On September 23-24, the "Open books" festival will be held in Vilnius for the fourth time, in which world-famous writers, Lithuanian authors who have published new books will participate this year, attention will be paid to young poets, literary discussions will take place, and all the meetings held in the National Art Gallery will be connected by this year's festival topic related to events in Ukraine: "What Literature Can Do: The Role of Writers in the Face of War."
It has already been confirmed that the Nobel laureate Svetlana Aleksievich will participate in the festival - her previous visit was interrupted by the events in Belarus a few years ago, so she is looking forward to meeting Lithuanian readers - especially since her books touch on the topics of totalitarianism, a person oppressed by the system, and war, which are extremely relevant at this time. years. The organizers of the festival say that negotiations are currently underway with other famous writers from abroad, so it is expected that the program will be filled with well-known names.
"Open books festival, which will be held for the fourth time, is growing, maturing and already has its own traditions - the heart of the festival is the "Authors' Gallery" with Lithuanian authors who have published the most valuable books this year, a discussion forum for gourmets and professionals, and a stage for readings of the works of young authors. Well, the festival will be decorated by top-level foreign literary stars. The theme of this year's festival is dictated by world current affairs - war in Ukraine. We will discuss with guests from abroad and the literary community of our country - what will be the literary stories of these times? Nobel laureate Svetlana Aleksijevič's participation in this year's festival is especially important for us, because her books about humanity in war are as relevant as ever in today's context," says festival director Jurga Mandrijauskaitė-Ruškienė.
S. Aleksijevic: where does brutality come from?
In 2020, S. Aleksievich was already supposed to participate in the "Open books" festival, but events in Belarus prevented her from coming then, after which she was forced to leave Minsk for the West, where she still lives. Therefore, the famous writer feels a debt to Lithuanian readers whom she will meet at this year's festival.
In 2015, S. Aleksijevic was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for "polyphonic essays that are a monument to suffering and courage in our time". The works of this writer are well known to Lithuanian readers - five of her books are published in Lithuanian, in which she writes about people traumatized by the Soviet regime, the homo sovieticus mentality, and with the help of documentary prose, she talks about war wounds, borderline situations and the Chernobyl disaster. By the way, her book about Chernobyl inspired the creators of the HBO mini-series "Chernobyl", which received huge interest. In her books, she is able to touch the roots of Russian nationalism, the consequences of which we are now seeing with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Why is it so easy to program a person for war?" And the soldiers there use familiar words: "hero", "heroism"... No, I don't think so. Now you need heroism not to shoot", said S. Aleksijevič in an interview. S. Aleksievich also has Ukrainian blood - she was born in Ukraine in 1948, her father is Belarusian, her mother is Ukrainian. Later, her family moved to live and work in Belarus.
Currently, S. Aleksijevič says she is writing a book about the events in Belarus. "I am writing a book about our revolution. One of the questions I try to answer is how the beast is born in a person. How is that brutality born inside policemen? We still don't fully understand human nature," said the award-winning writer.
During the meeting with the readers, the writer currently living in Berlin will talk not only about her work, which pierces the perception of reality even more acutely than before, but also about what kind of world Vladimir Putin wants to create and how we must resist it, she will tell how she sees it modern Russia. "Man has never been valuable in Russia. After all, we are people of war: either we are at war or we are preparing for war. For some reason it's called life", S. Aleksievich said about the mentality of Russian people. Writer and playwright Marius Ivaškevičius will interview the writer at the "Open books" festival.
It is expected that S.Aleksievich's thoughts will be supplemented by other famous writers during the festival. Open books aims to invite writers from Ukraine to the festival, as far as it will be possible due to the war in this country, as well as connoisseurs of this country's literature, people working with Ukrainian books.
Famous writers and budding poets
The organizers of the festival say that the gallery of Lithuanian authors remains at the center of the rich program. During the "Open books" festival, the most interesting and valuable works of Lithuanian authors published during the year will be presented, which will be selected by a commission created especially for the festival. This year, it consists of Birutė Jonuskaitė-Augustinienė, chairperson of the Lithuanian Writers' Union, literary critic Neringa Butnoriūtė, book reviewer, festival program organizer Audrius Ožalas, festival director and committee chairperson Jurga Mandrijauskaitė-Ruškienė.
Authors will be selected for the festival based on the lasting, artistic value of the works, relevance of the topics, originality, and a different look at the world. The selection of writers for the festival will take place in two stages. During the first stage, the following authors have already been selected for the festival: Vaiva Grainytė, Rolandas Rastauskas, Jurga Vilė, Laurynas Katkus, Lina Buividavičiūtė, Robertas Petrauskas, Eglė Frank, Antanas Šimkus, Rasa Aškinytė, Ramūnas Liutkevičius, Paulina Pūkytė, Dovilė Raustytė, Dainius Gintalas, Bernardas Gailius, Kęstutis Šapoka, Aldona Tüür, Evaldas Tornau. Other authors will be selected by the commission and announced by September 3.
"It is already becoming a tradition that the Open books festival becomes a place where you can get to know what is happening in the Lithuanian literary field, how diverse it is, to see new trends, what new authors are emerging or what works are presented by already well-known creators," he says. Jurga Mandrijauskaitė-Ruškienė.
Last year, the festival on the eve of the main day also provided a stage for budding poets who read their work in an informal setting. New winds of poetry will blow at this year's festival as well - 10 young authors will be selected for this program 15min culture editor Monika Bertašiūtė-Čiužienė, who has been interested in the work of young poets for several years and promises that this year's poetry readings will be in an unusual format.
From the war in Ukraine to non-fiction
Last year, the Open books festival launched a discussion space where various topics related to literature were discussed. This year, the tradition will be maintained at the festival - the National Art Gallery will have two event halls - one of them will host meetings with Lithuanian and foreign writers, and the other will host discussions centered on non-fiction, the role of writers at moments of historical turning points, and books by Ukrainian writers.
"In the last few years, it has been noticed that a lot of strong non-fiction literature is being published in Lithuania, which expands our understanding of this era and enriches it with historical, political, architectural and other knowledge. It's safe to say that some books have encouraged readers to discover and delve into areas that were completely unknown to them until then. We believe that it is a great opportunity to talk about non-fiction literature in Lithuania - how it speaks to readers, what answers they are looking for in such books, how to write books on scientific topics so that they are understandable to a wide audience, what works have become exceptional in the field of documentary literature. During the discussion, we will also touch on other topics that are extremely relevant these days - what is the role of writers during such events that are shaking the world now? How literature serves in political power games and in the formation of ideologies, in propaganda," said Audrius Ožalas, head of the festival's program.
The festival will also discuss Ukrainian literature - what are the most significant works of this country's authors published in Lithuanian, what is missing, what problems are faced and what literary bridges will connect Ukraine with Lithuania in the future.
"We see that the festival is finding its place in the literary life of Lithuania, we are trying to talk about books in various formats, to attract readers who are deeply interested in literature, as well as readers who are perhaps still discovering the pleasure of books. It is important for us to create a cozy atmosphere, a sense of community, and we will pay a lot of attention to this this year as well. The festival has been taking place for several years when the world is facing great challenges - last year it was held during the raging coronavirus pandemic, now we are holding it in the face of the war in Ukraine, and we believe that it is at this time that it is important to rethink the meaning of creativity, to talk about the power of books and writers , rethinking the fundamental themes of being in the world. We hope that the meetings at the festival will expand the spaces for reflection, provide new acquaintances and become inspiration", said the organizers of the "Open books" festival.
