Writers and Poets convened in a transnational project called "Overcoming dictatorships" (CULTURE 2000) contributed to a literary anthology (eds. Kristina Kaiserová/Gert Röhrborn, Budapest:CEU Press 2008) which will be presented at the Municipal Library in Trent, Italy on 9 May 2008, 17:30.

The volume is an intersection of literary works on the question of how dictatorships are overcome. The range of generations, European countries of origin and artistic directions that are represented serves both an advantage and a challenge reflected by this anthology. A considerable variety of motivations drove participants: such as putting into words a contemporary biography of persecution, the descendant’s feeling of personal historical responsibility, or the artistic curiosity of the “outsider”. The anthology is dedicated to the imaginative power of literature, and to Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe in particular. The formerly multicultural setting of these countries suffered the most from European dictatorships and their insufficiently processed legacies. The cultural transfer exhibited here will help reduce prejudices and promote new forms of understanding with Western Europe: it aims to further a diversified but common European culture.

The presentation will included readings by project writers Lutz Rathenow, Gabriel Chifu and Alessandro Tamburini. It is followed by an international conference on "Intellectuals and Dictatorship: A Comparative Perspective 1922-1990", organised by Prof. Gustavo Corni of Dipartimento di Scienze Umane e Sociali, Università di Trento on 10 May 2008, 09:00-18:00.

Organised with financial support of the European Commission and Università di Trento.

www.hait.tu-dresden.de/eu2" class="external">http://overcomings.blogspot.com, www.hait.tu-dresden.de/eu2

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