Next Page Foundation

Issue 65 - February 2010

Ina Doublekova — 2010-03-01T10:43:43Z

New Books Published

Naguib Mahfouz, Arabians Nights And Days, transl. into Albanian by Hysen Sinani and Sulejman Tomçini (Zenit Editions, Tirana 2010), supported by Encounters Project

This collection of seventeen interrelated tales by the Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz uses as its main hypotext A Thousand and One Nights. The author refashions in a modern perspective some classic Arabian stories, characters and motifs, such as genies, flying carpets, Aladdin, Ali Baba, etc. Along with traditional topics – obsessive love, reincarnations, betrayal – Mahfouz concentrates on human hypocrisy, anxiety, and lost integrity. Though preserving the poetic and magical subtlety of the original, Mahfouz's writing is at the same time deeply ironic; his realism – both psychological and historical.

To fully preserve those layers of Mahfouz's writing is a crucial task, and not an easy one, for the translators. The brilliant Albanian translation is a result of collaboration between Hysen Sinani and Sulejman Tomçini – both among the most renowned contemporary Albanian linguists and translators. The rich vocabulary and the cultivated style of the translation manage to both keep the fairy-tale elements and to depart from them following the author's intention. No doubt that it is only through translations of such a high quality as this one that a more sustainable interest in contemporary Arabic prose can arouse.

Podvizhnite Balkani (Fluid Balkans: collection of studies, NEXUS Project, 2000-2003), ed. by Al. Kiossev, translated into Bulgarian by Prosveta, Sofia 2010. Supported by New Southeast European History Books Project

The collection presents translations of the results of the international research project on How to Think about the Balkans: Culture, Region, Identities (2000-2003). It explores the various attitudes, constructions, and deconstructions of the Balkan space, surveys the unstable concepts of centre and periphery, follows the changing trajectories of migrant flows, and “dives” deep into the melting-pot of the multicultural Balkan cities. The collection gathers texts by contemporary scholars from Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Serbia, and Croatia. For more information about the participants in NEXUS and their projects visit their web page.

Issue 64 - January 2010

Ina Doublekova — 2010-02-01T08:20:34Z

New Books Published

Sandra Kalniete, With Dance Shoes in the Siberian Snows, transl. into Arabic by Amira Abo Elnoor, supported by South-South Translation Project

With Dance Shoes in the Siberian Snows is a family history, and a testimony to more than fifty years of occupation of Latvia. It tells the story of human survival during both the Nazi and Soviet repressive regimes. The author – Sandra Kalniete – is a renowned politician and diplomat, ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, and the first Latvian Commissioner at the EU. Her poignant story, which reads like a novel, is the most translated Latvian book in the recent history.

Voices from the Faultline. A Balkan Anthology, A. Johnson, and Zakalin Nezic, Eds., Translation into Arabc supported by South-South Translation Project

The anthology resembles a puzzle - seventy-one “pieces” by twenty-four contemporary Balkan writers, poets, and playwrights. Though being a bit eclectic, it is praised for the passion and zest of the works included. The English translation has been carefully reviewed by Robert Murray Davis from Oklahoma University, who points out a few promising names as Alek Popov, Dragoljub Ackovic, Lidija Dimkovska, Nikolina Kulidjan, Venko Andonovski, and Vladimir Levchev. As for the rest of the writing, he claims it “is sincere without being vibrant”, which is possibly due to the overdone modernist and postmodernist influences.

comiXculture II

Ina Doublekova — 2010-01-07T11:20:44Z

comiXculture II project will address the lack of public visibility of the culturally and ethnically different groups and the lack of representation of their unique experiences by including these experiences in works of a popular genre – the comix. This way the works created through the project will reflect and communicate the diversified and multicultural character of our contemporary societies to young audiences of the majority populations. The works will avoid simple propaganda messages but would rather be aiming at challenging the inertia of rejecting the otherness, the different, and the unknown.

