It was in summer 2010, after a family dinner with relatives from the Rhein region, just when everyone was starting to say their goodbyes, that my aunt invited me to stay at her place: "If you ever are in the Frankfurt region, make sure to let me know. We have a free room, it's waiting." It was right there that an idea clicked into place: Frankfurt. Home of the book fair. And this invite, of a room waiting.
So I went there in October. To meet up with my aunt, and to visit the Frankfurt Book Fair, with all the different regional halls full of books in different languages. And with all those different moods: the futuristic Galeria with its glass roof. And on the other side, in the centre: the Lesezelt - "Reading tent".
The guest of honour in 2010 was Argentina. In a special pavillon, the country presented itself in a labyrinth-like architecture that invited the visitor to explore both the history and the literature of Argentina.
Of course, there isn't enough time to see it all. It's like an ocean of books, like worlds inside worlds. The impossibility of the task can leave you feeling despair. And on the other side, the vastness of those worlds inside worlds brings a lightness.
And it was there, in Frankfurt, that another element connected: just some days before visiting Frankfurt, a friend had sent an invite to join a blog carnival about trees. I hadn’t known about blog carnivals before that, and instantly was amazed by the concept: a publication that keeps changing its host and its shape with each edition. And at the same time, there is a specific continuity to a carnival, a base theme, a mood. I especially liked the idea that it has elements of an online-magazine, but works de-central: instead of gathering the contributions in one spot, a carnival branches out into the web.
That's how the idea for the language/place carnival surfaced: in some ways, a continuation of visiting the book fair, of walking through floors of books, through halls sorted by continents.
Back home from the book fair, I put up an invite page and sent out mails. The first edition of the language/place carnival went online November 13: "a joined blog cyber journey featuring international perspectives on language and place."
Since then, the carnival keeps moving through themes and places: from Slovenia to the USA to Hong Kong to London, encompassing themes as contrasting as The Poetry of Place and Food! , from Another Self to The Heart and Soul of the Cultural Landscape. On Sunday, the latest edition went online: Edition #13: "Lost in Translation".
The edition is all about language and how humorous or just plain hard it is to understand when it's foreign. "Lost in Translation" is the first multiple-view edition which invites to get lost in different ways. I have a piece in the carnival, too, which is from a journey into a country far away: India: "Three Cups of Chai"
Which leads back to the theme of journeys: my first world trip alone wasn't to Asia, but to a country that almost is on the other side of the world, seen from Germany: to New Zealand. It's a journey I came to remember more in the last month, as Michelle Elvy - who organised the 52/250 Year of Flash forum - is living there. And every now and then, when we mail, my thoughts wonder back to that trip, to Auckland, to the Marlboro Sounds, to places i have forgotten the name of.
During a mail dialogue in December we realized that New Zealand will be guest of honour at the big book fair in Germany in October. Which sparked an idea that derives both from the Flash forum, and the language/place carnival: to create a virtual blog fest for writers and readers from Germany or New Zealand, or with some connection to it. A virtual space that invites readers and writers and bloggers to connect across those hemispheres. And now, just some weeks later, this idea launched as a website. Below, a screenshot and the introduction:
Frankfurt Bookfair 2012: An Aotearoa Affair - A Blog Fest is a literary web initiative in anticipation of the Frankfurt Bookfair in October, where New Zealand is the Guest of Honour.
The website just launched with an invite to join: "In these pages we’re highlighting Kiwi and German writers in 2012 and creating a space for interested readers and bloggers to connect and share related posts."
The first entry highlight went live already, too: a poem by poet and author Tim Jones that also could be part of the "Lost in Translation" edition: The Translator
And the next highlights are in the making. It's a thing that keeps amazing me: the vastness of the world, and the way the internet allows connections beyond our usual horizons.
So much for now. I will be packing bags this afternoon, and get some things wrapped up - tomorrow and friday I will be in Munich, for some real world travel time. Ah, life.
links:
- photos + notes from the Frankfurt Book Fair 2010 visit
- language/place blog carnival
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