This year, the historical themes that heated the Lithuanian society will become the driving force of the international literature festival "Vilnius lapai". The organizers of the event, which is popular with readers, expect a very lively and heated dialogue between Lithuanian and literary stars with readers. The list of authors of the literature festival, which will be held on November 7-10, includes authors loved by many readers around the world: history professor Tymothy Snyderis, writers Nancy Huston and Michael Katz Krefeld, and stars of Lithuanian literature Kristina Sabaliauskaitė and Tomas Venclova.
History is a passionate topic for Lithuania
"This year, we chose history as the axis of the festival and invited the brightest authors of the world and country who write on historical topics. The festival talks about history in a broad way: from literary works inspired by history, texts reflecting on human existence in the light of history, to considerations of how the experience of traumatic history can not be a thing that paralyzes society, but an incentive to learn to understand oneself in the present," says the initiator and organizer of the "Vilnius lapai" festival. Rūta Kačkutė.
The fact that scientific historical research can become an excellent material for creating literary characters and plots, and that a new type of historical novel responds to the tensions and dilemmas of the present through reflection on the past, is confirmed by the popularity of the writer K. Sabaliauskaitė, which has crossed the borders of Lithuania.
The vitality of dialogues between the writer and society on historical topics is constantly reminded by the poet, winner of the National Prize T. Venclova's open and stormy public comments. When it comes to history, the public needs a bold and independent writer's voice.
The organizers of the festival have no doubt that the themes of history for this year's festival promise extremely interesting meetings, insights, revelations and revelations.
From history professor to detective king
One of the most prominent participants in the festival program will be Tymothy Snyderis, professor of history at Yale University, who is famous for his original interpretations of history and the author of widely appreciated studies in the world. The list of T. Snyder's books translated into four dozen languages includes his four books in Lithuanian language published in 2011-2019: about the Holocaust, historical lessons of tyranny, reconstruction of nations in Lithuania, in Poland, in Ukraine and Belarus and Europe between Stalin and Hitler.
Another star of the "Vilnius Leaves" festival and world literature is Nancy Huston, a writer living in Paris and writing in English and French. The author, who has chosen literary interpretations of the themes of emigration, identity, time and death as her work, speaks openly about her personal searches and critically evaluates her previous left-wing activities. She boldly admits that she has contributed to the support of communist regimes around the world. This personal revelation, together with the writer's talent for revealing characters, can become a great premise for a brave, healing dialogue with readers. Accompanied by national and international evaluations, N. Huston's work is translated into many languages of the world, and last year her world-famous novel "Dolce Agonia" was also published in Lithuanian.
Another special guest of the festival comes from Denmark. Michael Katz Krefeld is one of Denmark's most popular and award-winning crime fiction writers. Having written scripts for films and television at the beginning of his career, he made his literary debut in 2007 - and it was particularly successful. His works win the most prestigious literary awards in the Scandinavian countries, winning the hearts of the international reading public. The novels of the writer, who is called the king of the Danish criminal detective, have been translated into 18 languages, four of them into Lithuanian. The latest is "Gelmės", a story of betrayal with realistic characters and a plot created for a sharp mind, where the traitors are both society and loved ones - according to the well-known classic scenario of the story.
In detective stories, history is an important factor that determines the social problems faced by the characters - prostitutes from Eastern Europe, Stasi workers and victims, etc. Current social problems of society are examined here - human trafficking, abandoned children, criminal groups from Eastern Europe.
