Balkan Day at the British Library

British Library

10 am-7 pm

Programme:
10.00 – 11.00 Key Note speeches and discussion
Kapka Kassabova (Author and poet, Bulgaria/Britain) Borderland: Notes from a Journey to Europe’s Last Frontier,
where Bulgaria and Turkey Meet
Robert Elsie (Writer, translator and specialist in Albanian studies) The Chaotic Course of Albanian Literature
(Chair: Susan Curtis-Kojakovic, Publisher, Istros Books)

11.00 – 11.30 Coffee break

11.30 – 13.00 Authors as Cultural Ambassadors:How does the history and mythology of the homeland influence
the stories we tell today?
Ioana Parvulescu (Author and editor, Romania)
Alek Popov (Author and playwright, Bulgaria
(Chair: Fiona Sampson, Poet and editor)

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch break

14.00 – 15.30 Translators speak: Bringing the Balkans Westward. Should translators of ‘small languages’
aim to be invisible or consider themselves a second author?
John Hodgson (Translator and interpreter from Albanian)
Christopher Buxton (Author and translator of Bulgarian literature)
Christopher Moncrief (Translator from Romanian, German and French)
Mevlut Ceylan (Poet and translator from Turkish)
(Chair: Christina Pribichevich Zoric, Literary translator)

15.30 – 16.00 Coffee break

16:00 – 18:00 Documentary Film Screening: Balkan Sprit
German filmmaker and director Hermann Vaske takes us on a rollercoaster
ride through the creative world of the Balkans. Followed by a Q&A session,
and an ‘open mike’ session between audience and all the participants

18.00 – 19.00 Reception
Join us for a glass or wine or juice and mingle with the participants
in today’s event. (Our event closes at 19.00)

Balkan Day II: A Rich Heritage of Stories
A British Library Seminar
Following on from the hugely successful Balkan Day event in June
2014, (Balkan Day: A Celebration of Culture and Identity), the
organisers are again partnering with the British Library for another
day of in-depth discussion. This time, the focus will be on the southeastern
countries of the region, reaching to the very shores of Turkey,
whose influence on this history of these lands has been profound.
Built upon a synthesis of influences and histories, the Balkans is home
to a great number of fascinating stories and traditions, many of which
remain untold in English. This event will bring together some of the
leading contemporary academics, writers and translators to talk
about writing and creating in this fertile cultural space.