reflecting cultural relations

	Literature in Europe

In cooperation with the Institute for Foreign Relations (ifa) we organised an event to address authors' perceptions of and experiences with Europe and related cultural concepts on 26 November at Neue Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.

Like the British Council ifa’s remit focuses on cultural relations. It was, therefore, essential for both organisations to ensure a genuine intercultural strand in our combined event. This was achieved via a diverse group of authors who took to the platform in Stuttgart’s Neue Staatsgalerie to discuss the role of literature for and in Europe.

For the debate under the heading of “Reflecting Cultural Relations – Literature in Europe” Italy-based British author, Tim Parks, joined Matthias Politycki, the German author and currently Writer in Residence in London, the Austrian Andrea Grill, who also studied in the Netherlands, Albania and Greece, and Beqë Cufaj, a Stuttgart writer born in Kosovo – a state that couldn't be found on a map when he was born. Their combined curricula vitae represent true European cultural diversity.

Leading German literary TV journalist Denis Scheck asked the authors to examine whether something such as 'European literature' actually exists. And they came up with a great variety of answers.

With the William Faulkner quote "The past is never dead. In fact, it's not even past" Beqë Cufaj underlined his approach to the concept of Europe: Whatever we do today, we are deeply rooted in history. Nevertheless, from a purely practical perspective, Cufaj did not expect too much out of official European offers in the literary sphere: "Whenever I try to access the European Digital Library, the server is down."

Matthias Politycki said that he immediately felt to be at home in some sense when he returns to any European country back from far-flung destinations like Nepal. And Andrea Grill emphasised the value of having been able to visit many countries in her formative years. This had created a much broader European perspective for her.

A more dissenting note came from Tim Parks who played down any overarching values that might come along with the concept of Europe. For a literary writer, he said, the stories of life immediately around him were much more important and influential for his work than any deliberating about Europe or even European institutions.

"Let's face it - Europe is boring, and we shouldn't try to change that", he challenged, reflecting a personally-held view that the value of the European concept derived from its facility to provide a sphere for interaction unconstrained by national interests. For Parks, literature requires a personal approach both from the author's and the reader's perspective.