Centrope region: Brno as a literary centre

As the historical centre of Moravia, Brno is always worth visiting. In July, the city becomes the scene for a literary rendezvous, with contemporary literature from Austria being this year’s guest of honour at the largest and most important Czech literature festival, “The Month of Authors’ Readings”.

In July, Brno is a Mecca for numerous authors and a draw for all literature fans. With just 31 participants to start with, the literary festival has steadily attracted more and more over the ten successful years it has been in existence. This year, 125 authors will be presenting their works in the unique atmosphere of the experimental theatre Husa na Provázku. “Even though more and more authors are reading from their works every year, the festival still has an intimate atmosphere,” organiser Petr Minařík assures us. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary, three reading series will be offered for the first time, encompassing Czech, Austrian and German literature. The German-language readings will be accompanied by Czech translations via video projections.

Literature crossing the borders

The local series, a ‘Best of’ selection of Czech literature, is complemented each year by a foreign series. After Canada, Belarus and other countries, the journey this year leads to neighbouring Austria. Or to be precise – Austrian authors like Miguel Herz-Kestranek, Robert Menasse and Robert Schindel will pay a visit to Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic. Originally, the plan was to invite literary figures from Italy or Spain. The Czech dramatist and novelist Pavel Kohout, under whose patronage the Austrian author series stands, explains why the southern neighbours ended up being invited: “The distance between the Czech Republic and Austria seems to have become greater since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, instead of smaller. I would like to try to bridge this gap again.” Writer Robert Schindel agrees. “In the Waldviertel region that borders on the Czech Republic you sometimes get the feeling that 1989 has not yet happened,” he says.
 

More than just a festival

It is precisely for this reason that ‘The Month of Authors’ Readings’ is supposed to be more than just a series of readings. “The festival is not supposed just to serve as a literary supermarket, but rather as the basis for progressive debates and discussions,” says Robert Menasse. There is already the possibility for discussion at the venue after each reading. Miguel Herz-Kestranek goes on: “The term ‘foreign country’ irritates me. In a united Europe, this is actually just a national reading.” As is well-known, there is plenty in common between the two countries and their capital cities, Vienna and Prague. Pavel Kohout, who was born in Prague, says about the two cities, “Prague is a more beautiful version of Vienna, but Vienna is a better-functioning version of Prague.” After the First World War, about 55,000 German-speaking citizens lived in Brno.

20 years Brno-Stuttgart

The third reading series is also dominated by one of the Czech Republic’s neighbours. Authors from Germany – or Stuttgart, to be more precise – are making their contribution to the festival. Each evening, one author from Brno and one from Stuttgart will present his or her works. This special event is commemorating 20 years of partnership between the cities.

Whether in Stuttgart, Vienna, Brno or elsewhere – all readings can be seen live on the website www.autorskecteni.cz