Louisiana Literature festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Louisiana Literature | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Literary festival |
| Begins | Late August |
| Ends | Late August |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Locations | Humlebæk, Denmark |
| Country | Denmark |
| Inaugurated | 2010 |
| Most recent | 2024 |
| Next event | 2025 |
| Attendance | 18.000 people |
| Organised by | Christian Lund (founder) |
| Sponsor | Davids Fond og Samling |
| Website | https://www.louisiana.dk/en/whats-on/louisiana-literature |
Louisiana Literature Festival is an annual literary festival which takes place around the third weekend of August at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 35 km (22 mi) north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The festival began in 2010, and each year it features around forty writers from all over the world over a span of four days.
Situated throughout the museum and the sculpture garden, the festival encompasses conversations between writers as well as between writers and critics, readings and various performances.
Since its opening in 1958, literature has played a special and vital role at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Through the years the museum has welcomed writers and literary events on the same scale as other art forms such as music and architecture. Nordic poetry days have been held at Louisiana, which in the 1980s became a meeting forum for dissident writers from Eastern Europe. In 1992 Louisiana also saw the first public appearance by Salman Rushdie following his fatwa and subsequent years of living in hiding.[citation needed]
In November 1988 Susan Sontag visited Louisiana and stated to a newspaper: "I loved Louisiana. The atmosphere is so special, democratic in a good way, friendly and radiant with a love of art and nature. A kind of model for what a good society could be – both very open and welcoming and in addition of very high standards. As a rule, a high level shuts people out, and openness has a tendency to lower the standard. But you have something that does not make compromises but is at the same time for all. The world should be full of Louisianas – and I don't just mean museums!"[1]
Festival experience
In connection with their participation in the festival, writers have stated:
- Ali Smith: “I think that the bringing together of writers and public in a space, which is about art, is the whole gift of this place (…), as soon as you put the arts, different arts, together something transformative happens, you know all the borders get crossed”.[2]
- Patti Smith: “There has been such warmth from the people. Such big gatherings. So much enthusiasm. (…) It’s been stimulating. Everything that I am interested in, I found someone that can teach me something”.[3]
- Günter Grass: “I have been a true fan of this place for many years, and this has been a genuinely fine experience. I also met very nice and interested colleagues”.[4]
- Jonathan Safran Foer: “I would mention to people, friends of mine, artists, writers, that I was coming and many of them said that this was their favorite museum in the world, and it’s easy to understand why. It’s a very unique place”.[5]
- Taiye Selasi: “The scenery is exquisite and it’s small. And I think the two things put together mean you have this really intimate experience here”.[6]
Audio walks
Throughout the years, authors have been invited to write about works from the Louisiana Museum's collection and spaces at the museum. In connection with the festival, the texts are presented as literary sound experiments in audio walks. Contributing writers include Anne Carson, Sjón, Teju Cole, Kenneth Goldsmith, Kiran Desai and Tomomi Adachi.[7][8]
Louisiana Channel
Videos from the festival are made available through Louisiana Channel, the English-language web-TV channel.
Selected conversations on stage
- Siri Hustvedt and Paul Auster.[9]
- Karl Ove Knausgård and Tomas Espedal.[10]
- Richard Ford and Colm Tóibín.[11]
- Taiye Selasi and Colum McCann.[12]
- Adonis and Ibrahim al-Koni.[13]
- Leonardo Padura and Yan Lianke.[14]
- Jonathan Safran Foer and Jeffrey Eugenides.[15]
Selected writers on stage
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.[16]
- Alaa al-Aswany.[17]
- Margaret Atwood.[18]
- Lydia Davis.[19]
- Karl Ove Knausgård.[20]
- Chris Kraus.[21]
- Ian McEwan.[22]
- Herta Müller.[23]
- Joyce Carol Oates.[24]
- Patti Smith.[25]
- Zadie Smith.[26]
Selected performances
Backstage interviews
- Adonis.[31]
- César Aira.[32]
- Svetlana Alexievich.[33]
- Hiromi Itō.[34]
- Claudio Magris.[35]
- Javier Marías.[36]
- Péter Nádas.[37]
- Eileen Myles.[38]
- Sally Rooney.[39]
- Samanta Schweblin meets Valeria Luiselli.[40]
- Ngugi wa Thiong’o.[41]
- Olga Tokarczuk.[42]
Writers exploring art at the Louisiana
- Siri Hustvedt on the experience of art.[43]
- Colm Tóibín on Giacometti.[44]
- Daniel Kehlmann, James McBride and Sjón on Olafur Eliasson’s installation Riverbed.[45]