The question “Do we find our home in the homeland?”, paraphrased from the Hungarian anthem, came as a response to Hölderlin’s line: “So käm’ auch ich zur Heimat“ (“Well would I, too, like to come home”). With these quotes, the festival places the concept of “home” as its central topic. Writers are in many ways deeply rooted in their homes, be it the language, a city, a landscape, the culture, the tradition or their audience, or rather, a combination of these elements that come together to form the concept of “home”.

This relationship remains a problematic one, as “home” is an ideal space, which one can struggle to reach, despite possible failure. As contemporary literature from all over the world shows, this relationship does not become less complicated in the early 21st century.

The aim of our festival is to bring authors, previously involved in the networks of the three organising institutions, from Bosnia-Herzegovina, India, China, Lebanon, Romania and Switzerland, together in Hungary to write and talk about “home” and the role of “home” in life and art. Many of our invited authors do not live in the country they were born in, often they do not write in the language that surrounded them as children. What does “home” mean in Hungary today and what does it mean to our guests? How can this concept be re-evaluated in the mirror the festival participants hold up for us to look into?

With the accompanying music and visual programs, we are stretching the boundaries between various art forms, and at the same time, using the opportunity to present the work of highly esteemed international authors together with the youngest generation of Hungarian writers, slammers, musicians, composers, visual and media artists.

Festival Program

Thursday, 29th November 2012

Morning venue: Open Society Archives, 1051 Budapest, Arany J. u. 32.
9.30 Registration for the press conference
10.00 Press conference with Jean-Baptiste Joly | Akademie Schloss Solitude, Zsófia Lóránd and Ádám Gaborják | JAK
10.30 Coffee break
11.00 - 12.30 Roundtable discussion, in cooperation with the Central European University
With Kaiwan Mehta, Lina Mounzer, Gábor Schein, Zsuzsa Selyem, Dan Sociu, Krisztina Tóth, Dubravka Ugrešić
Moderation: Nadia Al-Bagdadi (CEU), Jasmina Lukić (CEU)

Venue of all further events: A38 Ship

16.00 - 16.15 Welcome: Jean-Baptiste Joly | Akademie Schloss Solitude, Florian Höllerer | Literaturhaus Stuttgart, Zsófia Lóránd and Ádám Gaborják | JAK
16.15 - 16.45 Opening Speech: Gábor Schein

In TranCE 1. (Transnational Cultural Evenings)
Host: Tibor Keresztury
17.00 - 18.00 Zsuzsa Selyem (Cluj) – Šejla Šehabović (Tuzla)
18.00 - 19.00 János Térey (Budapest) – Kaiwan Mehta (Mumbai)

19.15 Welcome: Hans Georg Koch | Ministry of Science, Research and Art, Baden-Württemberg and Jean-Baptiste Joly | Akademie Solitude

19.45 1+2 (Reading and Discussion): Dubravka Ugrešić (Zagreb-Amsterdam)
Moderation by András Kepes, in conversation with Nóra Séllei

21.30 Reception and music
W.H. – Shakespeare’s sonnets and songs
Sena Dagadu – vocal, Albert Márkos – cello, Samu Gryllus – bass guitar, Hunor G. Szabó – drums, Balázs Vajna – projection

Friday, 30th November 2012
In TranCE 2.
Host: Tibor Keresztury
17.15 - 18.15 Ildikó Noémi Nagy (Budapest) – Sándor Kányádi (Cluj)
18.30 - 19.30 Yang Lian (Beijing-London) – Attila Bartis (Budapest)

19.45 1+2 (Reading and Discussion): Ilma Rakusa (Zürich)
Moderation by Balázs Lévai, in conversation with Imre Kurdi

21.15 Music
“Zeneirodalom” („Music-literature”) – 4 pieces of contemporary music to the writings of 4 writers
The writers: János Áfra, Orsolya Bencsik, Ádám Berta, Veronika Czapáry
Composers: László Bakk-Dávid, Adrián Kovács, Ákos Lustyik és Szabolcs Mátyássy zeneművei vonósnégyesre
String-quartet: Román Oszecsinszki – 1st violin; Gábor Bodor – 2nd violin; Ágnes Apró – viola; Ákos Takács – cello

Saturday, 1st December 2012
In TranCE 3.
Host: Tibor Keresztury
17.30 - 18.30 Dan Sociu (Bucharest-Berlin) – Virág Erdős (Budapest)
18.30 - 19.30 Lina Mounzer (Beirut-Budapest) – László Garaczi (Budapest)

20.00 1+2 (Reading and Discussion): Krisztina Tóth (Budapest)
Moderation by Nóra Winkler, in conversation with Enikő Darabos

21.00 Music
“Némagyerek” – contemporary and slam poetry: Márton Simon, Péter Závada, Saiid, Virág Erdős, Zsófi Kemény, Lili Kemény, Zoltán Sopotnik and the Elefánt Band

During the festival, books by the following publishers are available on sale: Akademie Solitude, JAK, Helikon, Jelenkor, Kalligram, L’Harmattan, Libri, Magvető, Palatinus

Tickets are available from 12th November 2012 in the JAK Office, at the cash desk of the A38

Ticket prices:
Daily ticket: 1.000,- Ft (adult) / 750,- Ft (student)
500,- Ft of the ticket price is a voucher at the book fair of the festival.

3-day pass: 2.500,- Ft (adult) / 2.000,- Ft (student)
1.500,- Ft of the pass price is a voucher at the book fair of the festival.

Those guests who purchase their tickets before 25th November 2012 are invited for a 300,-Ft drink ticket to be used in the café of the festival.

More info from Krisztina Csúcs