Events and Blogs and Films and Stuff

A veritable Swedish buffet of delights for you today, dear readers:

First of all a film of the literary flashmob celebrating 50 years of Turks in Germany. Crazy-looking people saying clever things at Kotbusser Tor in Berlin, which is the place where lazy TV news editors go for footage to illustrate multicultural Germany. Betting shops, greengrocers, women in headscarves and in this case, people reading from a novel, a short essay and a longer reflection by three generations of Turkish writers working right here.

Bill Morris singing the praises of fixed book prices in Germany at The Millions.

Laura Watkinson on Discovering Cees Nooteboom's Berlin for MacLehose Press.

Blogs by other literary translators: Jamie Lee Searle, Lyn Marven, Nicky Harman and Rosalind Harvey (the first ever translators in residence at London's Free Word Centre). Have I forgotten anyone? Oh yes, Laura Watkinson.

An event today (if I'm not getting my time zones muddled) in New York, part of The Bridge series dedicated to promoting literature in translation and translators, etc. etc. at McNally Jackson Books. If you don't make this one with Sergio Chejfec (writer), Margaret Carson (translator), and EJ Van Lanen (editor) then do look out for more, because it's a Very Exciting Thing.

A full-day event by English PEN for International Translation Day on 30 September in London, looking at things like: How can we popularise literature in translation? Are we getting anywhere? What can we learn from the success of other art forms, such as world music?

A slew of events across Germany (and some in Vienna and one in Zurich), also for International Translation Day: workshops, Kerouac, Argentinian football, parties, public translation, cabaret - really a very broad palette, all put together by actual translators who you can see in the actual flesh.

Then in early October in London again, a weekend of interesting events under the title Notes & Letters, featuring translators Anthea Bell, Simon Rees (he does libretti and is very entertaining!), Ros Schwartz and Sarah Ardizzone, plus the eminently eminent Tess Lewis with her Austrian author Alois Hotschnig.