Since 2017, the European Literature Festival has brought together writers from Europe with translators and experts from Japan in a series of events including lectures, dialogues, and panel discussions. This year, we continue in our activities to bring European literature closer to the Japanese public, mostly online. We have also published a very special collection of short stories or excerpts from 14 European authors (for a limited time only). We hope that many will take this opportunity to discover something new and exciting.
DAY120Fri
1-1
Panel discussion: Translating Europe
Panel discussion
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Discussion in Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation to English)
20
Fri
18:00 - 19:30
Instituto Cervantes Tokio and online
Literary translators working from Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese discuss the joys and difficulties of bringing European literature closer to Japanese readers.
1-2
Dialogues: Confinement and creativity
Dialogue
Portugal
Italy
Discussion in Portuguese and Japanese / Italian and Japanese (consecutive interpretation to Japanese)
20
Fri
19:30 - 21:00
Instituto Cervantes Tokio and online
This session will be in Portuguese and Japanese (part 1) and Italian and Japanese (part 2). English translation not available. The Portuguese and Italian authors will join the discussion online.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people all over the world to face isolation and confinement. How has this influenced writers and their creativity? Prominent writers from Portugal and Italy talk … Continue reading “Dialogues: Confinement and creativity”
DAY221Sat
2-1
La voix des oubliées, dialogue entre Laetitia Colombani et Yuri Nakae
Dialogue
France
Dialogue in French and Japanese with simultaneous interpretation
21
Sat
18:00 - 19:30
Institut Francais and online
Please see the website of the Institut Francais Japon for details: https://www.institutfrancais.jp/tokyo/fr/agenda/colombani/
2-2
Panel discussion: Stranger Than Fiction, Part 1
Online panel discussion
Belgium
Italy
Latvia
Finland
English and Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation)
21
Sat
19:30 - 21:00
Online only
Writers from various European countries and Japan share their ideas about isolation, their art and life. Part 1 invites authors from Belgium, Italy, Latvia, and Finland to speak with Takahiro … Continue reading “Panel discussion: Stranger Than Fiction, Part 1”
DAY322Sun
3-1
Dialogues: Dragomán György / Julio José Ordovás
Online dialogues
Hungary
Spain
Dialogue in Japanese and Hungarian / Japanese and Spanish
22
Sun
18:00 - 19:30
Online only
Prominent writers from Hungary and Spain discuss their works due to be translated (or recently translated) into Japanese with their Japanese translators.
3-2
Panel discussion: Stranger Than Fiction, Part 2
Online panel discussion
Germany
Czech-Republic
Hungary
Ireland
English and Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation), German (with consecutive interpretation)
22
Sun
19:30 - 21:00
Online only
Writers from various European countries and Japan share their ideas about isolation, their art and life. Part 2 invites authors from Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Ireland to speak with … Continue reading “Panel discussion: Stranger Than Fiction, Part 2”
DAY423Mon (National Holiday)
4-1
Reading and talk with Terezia Mora
Online dialogue
Germany
German and Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation)
23
Mon (National Holiday)
18:00 - 19:30
Online only
German author Terézia Mora reads excerpts from “Love amongst Aliens”. The book was translated into Japanese by Hitoko Suzuki and published by Hakusuisha this year. The reading will be accompanied … Continue reading “Reading and talk with Terezia Mora”
4-2
Dialogues: Saskia de Coster / Michal Hvorecký
Online talk event
Belgium
Slovakia
English (with simultaneous interpretation to Japanese)
23
Mon (National Holiday)
19:30 - 21:00
Online only
Writers from Belgium and Slovakia read from and discuss their works
DAY525Wed
5-1
Children’s literature from Europe: Pim Lammers / Jakob Wegelius
Online talk event
Netherlands
Sweden
English and Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation)
25
Wed
18:00 - 19:30
Online only
In the first part of this session, Dutch author of children’s and adult literature Pim Lammers reads from and discusses his work. In the latter part, respected Swedish author Jakob … Continue reading “Children’s literature from Europe: Pim Lammers / Jakob Wegelius”
5-2
Graphic novels from Europe: Morten Dürr / Dimitri Piot & Petar Tasev
Online talk event
Denmark
Belgium
Bulgaria
Danish and Japanese / English and French (with simultaneous interpretation to Japanese)
25
Wed
19:30 - 21:00
Online only
Danish writer speaks about his latest work Ivalu with his translator Aya Sawahiro. Belgian artist Dimitri Piot and Petar Tasev, a Bulgarian artist living in Japan, discuss their works and … Continue reading “Graphic novels from Europe: Morten Dürr / Dimitri Piot & Petar Tasev”
DAY626Thu
6-1
Dialogues: Lidija Šimkutė / Marianne Backlén
Online talk event
Lithuania
Finland
English and Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation)
26
Thu
18:00 - 19:30
Online only
In the first part of this session, Lithuanian-Australian bilingual poet Lidija Šimkutė speaks about her poetry, which has sometimes been compared to Japanese haiku. She is followed by Finland-Swedish writer … Continue reading “Dialogues: Lidija Šimkutė / Marianne Backlén”
6-2
Panel discussion: European Union Prize for Literature
Online panel discussion
EU
Ireland
Latvia
Greece
English (with simultaneous interpretation to Japanese)
26
Thu
19:30 - 21:00
Online only
The first part of this session looks back on the residency programme in Japan in which four EUPL laureates participated in. This is followed by readings and discussions with EUPL … Continue reading “Panel discussion: European Union Prize for Literature”
DAY727Fri
7-1
Dialogues: Hikaru Ogura / Anna Cima / Closing
Dialogues
Poland
Czech-Republic
Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation to English)
27
Fri
18:00 - 19:30
Tokyo (Europa House) and online
The first part is a discussion on Nobel Literature Prize laureate Olga Tokarczuk between her translator Hikaru Ogura and the director of the Polish Institute, followed by a dialogue with … Continue reading “Dialogues: Hikaru Ogura / Anna Cima / Closing”
