Thursday, February 26, 2009
FRENCH AUTHORS AT NYU
There is a very interesting festival of French authors going on now (26) through Saturday (28) at NYU.
"Eleven major French writers, (including, for example, Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis), all translated into English, exemplifying the wide variety of styles and forms of contemporary French literary production, will come to New York from February 26 to 28 for two and a half days of one-on-one encounters with leading American writers, in dialogues hosted by well known American cultural critics (including, for example, E.L. Doctorow).
"These discussions will shed light on the concerns and accomplishments of writers in France today as well as on the similarities and differences that the commitment to writing implies in France and in the U.S.
"As with all foreign languages, translation of French works in the U.S. is disproportionately meager, with many more American authors translated in France than French authors here. The Festival of New French Writing hopes to attract new American readers to modern French and Francophone fiction and non-fiction."
The website (http://www.frenchwritingfestival.com/ ) alone is worth looking at, with extensive information about the authors.
Here is a list of participants. Information about each of them (and the exact schedule) is available on the site:
http://www.frenchwritingfestival.com/
Frédéric Beigbeder / Paul Berman Moderated By Tom Bishop
Emmanuel Carrère / Francine Prose Moderated By Caroline Weber
Marie Darrieussecq / Adam Gopnik Moderated By Deborah Treisman
David Foenkinos / Stefan Merrill Block Moderated By Violaine Huisman
Bernard-Henri Lévy / Mark Danner Moderated By Caroline Weber
Marie N’diaye / Francine Duplessix Gray Moderated By Lila Azam Zanganeh
Olivier Rolin / E.L. Doctorow Moderated By Benjamin Anastas
Marjane Satrapi / Chris Ware Moderated By Françoise Mouly
Chantal Thomas / Edmund White
Jean-Philippe / Toussaint Siri Hustvedt Moderated By Olivier Barrot
Abdourahman Waberi / Philip Gourevitch Moderated By Lila Azam Zanganeh
Labels: E.L. Doctorow, French Authors, Marjane Satrapi, NYU, Persepolis