Outcomes:

formulate a network of artists from Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Lebanon, engaged in socially-relevant comixes;

series of comix stories, contributing to the social dialogue on diversity, racism and xenophobia, published in journals with mass circulation in the local languages of the participating countries;

Activities:

first meeting of the participants in Beirut, Lebanon;

forthcoming second meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria;

publication of a comix-collection in English, including short comix by both the East European participants on their experiences in Beirut and the Lebanese artists on their impressions of Sofia;

ongoing production of works by all participants;

ongoing publications in high-quality mass journals;

The project is made possible thanks to the financial support of Open Society Institute-Budapest

Issue 63 - December 2009

Ina Doublekova — 2009-12-30T21:47:49Z

Wishing you a very happy New Year!

BEIRUT: WHERE COMIXCULTURE II GOT STARTED

The official languages of Lebanon are two: Arabic and French. The country also has two main religions: about 60 % of people are Muslims and the remaining 40 % are Christians. Its capital – Beirut – is often described as one of the most diverse cities in the Middle East. It is inhabited by both Muslims (primary Sunni and Shiaite, but also Druze and Alawites) and Christians (Maronites, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholics, Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholics, Roman Catholics, Syriacs, Copts, Methodists, Protestants). They all used to live together well, in heterogeneous neighborhoods, before the Civil war.

Doesn't that sound like the right place to have a workshop on diversity issues with renowned East European comics' artists, whose work demonstrates their interest in contemporary social problems, but yet they do not have any first-hand experiences with the Arab world?

It did to us, though! After several months of preselection, the first meeting of the participants in comiXculture II initiative of Next Page took place in Beirut in mid December. Eight East European comics' artists and five Lebanese illustrators met to explore together the multiple faces of post-war city, to discuss issues of diversity and to share professional knowledge.

An evening of presentations and discussions in Beirut

We had a great and a very diverse group: Aleksandar Zograf, Toma Pan and Vladimir Palibrk (all from Serbia), Irena Jukic-Pranjic (Croatia) and Helena Klakocar (Croatia/the Netherlands), Jakob Klemencic (Slovenia), Matei Branea (Romania) and Ivan Bogadnov (Bulgaria). The Lebanese comics scene was presented by Lena Merjer and Omar Khoury, who together publish the Samandal magazine for comics, Ghassan Halawani, Zeina Abirached and Ghadi Ghosh. All of them, in addition of doing comics are involved in other artistic activities such as animations and movies, writing and teaching.

Besides many discussions of professional topics such as on drawing styles and techniques, the five days of the workshop naturally turned out to be an intensive process of getting to know each other out of the box. For the artists coming from different countries in Eastern Europe, neighboring one another, but still separated by many ideologies and historical narratives, it was exciting to compare and contrast the development of their art in each country and to look at the socio-political forces which affected it.

Moreover, they had the chance of exploring Beirut off the beaten touristic tracks with the good guidance of the local participants. They took their guests to the best falafel shop in the city and invited them to celebrate the Lebanon's favorite cheese – labneh; showed them around the newly rebuilt downtown but also let them see the former Palestinian refugee camp, which now has become rather a ghettoized district of Beirut. What is worth mentioning is that one of the main themes which were popping up many times was the issues of war, which the people from ex-Yugoslavia and the Lebanese artists find out to have very much in common. However, they were talking mainly about the personal experiences of growing up and living in a war situation.

The short-term result of this meeting will be the appearance of eight exciting comics on Beirut as seen by the European participants. Thus, another workshop is planned to happen in spring time in Sofia, after which the Lebanese artists will share their impressions from the city in drawing. Those short strips will be then published in one book. Further, every month in 2010 we will have several comics works, expressing a view point on issues of diversity in English. Those works will be translated and regularly published in high-quality magazines in Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, and Lebanon.

The first meeting of comiXculture team was part of the “Comics Encounters” festival, organized by La Maison du Livre in Academie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) as part of the official program of Beirut World Book Capital 2009.

