LITHUANIA: EVENTS IN LONDON AND UK
7th April Saturday
European Poetry Festival : The European Camarade!
Doors at 19:00, starts at 19:30
Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA
Free entrance
The grandstand event of the European Poetry Festival – 36 poets in 18 pairs presenting brand new collaborations of literary performance, made especially for the night.
Featuring:
Giedrė Kazlauskaitė (Lithuania) & Simona Nastac (Romania/UK)
Aušra Kaziliūnaitė (Lithuania) & Serena Braida (Italy/UK)
Marius Burokas (Lithuania) & Tatiana Faia (Portugal/UK)
https://www.europeanpoetryfestival.com/camarade
8th April Sunday
Baltic View Film Event: ‘Miracle’ with Q&A
Join us at the London premiere of a Lithuanian filmmaker’s Eglė Vertelytė debut film ‘Miracle’!
15:00–17:30
Rio Cinema, 107 Kingsland High Street, E8 2PB London
It is 1992 and Lithuania has shifted from communism to capitalism, leaving the small collective pig farm managed by Irena, in dire straits. Irena struggles to keep the farm and her workers afloat when a handsome American, Bernardas, arrives pledging to save the struggling enterprise and turns Irena‘s family life and routine of the village upside-down. As Irena begins to fall for his charms, she realizes that his intentions may not be entirely innocent…
www.filmas-stebuklas.lt/en/
Duration 91 min
This film is part of the ‘Book&Screen’ week at the @LondonBookFair2018
Wheatsheaf Baltic Poetry Night
18:00 – 20:30
The Wheatsheaf, 25 Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia, London W1T 1JB
Free entrance
To celebrate the launch of the Parthian Baltic poetry series, the legendary pub in Fitzrovia will host an evening of readings from Aušra Kaziliūnaitė, Marius Burokas & Giedrė Kazlauskaitė (Lithuania), Eeva Park & Veronika Kivisilla (Estonia), Madara Gruntmane, Eduards Aivars & Krišjānis Zeļģis (Latvia) and translations and discussion from Jayde Will, Rimas Uzgiris & Adam Cullen.
https://www.parthianbooks.com/pages/events
9th April Monday
Being Baltic: At the Crossroads of Influence
With Kristina Sabaliauskaitė, Mihkel Mutt and Nora Ikstena
19:30-21:00
British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB
Explore the literary influences of European, Russian and Nordic cultures on
contemporary Baltic authors. Three leading Baltic writers – Mihkel Mutt
(Estonia), Nora Ikstena (Latvia) and Kristina Sabaliauskaitė (Lithuania) – join us to discuss the literary influences of European, Russian and Nordic cultures on their work. Mikhel Mutt is an Estonian writer and versatile columnist, writing about domestic and world politics. Prose writer and essayist Nora Ikstena is considered one of the most influential prose writers in Latvia, known for her elaborate style and detailed approach to language. She is also an active participant in Latvia’s cultural and political life. London-based Kristina Sabaliauskaitė is the most widely read Lithuanian author, and her Silva Rerum historical saga is considered to be the most important Lithuanian literary event of the last decade.
GBP 10 (GBP 7 concession) | Book online: www.bl.uk
https://www.bl.uk/events/being-baltic-at-the-crossroads-of-influence
European Poetry Festival : Lithuanian & British poets collaborate!
19:30
The Poetry Cafe, The Poetry Society, 22 Betterton St, London WC2H 9BX.
Entrance Free
A special focus event of the European Poetry Festival, some of the finest literary poets from Lithuania and their British contemporaries present brand new collaborations made for the night.
Featuring:
Marius Burokas (Lithuania) & George Szirtes (UK)
Aušra Kaziliūnaitė (Lithuania) & Colin Herd (UK)
Giedrė Kazlauskaite (Lithuania) & John Clegg (UK)
Curated by SJ Fowler.
Organized by the Lithuanian Cultural Institute. Partners: The Poetry Society
https://www.europeanpoetryfestival.com/lithuania
10th April Tuesday
Pop Up Creators Exhibition
10 April – 20 May 2018
The Royal Over Seas League, 5 Park Pl, St. James’s, London SW1A 1LR
Artworks produced by young artists from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the UK will be showcased in an exhibition at the Royal Over-Seas League in Mayfair. Co-curated by Pop Up Projects and House of Illustration, the exhibition features some of the best work from collaborations between 18 published children’s illustrator mentors and 150 talented young artists from the four countries who each produced illustrated stories in a distinct ‘leporello’ (concertina) format.
Media are invited to the launch on 9 April, 17.30-19.30.
https://www.rosl.org.uk/visualarts/upcoming-exhibitions/pop-up-creators
A Reconstructed Future: What Stories Do We Tell About Lithuania in the 21st century?
