Writers' works to be recited in performances
Seoul International Writers' Festival opens next week
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Teemu Manninen
Lili Mendoza
Werner Fritsch
By Yun Suh-young
The 2016 Seoul International Writers' Festival will begin Sunday, opening the sixth writers' festival held biennially since 2006.
This year's festival, themed "The Forgotten and the Unforgettable," will be held from Sept. 25 through Oct. 1 at Daehakro Arts Theater inside the Lock Museum and Space Feelux inside the Arko Art Center in Hyehwa-dong, Seoul.
The festival features 14 Korean writers and 14 writers from overseas who will partner up to engage in free talk programs throughout the week. The festival also includes a recital in the form of performances of the writers' works in an effort to expand the reach of literature to a wider audience.
The festival is hosted by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
"The theme for the previous event was 'Eros and Dream.' This time 'The Forgotten and the Unforgettable' can be interpreted in historical, social, and personal contexts. From daily events to culture and periodical history, the theme encompasses a variety of meanings in literary contexts," said Park Sang-soon, poet and organizing committee member of the festival, during a press conference Tuesday.
Since its inception, the festival has invited 148 writers from 60 countries. This year, the participating writers are Jinji, Kim Kyung-uk, Kim Sun-woo, Kim Soom, David Vann, Teemu Manninen, Linda Maria Baros, Lili Mendoza, Mohib Zegham, Moon Tae-jun, Park Sang-soon, Pak Jeong-de, Bae Su-ah, Werner Fritsch, Santiago Gamboa, Andrei Khadanovich, An Hyeon-mi, Alexis Bernaut, Jana Benova, Lee S-myeong, Jeong You-jeong, Cheon Myeong-kwan, Tong Wei-Ger, TJ Dema, Paula Cunningham, Ha Jae-youn, Ham Jeung-im, and Hae Yi-soo.
"The writers were selected from a pool of active mid-career writers from their 30s to 50s in age. Most of them are in their 40s. The selection standard was equivalent for both Korean and foreign writers. However, for foreign participants, we received recommendations from Korean writers," said Park.
"For instance, author Bae Su-ah recommended Werner Fritsch, Hae Yi-soo recommended Mohib Zegham, Kim Sun-woo recommended Teemu Manninen, and Lee S-myeong recommended Paula Cunningham. These writers, who had personal preferences of who they wanted to pair with, will be featured as partners in the free talk session."
During the free talk session, one Korean and one foreign writer will be paired up per session to talk about each other's works. Moderators of the event will be fellow writers, critics or journalists in the field. The free talk session will not be restricted to the theme itself but will be a discussion in general of the works and lives of the writers.
In the recitals and performances session, writers' works will be recited in the form of cultural performances such as a marionette show, magic show, modern dance and ballet in addition to the plays and mimes the festival tried out previously.
"We wanted literature to meet all genres of art," said stage director Choi Chang-keun.
"Because literature is a genre that may have a limited audience, we wanted it to reach a broader audience through various forms of presentation. In addition to being a great platform for interaction between writers, we hope it will also be an event for the regular audience to realize literature can also be entertaining."
Admission is free upon prior reservation online through Yes24 (www.yes24.co.kr) or Naver (https://booking.naver.com). For more information on the festival, visit https://siwf.klti.or.kr