For more information on comixculture II, please contact Ina Doublekova at comix@npage.org

NEW BOOKS PUBLISHED

Josef Wiesehofer, Ancient Persia, transl. into Arabic by Muhammad Jadeed and Ziad Muna (Cadmus Press, Damascus, Syria 2009), supported by the South-South Translation Project of Next Page Foundation

This comprehensive survey of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenids, the Parthians, and the Sasanians is praised as "an outstanding contribution toward and appreciation of ancient Persia." Based on primary written, archeological, and numismatic sources, it covers a huge time span – from the beginnings of the Achaemenid Empire to the Arab conquest. The study questions the reliability and accuracy of the Greek and Roman historical evidence and accounts, disputes the interpretations of the Western scholars of 19th and 20th century, thus offers a fresh Near Eastern perspective on the pre-Islamic Iranian social, cultural, and political history.

Issue 62 - November 2009

Ina Doublekova — 2009-11-30T10:57:48Z

Page Back

Diversity in book consumption in Europe: do we know where we are?

No, we do not know everything. But we know much more now than we knew last year and the year before.

After having analyzed the dynamics of translations over the last 20 years in the Diversity Report 2008, the team of Content and Consulting has now taken another approach by comparing bestsellers list across Europe and looking into the market careers of European fiction authors in the Diversity Report 2009. The result is a report that is multilayered, highly informative and full of surprises. One of them is that reading preferences - even in the bestsellers segment! - seem to be much more diverse across Europe than one would assume. The report even goes that far to suggest that there is much more readers' curiosity and openness to new names than publishers and agents seem to imagine.

The report was presented at a meeting during Buch Messe Wien in November where a small group of experts had a lively discussion, gave critical feedback and suggestions for the future. One can still comment on the report here.

Thanks to Erste Stiftung's support the large gap in data and analyzes of translations and books in Europe seems less scary now. Next step would be to have a larger group of policy makers and stakeholders joining in the debate.

A comics weekend in Sofia

Comics events are rare in the city of Sofia. International comics events are even rarer.

In mid October the Red House for Culture and Debate in Sofia dedicated a whole weekend to mark the last phase of the international European Comics Studio project launched by Hi8us – Birmingham in 2008. The Red House hosted an exhibition of the works of the 11 Bulgarian participants and a separate exhibition of the Bulgarian Nakama club for manga and anime. There was half a day of workshops with trainers of Hi8us, presentations of various artists and a closing discussion on the future of comics in Bulgaria. Next Page had a presentation of its comiXculture program and Yana Genova moderated the closing debate. However, in the absence of publishers and periodicals (other than for kids) Bulgarian comics art lives mostly a digital online life. This is true for publishing of comics but also for discussing it. The online debate on the future of Bulgarian comics that took place in one of the most popular online communities www.comics-bistro.net was much livelier and heated than the “real” one in the Red House.

For a usefull further reading on Bulgarian comics see here http://lambiek.net/comics/bulgarian.htm

Issue 61 - October 2009

Ina Doublekova — 2009-10-27T09:13:45Z

A beginning of a dialogue on a Euro-Med cultural agenda?

Renata Papsh of ALF and Emina Visnic of Clubture in Croatia reporting on the results of the Networks working group

The Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF) is a central actor in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and a promoter of dialogue between cultures and respect for diversity across the Euro-Med region. ALF was also the main organizer of the forum “Creativity, Mobility and Dialogue” that took place in Rhodes on 1-4 Oct this year gathering around 60 representatives of the civil society and academia.

The Rhodes meeting was meant to be a first step towards a participatory consultation process with the civil society on a new cultural agenda for the Euro-Med space. We learnеd about a new cultural strategy for the region currently under preparation by the EC DG External Relations with the help of two experts (whose names remain so far unknown). We also learned about the forthcoming Barcelona Forum in 2010 that is meant to discuss cultural issues in the framework of the Union of the Mediterranean and the “Euro-Med project”.

The Rhodes meeting had five working groups on: Arts & Education, Media, Mobility, Networks and Translation. Understandably, Yana Genova of Next Page took part in the one on translations in the Mediterranean. All groups drafted recommendations to the ALF and proposals for topics and framework questions for the Barcelona Forum. The organizers made a commitment to make these recommendations public so – follow their website for news at http://www.euromedalex.org/.

