V4 & PesText partnership
As part of the 2024-2025 PesText Festival a program titled „V4 BORDERS AND BRIDGES LITERARY FESTIVAL: Enhancing cultural dialogue across the V4 region” was funded by the Visegrad Fund.
The project is aimed at building cultural bridges and real long-term partnerships across the V4 region with contemporary book culture in the spotlight, increase awareness of cultural diversity and cross-border intercultural dialogue. Our main theme is raising the awareness of the artistic and socio-cultural values that are represented by the book culture of the V4 region; the importance of book translations, their culture – to – culture connecting power. We are convinced that literature and art are excellent tools for supporting dialogue. Although there are a number of already existing and well-based mutual collaborations among young writers, translators, and literary institutions in the region, there is still a great need for a bigger transparency, and interoperability, the need to strengthen the existing mutual relationships and build new ones, as well as interconnecting the literary life of the V4 countries on a more complex, structural level.
Our focus in this period is on the transmissibility of culture, the book as a medium, object, and illustration. The experience of recent years shows that the role and importance of visual representation in intercultural communication has increased. We believe that introducing them in workshops and public events strengthens V4 identity and cross-over activities. From the very beginning, the main focus of the festival has been on literary translation as a means of understanding each other. What is unique is that the festival event is also a space for personal presence, a live word, a dialogue, a forum, a public space, a space for discussing current issues. The innovative approach of our project lies also in the purposeful organisation of the main project events on 3 different levels: 1, V4 Text-Text connection: enhancing dialogue among different V4 authors, face-to-face, in form of international literary platform, round table debates, and literary translation workshops. 2, V4 Image-Image connection: enhancing dialogue among different V4 illustrators,face-to-face in form of V4 illustration workshop 3, V4 Text-Image connection: enhancing dialogue among Hungarian authors (writers and poets) and V4 illustrators (Czech, Polish and Slovak), in form of creation of V4 FANZINE in which the authors and illustrators will work on the same theme (the key word of the 2024/2025 Borders and Bridges Festival) and thus have a chance to compare and contrast their viewpoints.
Our planned 2024/2025 events:
1. Creation and Presentation of V4 PesText Fanzine
Kornél Szepesi Wins PesText Literary Contest
Kornél Szepesi has won the professional prize in this year’s PesText literary contest, themed „bridge,” with his work „Study on Anemophilous Flowers.”
A record number of nearly six hundred entries were submitted to the open Hungarian literary contest organized by PesText, supported by the Petőfi Cultural Agency (PKÜ) and the Hungarian Copyright Protection Office Association. Kornél Szepesi, born in Szeged in 1988, is a member of the Association of Young Writers.
His texts have been published in literary journals such as Alföld, Tiszatáj, Kalligram, ÉS, Jelenkor, and the Parisian La Femelle du Requin. The literary contest judging was conducted in two rounds. After preliminary selection, the top twelve works were presented to the main jury, consisting of renowned experts: literary historian István Margócsy, writer and editor Dóra Elekes, and writer and photojournalist Mátyás Szöllősi.
The professional prize winner and the audience award winner will each receive a prize of 300,000 forints, and both writings will be published in English in The Continental Literary Magazine by the Petőfi Cultural Agency, and in Hungarian in the festival’s fanzine. The ZIN, showcasing illustrations and texts from V4 countries, will be presented at the PesText Festival in September.
The eleven finalist works are available on Szifonline.hu, and votes for the audience award can be cast between July 24 and August 20 by clicking the following link: voting.
The authors will have the opportunity to perform at the PesText International Literary and Cultural Festival, which will be held for the sixth time from September 26 to 28, featuring some of the most exciting figures in the international literary scene. In addition to readings and discussions, the festival program includes professional workshops, concerts, and exhibitions.
Entry to the festival programs is free.
www.facebook.com/pestext.festival
www.instagram.com/pestext.festival
ZINE PRESENTATION + ZSÜJA
26 SEPTEMBER 2024, 8:30 PM – 10 PM, Három Holló
Zsanett Liszkai, or as she is known in artistic circles, ZSÜJA, has been an active participant in the Budapest electronic scene since the spring of 2019, and is also a sound engineer and a master’s student of electronic composition at the Liszt Academy of Music. Her music is often called dark ambient noise, but she doesn’t want to be bound by genre conventions. Her past releases were published by EXILES. She has performed several times at Gólya and Három Holló, several festivals including Kolorádó, OZORA and INOTA, as part of literary events, and at the Music Academy. This evening, she will be joined by a bass player and a singer, completing her new formation.
