European Literature Days 2016 in Hanoi and HCMC

Opening: Thu 05 May 2016, 5 pm
Goethe Institut Hanoi
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Literature Days in Hanoi: 05 – 10 May
Goethe Institut, L’Espace and Casa Italia
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Literature Days in HCMC: 08 – 12 May
IDECAF, Library of General Sciences, several venues on Book Street (Nguyen Van Binh)

UPDATE: Download detailed program for Hanoi and HCMC here [PDF, 7.8 MB]

From Goethe Institut:

This is the 6th European Literature Days event to be held in Hanoi, and it is the first time that the event will travel to Ho Chi Minh City. The vibrant literature festival with contributions from 8 European countries will offer a lot of exciting activities for book lovers, including book presentations, readings, workshops, exhibitions, films, prizes and big discounts on European books in shops on HCMC’s Book Street – Nguyen Van Binh (Ben Nghe Ward, D.1).

The event will run from 4th to 10th May in Hanoi, and from 8th to 12th May in Ho Chi Minh City with 24 activities in which you can participate. Different groups of readers, from kids to adults with a variety of reading tastes, will all be able to find novels that match their interests and ignite their imaginations as they explore literature from eight European countries – Denmark, Germany, France, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and Belgium.

In 2016, the world of literature is also celebrating the work of two famous authors – the British playwright William Shakespeare and the Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes, author of the famous Don Quixote. 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare and Cervantes, therefore, during European Literature Days, Britain will host three events – a conference, a talk, and a workshop celebrating Shakespeare; and Spain will host a presentation celebrating Miguel de Cervantes and his seminal work – The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha.

Vietnamese readers of European literature might already be familiar with children’s characters from French and British literature like Nicolas, the Little Prince, Pippi Longstocking and Emil of Lonneberga. Many more European books have now been translated into Vietnamese for the first time. These newly translated works, many of which are award-winning titles, will be showcased in book presentations and conferences. These include «Wisdom and Destiny» by Maurice Maeterlinck (Wallonia-Brussels – Nobel prize 1911), «Don’t cry» by Lydie Salvayre (France – Goncourt prize 2014), “War memoirs” by Charles De Gaulle (France), “Geschmack von Apfelkernen” by Katharina Hagena, «Das Schloss» by Franz Kafka (Germany) and a wide range of children book series like “Ulysses Moore” Vol. 4, 5 and 6 (Italy), the three – volume Rico and Oskar series (Germany), «Speaking English with Martine» (Wallonia-Brussels), “Philosophy for teenagers” (France), and the illustrated children’s series «Secrets Children Need to Know» (Sweden).

Other events have also been adopted to make the most of this year’s European Literature Days, including a discussion about historical fiction and an exhibition of illuminated picture books (Denmark), a reading of «Sungs Laden» by Karin Kalisa (Germany), a writing competition and a workshop on drawing young characters (France), a movie screening, and a European Books Discount Festival on Book Street (HCMC). Calling all literature lovers! Come and enjoy!

About the organizer: The annual European Literature Day has been successfully organized in Hanoi by EUNIC, the association of European Cultural Institutes and Embassies, since 2011. It celebrates and shares the best of European literature with Vietnamese readers, and for 2016, the event will also take place in Ho Chi Minh City, opening the opportunity for a much wider audience of literature lovers in Vietnam to participate.

All events will take place at the Goethe-Institut, l’Espace or Casa Italia in Hanoi, and at IDECAF, Library of General Sciences HCMC, or at venues on Book Street (Nguyen Van Binh, D.1) in HCMC.

Free admission.

Find out more at:
www.goethe.de/vietnam
www.institutfrancais-vietnam.com
www.britishcouncil.vn
www.ambhanoi.esteri.it
www.hanoi.cervantes.es

Program in Hanoi (click to enlarge):

Program in HCMC (click to enlarge):

Goethe-Institut Hanoi 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hanoi Tel.: +84 4 37342251 Fax: +84 4 37342254 [email protected] website

Institut Français de Hanoi – L’Espace 24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội Tel: (84-4) 39 36 21 64 [email protected] www.institutfrancais-vietnam.com/vi/category/ha-noi/