Coming up

Solothurn’s traditional Days of Literature take place from 10 to 12 May, with a rich and varied translation programme. Events embrace a range of formats, such as translator portraits, dialogues, text workshops and translation studios, putting nine different literary translators in the limelight. Translation House Looren is part of the festival with our event Texts without Borders, this year presenting the languages Turkish and Kurdish in all variants. The three days also feature writers like Andrew Bond, Gianna Linda Cadonau, Elisa Shua Dusapin, Klaus Merz, Necati Öziri and many more! For further information and the events programme, see: https://www.literatur.ch/de/

 
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A Kurdish-Turkish poetry evening 

The Swiss literary industry has long been dominated by the four official national languages. The events series Texts without Borders counters this tendency in cooperation with Translation House Looren, presenting writers who work in other languages. In Solothurn two poets will be in conversation, reading from their work in Turkish and Kurdish (Kurmanji) and in German translation, with a musical framing of Kurdish and Turkish songs. 

Elif Yıldırım (writer)

Emin Uslu (writer)

Ilayda Kaya (vocals), Henrik Dewes (guitar), Finn Mück (percussion)

Ivana Martinović (German readings) 

Tuğba Ayaz (presenter)

More information on the poets and ticket sales at: https://www.literatur.ch/de/pr...

 
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At this joint reading, four recipients of the 2023 Bourses Looren à Lavigny grant will present their work. Ovidiu Komlod (Romania), Lotta Toivanen (Finland), Rodrigo Garcia Lopes (Brazil), Mona de Pracontal (France) and Dominique Nédellec (France), guest professor in the Programme Gilbert Musy, will read from their current translation projects. Organised in conjunction with the Ledig-Rowohlt Foundation and the Centre de Traduction Littéraire.

The reading will be followed by drinks and snacks, an opportunity to talk to the translators in an informal setting.

Our grant holders

Programme Gilbert Musy

 
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The 11th Bachtel Reading features an acrobatic word performance at Wernetshausen’s Haus für Vieles. We’re honoured to host the Swiss writer Michael Fehr, a unique player in Switzerland’s literary landscape with his spoken word poetry. His texts and neologisms are unusual, musical and rhythmic. Daniele Pantano, an artist and poet in his own right, translates Fehr’s work into English.

6:30 pm: Reading at Haus für Vieles, Sackstr. 36, Wernetshausen. Bus stop Wernetshausen Dorf
8 pm: Sennerei Bachtel, Sennhüttenstr. 13, Wernetshausen
Entry fee: 20 CHF for reading and apéro. Looren Association members: 10 CHF.

Please register via info@looren.net or +41 (0)43 843 12 43 (and mention association membership when signing up).

Further Information

 
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Transcultural poetry: a Kurdish-Turkish encounter with readings, dialogue and music

Texts without Borders brings together Elif Yıldırım and Emin Uslu, two Swiss-based poets working in their native languages: Elif Yıldırım writes in Turkish, Emin Uslu in Kurdish (Kurmanji) and Turkish. They’ll be talking about key themes of their writing, always linked to their country of origin: longing and sadness, hope and love and references to myths and legends. Look forward to hearing their poetry in the original and in German translation, with a musical framework of Kurdish and Turkish songs.

Featuring

Elif Yıldırım (writer)

Emin Uslu (writer)

Ilayda Kaya (vocals), Henrik Dewes (guitar), Finn Mück (percussion)

Ivana Martinović (German readings)

Alice Grünfelder (presenter)

5 pm: bar opens

From 6 pm: Middle Eastern cuisine

7:30 pm: event begins

An event from the Texts without Borders series by Translation House Looren, in conjunction with Kulturmarkt Zürich. Texts without Borders shines a spotlight on writers and translators working in various world languages. These creatives are part of the Swiss literary scene but don’t write in the four official national languages. Each event is framed by music from the specific culture on stage. This year’s language focus is on Turkish and Kurdish in all variants.

Biographies:

Emin Uslu

Emin Uslu was born in the south-east Anatolian province of Adıyaman. After university, he worked as a primary school teacher. He fled to Switzerland due to his political and trade union activities, and has lived in St. Gallen since 2016. His first poetry collection Katlime Sebeptir Bütün Bunlar was published in Turkish; his second, Çîroka welat, is forthcoming in Kurdish.

Elif Yıldırım

Elif Yıldırım was born in Samsun. While studying engineering, she also worked as a journalist. Facing criminal proceedings in Turkey for her journalism, she has lived in Basel since 2000. She writes poems in her native Turkish and is also a social education worker and professional carer. Elif Yıldırım has published three poetry collections in Turkey, most recently 2020’s Bennu.

Ilayda Kaya

Ilayda Kaya studied law in Basel before making a career out of her love of music. She teaches music and movement, studies elementary music teaching in Zürich and sings in a number of bands. For the musical framework at Texts without Borders, she’ll perform in a trio with Henrik Dewes (guitar) and Finn Mück (percussion), singing Turkish and Kurdish songs.

Free entry for Translation House Looren Association members.

Flyer German

Flyer Turkish

 
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We cordially invite all members of the Translation House Looren Association to our Annual General Meeting on 20 June. The day will begin with a guided tour around the litafrika exhibition at Strauhof Museum. We’ll then meet at Literaturhaus Zürich for the AGM, followed by drinks and snacks. Save the date! Official invitations and precise timing will be sent out with the annual report at the end of May.

 
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The exhibition litafrika (Strauhof Museum) and this panel discussion shine a spotlight on Abidjan, the exuberant capital of Côte d’Ivoire. Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie’s feminist graphic novel Aya from Yopougon zooms in on the Yopougon neighbourhood, showing the postcolonial development since the 1970s – beyond all Western clichés. The eight-part series about 20-year-old Aya and her friends has been a huge success in Côte d’Ivoire and France. Translating the graphic novel with its many cultural, linguistic and historical references is a delightful challenge. Edwige-Renée Dro (co-curator, litafrika) and the German translator Ulrich Pröfrock will be talking with the writer Marguerite Abouet about all those tricky moments.

A collaboration between Translation House Looren, Litar and Strauhof Museum.

The exhibition litafrika – Abidjan & Accra at Strauhof Museum (7 June to 8 September 2024) will be open until 10 pm after the event.

 
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