19:00
Embassy of Lithuania, 2 Bessborough Gardens, London SW1V 2JE
Free entrance; Language – Lithuanian
Featuring: Marija Drėmaite and Mindaugas Kvietkauskas (Lithuania)
A conversation between art historian Marija Drėmaitė and writer Mindaugas Kvietkauskas about the book Imagining Lithuania: 100 Years, 100 Visions. 1918-2018, and about the contemporary reconstruction of modern Lithuanian history.
The past two decades of Lithuanian independence might be called a renaissance of Lithuanian cultural memory. This period has witnessed the return and analysis of much of the country’s destroyed, forgotten or distorted historical legacy. To bring new meaning to this legacy, we recreate narratives about our history and argue about its symbols, while at the same time presenting new images of Lithuanian culture to the world. What narrative do we strive to create about Lithuania in the 21st century? How is our understanding of Lithuanian cultural identity changing? How do we view the way others see us, and how would we like to change that? What visions of the future do these new narratives about a modern Lithuania inspire?
Jonas Mekas: screening, talk and book signing:
Conversations with Film-Makers
20:30 – 23:00
PeckhamPlex, 95A Rye Ln, London SE15 4ST, London
The avant-garde pioneer Jonas Mekas will be in conversation with Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries
Film screening: Takes from the Life of a Happy Man, 2012, by Jonas Mekas
Book signing: Conversations with Film-Makers, 2018, Publisher: Spector Books
Partners: The Serpentine Galleries, MUBI, Spector Books, Lithuanian Culture Institute
12th April Thursday
Writing from the edges of Europe: what’s the future for Baltic literature?
with Andrei Ivanov and Erika Lastovskytė; chaired by Nadia Beard
19:00-20:00, Calvert 22, 22 Calvert Avenue, London E2 7JP
Miscast variously as Nordic neighbours, former Soviet states and “the East”, the Baltic countries continue to fight against a case of mistaken identity on the world’s stage. So how do Baltic authors engage with their real heritage – individually and nationally – and how do they move beyond it to create something new? Estonian author Andrei Ivanov’s recent historical novel The Harbin Moths explores his country’s interwar years through the lives of the local Russian intelligentsia. Joined by translator and publicist Erika Lastovskytė in an event chaired by Calvert Journal editor Nadia Beard to discuss the past, present and future of the Baltic literary identity.
World Poets Series
with Tomas Venclova, Kārlis Vērdiņš and Maarja Kangro; chaired by Clare Pollard
20:00 – 21:30
The Poetry Library, Level 5, Royal Festival Hall,
Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX
Join us for this one-off event with visiting Baltic poets. The evening will showcase three of the most celebrated poets from the Baltic states, Maarja Kangro (Estonia), Karlis Verdins (Latvia) and Tomas Venclova (Lithuania). The poets will
read from their work and then discuss the poetry scene in their respective countries with a Q&A that will open up to the audience. The event will be hosted by Clare Pollard, UK poet and editor of Modern Poetry in Translation.
FREE (ticketed) Book online:
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/127404-world-poets-series-baltic-poets-london-2018
Children of history
with Nora Ikstena and Alvydas Šlepikas; chaired by Carolyn Jess-Cooke
19:00 – 20:15
Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road,
Clerkenwell, London EC1R 3GA
How does a country’s history or identity affect its ideas of family and family life? The Baltic countries of Lithuania and Latvia have lived through some tumultuous 20th century history. Two writers from these countries, Nora Ikstena (Latvia) and Alvydas Šlepikas (Lithuania) join Carolyn Jess-Cooke to unpick the thorny connections between national history and the intimate relationship of the family.
In partnership with English PEN
BOOK online: https://www.freewordcentre.com/whats-on/children-of-history
April 13th Friday
Literary worlds with Undinė Radzevičiūtė and Erica Wagner
18:30-20:30
Europe House, 32 Smith Square, London SW1P 3EU
Join us at Europe House for an evening with Lithuanian writer Undinė Radzevičiūtė. Undinė Radzevičiūtė is an internationally acclaimed writer, the author of five novels and a collection of short stories and winner of the European Union Prize for Literature. The novel that won this prize, Fishes and Dragons, is a story about civilisations, of Chinese traditions and Western religion. Undinė Radzevičiūtė will discuss her work and her theory of literature with journalist and editor Erica Wagner. Followed by a wine reception.
For registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/literary-worlds-with-undine-radzeviciute-and-erica-wagner-tickets-44443376335?utm_term=eventurl_text
European Poetry Festival
The European Camarade : Manchester
19:00
The International Anthony Burgess Foundation
Engine House, Chorlton Mill. 3 Cambridge Street. Manchester M1 5BY
Free entrance
Bringing together some of the finest modern poets of the thriving Manchester scene in collaborative pairs with writers visiting from Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, France, Germany and Italy, this special Camarade event will present dynamic new duets of live literature made especially for the night.
Featuring: Rimas Uzgiris (Lithuania) & Robert Sheppard (UK); Marius Burokas (Lithuania) & James Byrne (UK) and others.