Contemporary Danish Literature in Belgrade

This summer the Danish author Christina Hesselholdt had one of her novels published in Serbia.

Hesselholdt debuted in Denmark in 1991 with a collection of short stories “Køkkenet, gravkammeret og landskabet”, which is one of the key work in 90′s Danish Minimalism. The book that has recently been published in Serbian is the novel “Hovedstolen” (entitled “Glavnica” in Serbian), which was first published in Denmark in 1998. As a part of this publishing, the author will be meeting her Serbian audience at the annual Belgrade Book Fair 21-22 October 2008.

In addition to a reading by Christina Hesselholdt from her book, the Danish author Niels Hav will also be attending the Belgrade Book Fair. He will present a newly published Serbian version of his collection of poems “We Are Here” (entitled ” U ODBRANU PESNIKA” in Serbian), from which many are tributes to well known fellow writers like Hans Christian Andersen. The Icelandic Nobel Laureate Halldor Kiljan Laxness (1902-1998) is also being honoured in a moving tribute, in which the poet sees the recently deceased Icelander in a café in Naples (“Laxness in Naples”).

Niels Hav is also visiting the Scandinavian Department at the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade, 22 October for a presentation of his writings with special commentary on the novella “The Turk”.

Danish Version

Den danske forfatter Christina Hesselholdt har i sommer fået udgivet en af sine romaner i Serbien.

Hesselholdt debuterede i Danmark i 1991 med kortprosasamlingen “Køkkenet, gravkammeret og landskabet”, der er et af hovedværkerne inden for dansk 90′er-minimalisme. Bogen, der for nylig er udgivet pÃ¥ serbisk, er romanen “Hovedstolen”, som udkom i Danmark i 1998. I forbindelse med udgivelsen møder forfatteren sine serbiske læsere ved den Ã¥rlige bogmesse i Beograd den 21.-22. oktober.

Ud over forfatterlæsningerne med Christina Hesselholdt gæster ogsÃ¥ den danske forfatter Niels Hav Beograd Bogmessen i Ã¥r. Han vil præsentere den netop udkomne serbiske udgave af digtsamlingen We Are Here (Book Thug, Toronto 2006), svarende til ‘U ODBRANU PESNIKA’, hvoraf mange er en hyldest til fortidens kendte digterkolleger som Hans Christian Andersen. Den islandske nobelprisforfatter Halldor Kiljan Laxness (1902-1998) bliver ogsÃ¥ mindet i et bevægende hyldestdigt, hvori digteren ser den nu afdøde islænding pÃ¥ en café i Napoli (“Laxness in Naples”).

Niels Hav besøger derudover Skandinavisk institut pÃ¥ det filologiske universitet i Beograd den 22. oktober for at præsentere sit forfatterskab med særlig vægt pÃ¥ novellen “Tyrken”.