufa (AL), Kujtim Paçaku (RKS), Lindita Harapi (AL), Nenad Joldeski (MK), Alida Bremer (HR), Miloš Živanović (SRB), Idro Seferi (RKS), Ivana Simić Bodrozić (HR)
Moderator: Kruno Lokotar (HR) & Qerim Ondozi (RKS)
Music: Klopka za Pionira (SRB)
Sunday, 13.05.2012
12:00–14:00 Panel III: Subversive literary practice surrounded by rigid politics
Tomislav Marković (SRB) , Shpëtim Selmani (RKS), Elvana Zaimi (AL), Enes Kurtovic (BiH), Robert Alagozovski (MK) Moderator: Jeton Neziraj (RKS)
16:00 – 17:30 Play readings
Doruntina Basha (RKS), Maria Karaklaić (SRB)
Moderator: Bekim Lumi (RKS), Jeton Neziraj (RKS)
20:00 – 00:00 Readings
Halil Matoshi (RKS), Blerina Gaxha Rugova (RKS), Shpëtim Selmani (RKS), Roman Ehrlich (DE), Arben Idrizi (RKS), Saša Ilić (SRB), Jeton Neziraj (RKS)
Moderator: Kruno Lokotar (HR) & Qerim Ondozi (RKS)
Music: to be anounced soon
Panels:
1. Status of the independent intellectual in Kosovo and Serbia society
In the frame of this panel, we will try to give answers to following questions: How much freedom is left for intellectuals and artists in transitional societies of Serbia and Kosovo, with apparent problems of non-solution of either actual questions of co-existence as well as of predominance of recent traumatic past? How much can intellectuals influence through their voices upon socio-political processes and where does culture stand in whole context here and today? What are the reactions of media and how much space is left for them for different voices? Lastly, what is the responsibility of intellectuals not only for the past occurrences but also for what is occurring today?
2. Literature and remembrance
In this discussion round, we want to investigate the connection between writing and remembrance. Even though memories are closely knitted to visual impressions, literature mostly uses purely linguistically-communicated imagery when approaching the past. What happens, though, if the linguistic imagery is presented next to pictures and photographs that claim that ‘this is how it was’ regarding events anchored in the collective remembrance? Do these by now ubiquitous pictures risk overlaying the historical events? What happens if suddenly the pictures begin to tell their own story and the text slowly disappears in one’s perception? Where do we find the reality in this and where do we find fiction? And how is literature distinguished from history? What are its strong points? We aim to analyze the combination of image and text with regard to their correlation and to discover the additional benefit that emerges from that.
3. Subversive literary practice surrounded by rigid politics Is the state afraid of writers and are writers afraid of the state? Are the countries in Western Balkans dominated by fear of “subversive literature” taking into acount their communist past? Does the state continue to exercise control over “disobedient writers” and which are the contemporary methods of “punishment”? What are the taboos of today, which neither the subversive literature dares to tackle? What is considered subversive literature today? These and other questions will be discussed in this panel, which, among other things, aims to discuss creative freedom, challenges of this freedom and consequences of relationship of the state with subversive writers.
Play readings
Në “Play readings”, aktorë nga Prishtina do të lexojnë ekstrakte nga dramat e Doruntina Bashës dhe Maria Karaklaiq. Pas leximeve, do të ketë diskutime me autoret, rreth dramave dhe rreth skenave teatrore në Kosovë dhe në Serbi. Kjo është një mundësi e mirë për t’u njohur me dy autore të reja, t’cilat para së gjithash, shquhen për nga origjinaliteti dhe sensibiliteti i tyre krijues.
Parnassus Paper: Creating an exhibition for Poetry Parnassus, Southbank Centre, London, 26 June-2 July 2012
Poets are invited to contribute poems and take part in a hand-papermaking workshop from 11-12 May at Polip to create an exhibition for Poetry Parnassus, a gathering of poets from all 200 Olympic countries at London’s Southbank Centre. At Polip, poets will be invited to bring materials to turn into paper on which to write a poem without a title, the relationship of the material to the poem replacing the title. Any fabric or paper-based material can be used and will be listed alongside the poem. The resulting handmade portfolio will be exhibited at the Poetry Library in London’s Southbank Centre during Poetry Parnassus, accompanied by a film about its making including interviews with the poets. All the poets taking part in Poetry Parnassus will visit the exhibition to write a poem in a handmade edition of theWorld Record, the volume of poetry being published to mark the occasion.
PAST/E
Walking through the streets mostly means walking to or from somewhere, away from or into something. You can walk the walk, walk the talk and walk the line, you can walk on eggshells or walk it off. While walking, you think about the last encounter, the people around you or the next meeting. When you walk, you unconsciously link the categories of past, present and future.
PAST/E is a set of stickers containing quotes, thoughts as well as visual associations which popped up while thinking about the linkage between past, present and future. On which premises we base our understandings of time? Is there anything like causality? Does the past influence the present, or is it the present or our future wishes that shape our understandings of the past?
PAST/E invites people to play around with these given terms, quotes and symbols to create their own understanding of the relation between past, present and future. Space is also left for own terms and symbols. The meaning of these stickers is changing depending on how the stickers are brought together as well as where there are pasted – on benches, trees, pavements, traffic lights, on a book, a bag or a laptop.
