An overview of the programs during the second day of the Read My World Festival in 2016.

Touki Delphine Experience

What started as a special occasion band during the Europe Endless Express will be reprised at Read My World, with festival band Touki Delphine Experience accompanying writers, poets and singers with angular electro, laid-back mid-tempo beats and rattling percussion. The cool guys of TDE have a rep to protect when it comes to film-, theatre-, and pop music, and can improvise on the spot like no other. Hear and see them in action on Friday and Saturday, every hour on the hour in the foyer!

The Science of Parting

The Science of Parting is a short musical performance in which writer Renée van Marissing and pianist Nora Mulder reflect on Oksana Zabuzhko’s Field Study on Ukrainian Sex. The story of a woman who fights to free herself from a past relationship and from her fatherland in order to feel liberated.

Feminist Futures

Feminism is everywhere, from Twitter to literature. Luckily, the contemporary emancipation movement does not have to start from scratch. Three prominent feminist authors, Anja Meulenbelt, Astrid H. Roemer and Oksana Zabuzhko, whose books each helped turn the tides, stand shoulder to shoulder with a new generation of feminist talent, represented by Victoria Amelina and Mia You.

Books Are Weapons

Books are weapons is a challenging theatrical and musical performance about the liberating role of literature. Two writers (Özcan Akyol, Christine Otten), a poet (Victoria Amelina) and a rapper (Lamyn Belgaroui) have literally written (or fought) their way into the world at large. Their work is a weapon with which they combat the complex realities they encounter.

On the Border

The border determines where the self ends and the other begins. But how clear is that division? The borderlands of Poland and Ukraine have a rich shared history. Now that Russia wants to move its border, Ukraine is at war. Borders continually decide the course of history. Ziemowit Szczerek from Poland and Fleur de Weerd from the Netherlands take you on a journey to the borders of Poland, Ukraine and Russia.

The Language of the Beast

Can animals talk? How do non-human creatures communicate with each other and with us? Are literature and art able to give the silent animal a voice, by appealing to empathy, imagination – or something else? The Polish poet Julia Fiedorczuk and the Dutch philosopher, writer, singer-songwriter and visual artist Eva Meijer discuss these questions from their eco-critical perspective, using examples from their own work.

Heartland Europe

As Europe gradually becomes more detached and European countries seek to establish more independence, the search for European identity is becoming increasingly diffuse. Ukrainian writer Andriy Lyubka and Polish journalist/essayist Mariusz Szczygieł are both fascinated by the European ‘other’. An exploration of individual and national self-identification against the backdrop of the recent political shifts in Ukraine and Poland.

Literature and Politics

Does one precede the other? Ever since people study literature the question arises: does fiction follow or does it shape reality? It is obvious – from allegories on people living in caves via descriptions of utopian islands to present day dystopian novels – the two cannot exist without one another. Both deal with imagination and reflection, and sometimes the lines blur. In the recent histories of both countries we have seen many events happening we never thought of, we even never imagined, or did we? In a public talk Jaś Kapela of Krytyka Polityczna Poland and Anna Kravets of Krytyka Polityczna Ukraine will discuss these questions with writers Olga Tokarczuk and Andrey Kurkov whom both lived through various political regimes in their countries. How do they think about the relation between literature and politics? Or: what role does literature play in their countries? This programme is supported by European Cultural Foundation (ECF).

Movies That Matter

Ukrainian Sheriffs (18:00-19:30)
Director: R. Bondarchuk (Germany, 2015, 85’, English subtitles) To fill the shortage of police officers in the Ukrainian countryside, the people of Stara Zburivka appoint the strongest and smartest men as sheriffs. This dry comedy is tempered by the advancing war, which forces the men to face essential choices.

Ida (19.45-21:10)
Director: P. Pawlikowski (Poland, 2013, 80’, Dutch subtitles) Poland, 1962. The orphan Anna is about to take vows as a nun when her only living relative reveals that she is Jewish and her real name is Ida. She embarks on a journey to discover the truth about her family.

Alisa in Warland (21.15-22:30)
Director: A. Kovalenko (Ukraine, 2015, 75’, English subtitles) When the Ukrainian people take to the streets to demand their president’s resignation, film student Alisa sets out to document the unrest. Alisa is confronted with shootings, explosions and the harrowing consequences of war. When she is arrested, Alisa becomes part of the war herself.

PoëzieRevue

In this stylish theatrical programme more than thirty teenagers from Amsterdam present their own poem, inspired by the work of guests at this edition of Read My World. Inbetween acts, listen to live music and be amazed as break dancers spin across the stage.