Looking out LR’s backdoor: 05/24

For May, we've returned to our normal rhythm of two articles a week. Texts that once again cover most of the world and sometimes are a literary reflection on current world or local politics, such as the elections in India or South Africa.

All texts (with the exception of the Long Read on South African Literature) are available in Arabic, English, French, German and Spanish.

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On the occasion of the elections in South Africa on 29 May 2024, we asked the South African literary scholar and language activist Nhlanhla Maake to write us a text about literary production in South Africa since the last elections in 2019. Maake’s text has become much more than a short literary essay: He not only discusses more than 30 novels, but also explains what the "South African novel" once was and how it has developed since the end of apartheid. Maake lives in Mulberton near Johannesburg and teaches at the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) there.

Rudolf Isler has republished the second volume of selected works by Manès Sperber ("Like a Tear in the Ocean"). Axel Timo Purr visits the publisher in Zurich and asks him about his fascination with the unjustly forgotten writer and philosopher. Their conversation promptly leads them into highly topical discourses on extremism, activism and identity politics. The author and professor Rudolf Isler lives in Zurich, Switzerland. The journalist and initiator of Literatur.Review (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), Axel Timo Purr, lives in Munich, Germany.

The essay "The Underworld of the First World" tells the story of a Haitian migrant whose greatest wish comes true. She is allowed to enter the United States. But as is so often the case, the American Dream turns out to be an American Nightmare. The author’s keen observations and self-critical reflections show what it means for people to have to leave their homeland and not find a new home because they are not wanted anywhere.

The author Erica Joseph was born in Haiti and lives in Chile.

"The Day of the Sun" is the title of Hala Kawsarani’s latest novel. The extract from her highly acclaimed work provides insights into the development of a young, self-confident woman into an unconventional artist and her sources of inspiration. The multi-award-winning writer Hala Kawsarani lives in Beirut and is a co-founder of PEN Lebanon.

5) In "Schambereich - Über Sex sprechen", Christine Koschmieder explores the causes and consequences of feelings of shame in herself and her fellow human beings in the Federal Republic of Germany. The reviewer Viktoria Oppenhoff is enthusiastic about this courageous, tactful and illuminating memoir. The writer and translator Christine Koschmieder lives in Leipzig, Germany. Viktoria Oppenhoff lives as a freelance copywriter in Hamburg.

This review is the start of a series of articles in which authors from all over the world will write about their experiences with shame.

In his column, Winfried Weiser reports on news from the world of graphic novels. He pays tribute to the latest works of French author Joann Sfar, who has received an honourable mention for his life’s work. An exhibition is held in Dortmund to mark the 35th anniversary of the series "The Simpsons". Croatian illustrator Danijel Žeželj has drawn congenial pictures for Franz Kafka’s "Metamorphosis". Marc Delafontaine has continued the "Gaston" comic series in such a way that it is completely on a par with the works of its creator, André Franquin.

The reviewer was a teacher until 2022. He is currently a passionate reader, traveller and festival-goer.

" Oh Helpmefurther: The parrot is sending the dog into a frenzy" is a stroke of luck not only for children, but also for adults. Axel Timo Purr is delighted with Ahmad Schauqi’s Arabic original, Leonie Nückell’s translation, Said Baalbaki’s illustrations and Edition Orient, which has published this fantastic book.

The Dutch historian Sandra Langereis has written a biography of Erasmus of Rotterdam. Christoph Nick has read the more than 700 pages. He raves about both the Dutch polymath and his biographer, who has created an opulent, captivating and highly topical memorial to Erasmus of Rotterdam.

Journalist and author Christoph Nick lives in Brussels, Belgium.

Andrej Gato reviews Dr Oksana Havryliv’s "Only a moron wouldn’t buy this book". The book is a well-founded, up-to-date and highly amusing examination of swearing, insulting, swearing and cursing. The linguist Dr Oksana Havryliv lives and researches at the University of Vienna, Austria. Andrej Gato lives in Berlin and Athens.

This review is the start of a series of articles in which authors from all over the world will write about swearing, swearing at, cursing and cursing in their cultural area.