New publications

Nikolaj Bessonov, Anna Orlovskaja: Nomadic Romani Girl (memoirs with ethnographic comments), Romani/Russian,(Moscow 2008), supported by the Grants Program of VORBA project

This text is based on stories about the young years of Anna Orlovskaja, a nomadic Romani girl living and travelling with her family in Belarus in the mid 20th century. The old Orlovskaja, with whom Nikolaj Bessonov met in 2004, appeared to be a refine storyteller, who remembers details that have not been recorded by now. In her memoirs there are stories about the relations of Roma with the police and state administration, children's games in a nomadic camps, forced settling of the nomadic groups in former USSR. A whole chapter is devoted to the Nazi genocide in Belarus during the World War II.

Bessonov interprets and comments on the memoirs of Anna Orlovskaja, adding stories by other old Roma and giving insight into the life of all Roma groups in former USSR. Thus, the memoirs of Anna Orlovskaja are put in a wider historical and cultural context. Publications on the life and culture of nomadic Roma are exceptions in the field of Romani Studies so the book is an event to note.

Issue 60

2009-10-06T08:34:51Z

Elena Marushiakova, Vesselin Popov, Gypsies in the Ottoman Empire: A Contribution to the History of the Balkans, translation into Arabic by Muhammed Magribi (Sphinx Agency, Egypt 2009), supported by the South-South Translation Grants Program

This is the first study to be published on history, social structure, ethnography, and culture of the Gypsies in the Ottoman empire, based on thorough and extensive research of a previously unknown or unpopular data. The Roma presence is interpreted within the overall ethnic picture of the empire in the given period. Through studying the archives (mainly tax and guild registers, special laws, court documents, travelogues, etc.) the authors prove Gypsies' deep influence on the historical development of the Balkan countries, which have often been called “the second motherland of the Gypsies”.

Fatmagül Berktay, Gender of History, translation into Arabic by Mohammad Ahmad Itani (Dar Kreidieh for Printing, Publishing & Distributing, Beirut, Lebanon 2009), supported by the South-South Translation Grants Program

The collection of essays by the feminist theorist Fatmagül Berktay is claimed to be a reference book, important not only for the relatively narrow field of Gender studies, but also for the contemporary philosophy and critical theory in general. The author offers her complex interpretation of the concept of identity and identity politics by overlapping the bordering realms of philosophy, political history, history of human rights, feminist theory, etc. Although the author suggests and applies a refined gendered and poststructuralist perspective on the problem of identity, she also preserves an utopian horizon where “the notion of reason and humanity beyond gendered stereotypes” may turn into reality one day.

Strangers in Belgrade Become comiX Heroes

The Strip it! workshop on comix creation took place in Belgrade, Serbia, from 17th till 27th of September. This workshop was the first event of a larger initiative for youth exchange, funded by the “Youth in Action” programme and organized by Mreza Mozaik and Inicijativa SADA, (Serbia), and Platform Spartak (the Netherlands).

The main goal of the organizers is to reveal “the naked truth about xenophobia as drawn by comic artist”. As far as the concept of Strip it! coincides with many of the ideas, inspiring comiXculture initiative of the Next Page foundation, the project assistant Ina Doublekova attended the opening of the workshop to meet the organizers.

Right at the foot of the TV tower of Belgrade (which is still under construction), 25 young comic artists from Spain, Serbia, Croatia, Czech Republic and Bulgaria gathered to explore the stereotypical misconceptions which lead to the hatred of the Other. As a result of the ten days intensive work, comixes under the title “Being a stranger in Belgrade” will be produced and published.

Translations of Books from Arabic in Six East European Countries after 1989

2009-07-06T09:40:46Z

In English – summary and full-text of the surveys:

In Arabic – summary of the surveys:

Issue 59 - June 2009

2009-06-30T20:46:19Z

Encounters grants for translations – results now available!

