Shahrazad - Stories for life

Argentina is Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair this year, and there are many events scheduled for this occasion. One of the first ones this year was the reading of the Argentinian author Pablo Ramos in the series Monday Monday in Frankfurt on the last Monday of February.

It was very appropriate to have Pablo Ramos in a Shahrazad event because he not only read from his novel El origen de la tristeza ("The origin of sadness") but he also brought new dimensions to story-telling: Pablo Ramos performed on stage in a very lively way; he also sang a new tango, and interpreted verse by the great Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges. He was accompanied by the pianist Daniel E. Adoue who also hails from Buenos Aires and has been living in Frankfurt for the last 13 years. Pablo Ramos who has one novel in German translation will again be in Frankfurt in October at the occasion of the Argentinian presence at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The February event was already the second Monday Monday Shahrazad evening in Frankfurt devoted to a Frankfurt Book Fair Guest of Honour country. On the last Monday of January the Chinese poet Yang Lian read and interpreted his essays and his poetry, also taking a critical look at the role of China's culture and literature in Europe which is still obscured by many serious misunderstandings; China had been Guest of Honour of the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2009, and Yang Lian who has been living in London for more than 20 years had been shunned by the organizers of the official Chinese programme in Frankfurt. The internationally renowned poet had been accompanied at the January event by the German violinist Gerd Putscheff who entered into an artistic dialogue with the poet.

(Photo: Anke Kluss)

Pablo Ramos grew up in greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, the country which is this year's Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair. He is a musician and a writer, and has won important Latin American literature awards with his poems and stories. His first novel was "The Origin of Sadness" ("El origin de la tristeza"/"Der Ursprung der Traurigkeit").

Composer and pianist Daniel Adoue was also born in Buenos Aires. He is
at home in traditional tango as well as in Tango Nuevo, and a true
musical cosmopolite. 

You can experience the encounter between these two in Die Fabrik (Mittlerer Hasenpfad 5, 60598 Frankfurt am Main), Monday February 22, at 20.00.

Once again, German and/or Spanish speaking young people from 16 years onwards have the possibility to write, test and discuss their own texts in a workshop organised by Litprom - Society for the promotion of African, Asian and Latin American literature.

The instructors are ICORN Guest Writer Carlos A. Aguilera from Cuba (Guest Writer in Frankfurt City of Refuge from August 2007-August 2009, now living as Guest Writer in Hanover City of Refuge) and the German writer Regina Rusch.

The idea is to offer young people the chance to develop their creativity and to show them different ways of literary expression.

This workshop is part of a series of four workshops (31.10., 7.11., 14.11., 21.11.).

For further information, go here.