Information for the press
European Literature Days 09 at Castle HainfeldReadme.cc and Blütenlese Castle Hainfeld
9-11 October 2009
Between 9 and 11 October 2009, Castle Hainfeld in southern Austria will become a centre for European literature. Under an initiative by the European literature portal, Readme.cc, the European Literature Days 09 will take place there, marking the start of the Frankfurt Bookfair. Bringing together authors, scientists, journalists and cultural decisionmakers as never before, the festival will foster link-building across national borders through literary exchange.
Castle Hainfeld, the biggest moated castle in southern Austria, has an impressive literary past. Already in the nineteenth century, the then master of the castle, Josef von Hammer-Purgstall, as president of the imperial Academy of Science, oriental expert and translator of Persian and Turkish texts, had entered into cultural exchange beyond his national borders. On Friday 9 October the first European Literature Days festival will be opened in Josef von Hammer-Purgstall’s historic library at Castle Hainfeld with contributions from prominent European authors.
On the programme:
What contibution can literature make to international understanding? What do we recognise as European literature? Will the internet have replaced the book by the year 2040? These questions that hold such relevance to the literary profession will be illuminated and examined through a multi-lingual forum. The planned talks will be translated into different languages. There will also be the chance to chat to authors in the castle’s literature lounge and to talk to editors and journalists from different European countries.
The European literature portal Readme.cc has showcased authors of high quality and authentic literature for several years. A selection of these authors has now been invited to a reading event at the festival at Castle Hainfeld, in order to introduce them to an international audience. Authors from Denmark, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, the Czec Republic and Hungary are already scheduled to attend.
A literary performance will help the festival forge links with music. Finally, in the castle’s inner courtyard, there will be music from Tosca’s new album "No Hassle", a project by Richard Dorfmeister, who, with Rupert Huber has put together one of the most influential European music projects of the last two decades. The sound-world of "No Hassle" is huge: sounds from an internet databank meet conga-samples, rural bouzouki themes are played on Rupert’s grand piano, tones of the flageolet on the organ, stratocaster, strings, moog, bass and the bus in front of the door into Huber’s studio at home.
European Literature Days 09 will also be accompanied by a culinary programme. Wine-growers, restaurateurs and specialist producers will offer regional specialities and wines in a south Austrian deli-street in the castle’s inner courtyard, giving guests the opportunity to taste delicacies for the palate in between literary specialities.
„I have put all my efforts into the preservation and revitilisation of this unique Renaissance building,“ said Annabella Dietz, Director of Hainfeld, „There has also been a lot of historic material to work through and refurbish, not least the contents of Hammer-Purgstall’s library, which contains many literary treasures that have not previously been unearthed. Building on this, I hope that Castle Hainfield will increasingly become a European centre where literature, art, culture and science can meet. That is why I welcome the partnership with Readme.cc, which uses modern methods to pursue similar goals.“
For more detailed information and media enquiries, please contact the literature and press office, Politycki & Partner, and telephone: (+49) 040-430 9315-0.