In Other Words - 2

The 24th Lahti Writers' Reunion got off to a rather soggy start, by all accounts. Hannu Marttila writes of a thunderstorm "which drove the writers indoors from the terrace and cut off the electricity for a short time. Now this morning (14th) the first session of the gathering was tested by damp and cold."

As sometimes happens at Lahti, the discussions so far appear to have been characterized by complaints -- about the decline in storytelling as a medium for children's literature, and about the dominance of Anglo-American writing in the international publishing world. However, as Jarmo Papinniemi notes with regard to the latter, "those present were also reminded that some cultures have always dominated others, beginning with the Roman Empire. The hegemonies don't go away, but are replaced by new ones."

See also: In Other Words

In Other Words

The 24th Lahti Writers' Reunion will take place from June 14th to 16th. The theme of the meeting is summed up under the heading In Other Words, the idea being that if writers want to succeed, they need to learn the art of telling old stories in new words. Among the guests invited to take part this year are A.S. Byatt, Philippe Claudel, Marcel Cohen, Fflur Dafydd, Desmond Egan, Victor Erofeev, Carolyn Forché, Hannele Huovi, Riina Katajavuori, Jayne Anne Phillips and Lise Sinclair.

Books fron Finland has a (perhaps not completely up-to-date) presentation of the forthcoming event here.