The grants competition for translations that supplements other activities of the Encounters program for a dialogue between Arabic and the languages of Eastern Europe, is now completed. We have recieved applications for co-funding the translation of 30 books and 3 journals' publications from a total of 8 countries. East European publishers were visibly much more active and willing to translate from Arabic. Due to the surprisingly low interest on behalf of the Arab publishers towards the grants opportunity Next Page will reopen the call for Arab publishers only in July this year.

The program advisory committee took into account the literary quality of the texts but also the past track of the publishers and their capability to access reading audiences, the context of the recipient country and not least, the financial aspect of the applications. The surveys on “Translations from Arabic in Five East European Countries” undertaken earlier by Next Page were also very instrumental in the selection process.

Here is the final list of supported projects:

1. Naguib Mahfouz, Arabian Nights and Days to be translated into Albanian by Zenit Publishers

2. Elias Khoury, Little Mountain to be translated into Albanian by Zenit Publishers

3. Mohamed Choukri, For Bread Alone to be translated into Bulgarian by Panorama Publishers

4. Alaa Al Aswany, The Yacobian Building to be translated into Bulgarian by Prozoretz Publishers

5. Gamal al-Ghitani: Pyranmid Texts to be translated into Slovak by Baum Publishers

6. Naguib Mahfuiz: Dreams to be translated into Slovak by Drewo a srd Publishers

7. Translation and publication of 18 texts in the Arabic special issue of Apokalipsa Magazine - Slovenia

8. Abd ar-Rahman Munif, The Wilderness to be translated into Polish by Smak Słowa Publishers

Average grant size for this competition is 3000 US, with the largest grants being provided in Poland and Slovenia. Applications by Arab publishers will be considered in the next call for proposals that will be open for translations into Arabic only.

Telling Our Stories in Books or How to Attract Roma Kids to Reading

Second International Workshop within the Our Stories project

What if you are a girl or a boy living in a ghettoized Roma settlement somewhere in the suburbs of your city? What if the only books that you see are the ones in the school library which hasn't got new acquisitions ever since the fall of communism? What if the books that you read never ever mention anybody of Roma origin and if they do, it is rarely in a positive light? And if they never ever refer to your own way of living, your own family situation, your own moral or practical dillemas.

These are some of the basic questions that Our Stories project of Next Page took on board some two years ago when the program was conceived. Since then, we have gathered a group of dedicated Roma organizations, reading and writing experts and writers to discuss how can we contribute to the social inclusion of Roma youth via reading and writing.

Young talented Roma working with children were involved in a series of creative writing workshops to tell stories that deeply affected their own life and touched their feelings. A dozen of stories about the contemporary life of Roma children, their problems, difficulties and successes were created in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Romania. Three of the stories were selected for illustration and publication – My Grandma and the Wild Swans by Tossen Ramar that narrates on the ups and downs of a Roma boy searching for a book that he once saw at his friend's, Friends by Irfan Martez – a commix story about a Roma boy unjustly accused of stealing from a fellow and My Little Red Shoes by Fatime Demir that shows the difficulties a Roma girl living in a ghetto faces when she goes to school.

The workshop Telling Our Stories in Books that took place on 26-27 June 2009 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria closed the circle of stories creation and discussed the final illustrated editions of the three titles. The workshop participants were the stories authors, advisors and publishers and they outlined strategies intended to help Our Stories books get into the bookshops, schools and Roma mahalas and reach young readers audience.

The workshop was organized within the framework of the Our Stories supported by the European Cultural Foundation. For more information on it, follow the news on our web site or contact Sofiya Zahova, project coordinator.

Encounters grants

Yana Genova — 2009-06-18T14:33:24Z

Encounters grants for translations – results now available!

The grants competition for translations that supplements other activities of the Encounters program for a dialogue between Arabic and the languages of Eastern Europe, is now completed. We have recieved applications for co-funding the translation of 30 books and 3 journals' publications from a total of 8 countries. East European publishers were visibly much more active and willing to translate from Arabic. Due to the surprisingly low interest on behalf of the Arab publishers towards the grants opportunity Next Page will reopen the call for Arab publishers only in July this year.