PAST/E uses stickers in public spaces to make passersby stop for a while to think about their understanding of time and its impacts on how we perceive the world around us.
PAST/E will be made available to you during polip – The International Literature Festival in Pristina.
In Cooperation: forumZFD, Qendra Multimedia, Goethe Guerilla Pristina
Graphic, Novel. Sketching W. G. Sebald in Pristina
In the past few years graphic novels have attracted more and more attention both in the field of literature and the visual arts. Not only do they allow for an alternative perspective on the complexities of everyday life, but because of their distinct use of two media – image and text – they also suggest how memories of the past can find new forms of expression despite their inherent blanks. This interrelation between image and text lies at the core of the project graphic, novel. The participants are invited to creatively delve into yet unprecedented graphic-novelist techniques, sketching what has been lost, what is to be retrieved, and how to conjoin the missing bits and contradictions of recent local history. Being an initiative from Pristina, the subject-matter from where to explore those techniques is the city and its (in-)visible histories. Therefore, additional to the seminars, the workshop will have a closer look at the matter and the surfaces of the city. Archival documents, found photographs, oral history and walks through the city will form a central part of the research and of the elaboration of a new graphic novel by means of visual and literary expressions. Throughout the workshop, the participants are invited to work on a chosen context presented to them in the city of Pristina. The results of the workshop will be shown in a group exhibition during the polip on 11th of May, 2012.
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All activities will happen at:
Qendra Multimedia
Rr. Idriz Gjilani 7/9 – 1
Lagja Dardania
(Përballë Shkollës Fillore “Xhemajl Mustafa”)
10000 Prishtina, Kosovo
Contact:
www.qendra.org / https://polipfestival.wordpress.com/
Tel: 049 178759
__________________________________________________________________________
Short program 2010
14.10.2010
20:00 – readings and opening concert
place: TETRIS
with: Shpëtim Selmani (KS), Mirko Božić (BiH), Erëmira Çitaku (KS), Tomislav Marković (SRB), Mara Genschel (D), Genc Salihu (KS)
moderators: Jeton Neziraj and Lucia Zimmermann
music: Erëmira Çitaku and Agon Xharra
15.10.2010
9:00–15:00 – poetry workshop
place: University of Prishtina
11:00 debatepanel I – literary networks in the Balkan
place: Dit’ e Nat’
14:00–17:00 – translation workshop
place: Qendra Multimedia
20:00 – readings and concert
place: TETRIS
with: Ana Brnardić (HR), Illir Ferra (AL/A), Saša Ilić (SRB), Arben Idrizi (KS), Sibylla Hausmann (D), Nora Prekazi (KS)
moderators: Jeton Neziraj and Lucia Zimmermann
music: Visar Kuqi
16.10.2010
11:00 – debate
panel II – about “small” and “big” languages
place: Dit’ e Nat’
14:00–17:00 – translation workshop
place: Qendra Multimedia
15:00 – evaporating memories – street poetry at places of remembrance in Prishtina
The location depends on weather conditions and will be announced 48 hours beforehand
20:00 – readings and concert
place: TETRIS
with: Agron Tufa (AL), Luise Boege (D), Trina Gojani (KS), Nikola Madžirov (MK), Ballsor Hoxha (KS), Miloš Živanović (SRB)
moderators: Jeton Neziraj and Lucia Zimmermann
music: Jan Böttcher
17.10.2010
15:00 – evaporating memories – street poetry at places of remembrance in Gracanica
The location depends on weather conditions and will be announced 48 hours beforehand.
special program
debates
panel I
literature networks in the Balkan
About literature in the region and today’s challenges concerning literature exchange.
15 October, at 11:00 at Dit’ e Nat’ – this event is open for all
with: Mirko Božić (BiH), Arben Idrizi (KS), Saša Ilić (SRB), Agron Tufa (AL)
moderator: Shkelzen Maliqi
panel II
about “big” and “small” languages
A roundtable discussion concerning literature translation from the so-called small languages into the so-called big languages and vice versa.
16 October, at 11:00 at Dit’ e Nat’ – this event is open for all
with: Jan Böttcher (D), Ilir Ferra (AL/A), Nikola Madžirov (MK), Tomislav Marković (SRB)
moderator: Jeton Neziraj
poetry workshop
Mara Genschel and Luise Boege organize a poetry workshop with students, talking about language and poetry and working together on a long poem.
15 October, from 9:00 to 16:00 at the University of Prishtina
literary translation workshop
The translator and author Ilir Ferra gives an overview about translation theories and presents different examples. In the second step, all participants work on translations from English, German or Italian into Albanian.
15 and 16 October, from 14:00 to 17:00 at Qendra Multimedia
evaporating memories – street poetry at places or remembrance
Young poets read their poems at places of remembrance in Prishtina and Gracanica. The readings will be accompanied by various street poetry actions. The aim of the readings is to introduce an alternative voice to memory cultures in Kosovo that does not remain in closed circles – street poetry has a lot to offer to open constructive debates on dealing with the past! The program is organized by forumZFD.
16 October, at 15:00 in the streets of Prishtina (canceled due to heavy rain)
17 October, at 15:00 in the streets of Gracanica
polip - International Literature Festival Prishtina 