Readings from the Heart of Europe

Friday, February 19, 2021

Sweet Darusya by Maria Matios with Translators Naydan and Tytarenko February 28, 2021

February 28, 2021, 4:30

Mr Kafka and Other Tales from the Time of the Cult; and All My Cats by Bohumil Hrabal with Special Guest Paul Wilson

January 31, 4:30

Monday, January 4, 2021

Happy New Year 2021!

Happy New Year, friends of Readings from the Heart of Europe!

We hope you had a wonderful end of 2020 and that you are looking forward, as we are, to more engaging encounters with amazing writers from Eastern and Central Europe!

Check out our book list for the first half of the year, we hope you will be able to join us for most of the sessions. Specific events for each discussion will follow soon.

1) January 31 - two books: Bohumil Hrabal (Czech): Mr Kafka and Other Tales from the Time of the Cult; and All My Cats

2) February 28: Maria Matios (Ukrainian) - Sweet Darusya

3) March 28 - Slavenka Drakulić (Croatian) - S. (Croatian original title: Kao da me nema)

4) April 25: Ismail Kadare (Albanian) - Chronicle in Stone

5) May 23: Tea Obreht (Croatian American) - The Tiger’s Wife

6) June 27: Lidija Dimkovska (North Macedonian) - A Spare Life

Once you register by filling out this form - you will receive a zoom link that will allow you access to all meetings listed above:

https://forms.gle/oJgxYmbFkpQoF9aa8

Michael Bigging

Otilia Baraboi

Zorica Miroslava Wacker

Daniela Nyberg

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

2020 – An Overview

Our book club, Readings from the Heart of Europe at The University of Washington managed to sustain our initial plans. Besides, due to technology advantages, we invited several translators and welcomed people from various states and countries to our discussions.

Here is the overview of our reads for this year:

Olga Tokarczuk's Primeval and Other Times

Peter Handke's A Sorrow Beyond Dreams

Herta Müller's The Land of Green Plums

Georgi Gospodinov's The Physics of Sorrow, joined by the book's translator Angela Rodel

Dubravka Ugrešić's Fox, joined by the book's translator Ellen Elias-Bursać

Mircea Cărtarescu's Blinding, Book One, joined by the book's translator Sean Cotter

Lojze Kovačič's Newcomers, Book One; Book Two, hosted by the book's translator Michael Biggins

Gregor von Rezzori's Memoires of an Anti-Semite

Magdalena Tulli's Dreams and Stones, joined by the book's translator Bill Johnston.

We closed virtually the door of 2020 with "The Door" by Magda Szabó. We are now ready to open the door to 2021 with the list of the reads for the first six months of the new year. Details are coming.

Happy New Year, dear colleagues and friends!