46th Solothurn Literature Days were thoughtful and exuberant
Published: Sunday, May 12th 2024, 16:20
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Contrasts characterized the Solothurn Literature Days: literary rather gloomy in splendid weather, thoughtful reflections on the current world situation and yet a festive atmosphere. The 46th edition ended on Sunday with a record 18,500 visitors.
One of the highlights of the 46th Solothurn Literature Festival on Saturday night was Nemo's victory in Malmö at the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). The literature festival hosted a public viewing. In addition to visitors to the festival, many young people and families attended. And there were surprise guests on site, authors such as Amir Gudarzi, Pedro Lenz and Michael Fehr, children's book author Katja Alves and literary scholar Thomas Strässle.
It was not entirely immodest on the part of those responsible for the Festival of Literature: "We imagine that Nemo's victory has something to do with the Solothurn Festival of Literature." After all, everyone in the cinema at Uferbau was cheering - and celebrating.
General political climate
The Swiss ESC victory complemented, but also contrasted with, the program of the Solothurn Literature Days from Friday to Sunday. In terms of content, the readings, talks and discussions were dominated by the political climate with its political, ecological and technological challenges.
This was impressively demonstrated by translator Dorothea Trottenberg, for example. She translates from Russian into German and was awarded the Special Prize for Translation 2024 by the Federal Office of Culture on Friday. In her acceptance speech and at a reading and discussion, she said that she finds it "extremely bitter" that Russian literature is "often only perceived politically" after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But: "There is an after," said Trottenberg. "Translated books become a bridge to the future."
At the 46th Solothurn Literature Days, 74 invited writers from Switzerland and abroad took center stage at the showcase of current literary works. According to a press release from Sunday, the audience's favorites included Pedro Lenz, Gianna Molinari, Hansjörg Schertenleib and Michelle Steinbeck from Switzerland; among the international guests, Sayaka Murata, Necati Öziri and Anne Weber were the audience's favorites.
At the end of the 46th edition of the Werkschau and Festival, Co-Managing Director Rico Engesser and his colleague Nathalie Widmer were satisfied with the second edition under their direction. A record 18,500 visitors attended in person or via audio stream. In the press release, Engesser and Widmer referred to the importance of "deepening and new perspectives", especially in times "that often leave us perplexed and stunned".
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