The PesText Zine show is sponsored by the Visegrad Fund.
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/2doaiuj7m
2. V4 Partners Brunch: Connection, Budapest
27 SEPTEMBER 2024, 10 AM – 12 PM, Három Holló
PesText Professional Brunch, an exclusive event within the PesText International Literary and Cultural Festival.
The initial segment of the brunch will feature presentations from the esteemed V4 strategic partners. This is a prestigious opportunity to present your organization and its initiatives.
Following the formal presentations, we will transition into a convivial networking session. This informal segment is designed to facilitate engaging conversations, foster connections, and explore collaborative opportunities, all while enjoying a selection of gourmet pastries, coffee, and other fine refreshments.
The event is sponsored by the Visegrad Fund.
Presentations:
Kriszta A. Kiss, Pestext Literary Festival (HU)
Anna Ochman, ARTeria Foundation (PL)
Petr Minarik, WIND Mills Ltd. (CZ)
BRaK Bratislava Book Festival (SK)
Monika Deset Škojcová, Poton Theatre (SK)
3. V4 Literary Illustration Workshop, Budapest
EXHIBITION: ANETA FRANTIŠKA HOLASOVÁ
4 OCTOBER 2024, 6 PM, Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum
Guided opening with illustrator Aneta Františka and editor and translator Flóra Peťovská.
The Csirimojó Publisher will provide book sales at the event.
The event is sponsored by the Visegrad Fund.
The exhibition will be open to the public from the 4 – 31 October.
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/3MzMmJtYD
WORKSHOP: ANETA FRANTIŠKA HOLASOVÁ
4 – 6 OCTOBER 2024, 1 PM to 5 PM, Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum
This event is free to attend, but we ask you to register via [email protected] by 2 October 2024.
The event is limited to 12 attendees. This is an intermediate level course, intended for those with some level of experience in illustrations.
We will provide the tools needed for the workshop tasks.
The event is sponsored by the Visegrad Fund.
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/4IgxKk3d9
4. International Literary Platform, Budapest
BRIDGES – AN EVENING OF V4 POETRY
28 SEPTEMBER 2024.,8:30 PM – 21:30 PM, Három Holló
Two Hungarian and four Slavic (one Slovak, one Czech, one Polish and one from Latvia who writes in Russian) poets will perform works that they specifically composed based on the theme-word (‘bridge’) of this edition of the Festival, at the invitation of PesText. The reading will also feature a unique sound-space installation and multimedia performance by the invited poets.
Poems, texts, reading: František Hruška (CZ), Agnieszka Wolny-Hamkalo (PL), Sergej Timofejev (LV), Miroslava Ábelová (SK), Miklós Borsik (HU), Mátyás Regős (HU)
Soundspace installation: Sergej Timofejev (LV)
Multimedia: František Hruška (CZ)
Host, moderator: Heni Szalay
The event is sponsored by the Visegrad Fund.
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/1AxRgKTmN
5. V4 Roundtable Debate in Szeged, Szeged
CENTRAL EUROPEAN ZOMBIE
27 SEPTEMBER 2024 , 6 PM – 8 PM, No Milk Today
Dreams of Czech, Slovak and Hungarian writers
The evening will feature an introduction of the poet and author Peter Šulej, editor of the journal and publishing house Vlna, whose novel, Together (Tiszatáj, 2024) was recently published, and the young Czech poet Jan Těsnohlídek, already cult-worshipped or hated by members of his generation.
The discussion will focus on the possibilities of Central and Eastern European literature after the fall of Communism, how young, contemporary Czech and Slovak literature forged its own path, as well as the joys and pitfalls of publishing. We will also try to answer an important question: what would Central Europe look like in a zombie movie?
The eminent literary translator Judit Dobry will serve as the evening’s interpreter. The discus sion will be moderated by Roland Orcsik.
The event is sponsored by the Visegrad Fund.
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/2owdmbRcX
6. V4 Literary Translation Workshop
7. Talk to Your Neighbor: Introducing an Outstanding V4 Author to Hungarian Readers, Budapest
Our partners:
Csirimojó Cultural Association
Három Holló Café and Cultural Centre (HU)
HUBBY – Hungarian Board on Books for Young People (HU)
National Ossolinski Institute (Zaklad Narodowy im. Ossolinskich), (PL)