Utlu Meets Aotearoa

Deniz Utlu is a Berlin-based writer doing fascinating things with short fiction. Rest assured that if he does ever finish a novel, it will be good and you'll hear about it here. An Aotearoa Affair is a "blog fest from Kiel to Kaitaita" celebrating New Zealand's year as guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair and featuring writers and bloggers from both countries.

One of the things I've found fascinating during my brief peeks at New Zealand literature this year is that the relationship between - oh God, what words to use? - white and of colour, majority and minority, Paheka and Maori - is the opposite to the one we seem to have in Europe, at least for many of the writers I became aware of. In that the Maori were there first and everyone else came later, and in that I sensed a different kind of respect and a great deal more interest for and in their cultures.

So Deniz's "minimals from the belly of the beast", imagining a Berlin without the immigrants and their descendants who make the system work, seemed the perfect piece to submit to An Aotearoa Affair. I'm so glad they came together.

Inka Parei in New Zealand

My favourite writer Inka Parei just got back from New Zealand. You can watch a video about her trip here (in German) and read her blog in three languages here. It's beautiful writing, really.

Inka Parei in New Zealand

One of my favourite German writers, Inka Parei, is travelling around New Zealand in a campervan. You can read about her adventures and observations on her very first blog - in German, English and Te Reo Maori.

What I find fascinating about it is that otherwise, Inka writes about Germany, weaving contemporary history into her stories and going into great depth and detail. She writes slowly and carefully, revising over and over again. And now I can see almost the bare bones of her writing, for two reasons: firstly because she's observing the unfamiliar in a different continent, and secondly because writing for a blog demands a different kind of speed. Do take a look.

German Lit in New Zealand

Did you know this year's guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair is New Zealand? Hooray! That means German bookstores will be flooded with antipodean writing come the autumn, with events galore to go with it. But it also means New Zealanders get a bit of extra literary love from German writers too.

The first exciting thing is the Temporary Literaturhaus in Wellington. It's just like a German Literaturhaus, combining book-related events for adults and children, only it's temporary and it's in Wellington. Watch out for all sorts of exciting things popping up, including my favourite Inka Parei. Plus you can catch the delightful Jenny Erpenbeck at the New Zealand International Arts Festival, on her own and on a panel discussing translation. From 9 March.

In terms of reading material, bloggers should go to An Aotearoa Affair - highlighting German and NZ writers in the run-up to the book fair. And everyone should get hold of Sport, issue 40 featuring 23 fantastic and amazing German-language writers translated into English and available from March.