Interview with Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov

The Literary Saloon brings to our attention an interview with Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov.

An excerpt:

Focus: Where should we seek salvation from the economic crisis? You said we could find it in science.

Georgi Gospodinov: Salvation lies in us understanding that the economic crisis is not solely economic and that the exhaustion of basic things, like human culture and civilisation, lies behind it. This is a crisis of civilisation, not just of economy. This is why I envisage art’s life-saving role as a machine for sense and solace. Things, that we think have long ago happened, will be happening – very simple things. We will be moving towards a new type of ecology – not just of environment, but of men, if we really want to survive.

As mentioned in a previous post, our next issue focuses on Bulgaria and just might include an interview with Gospodinov, along with an excerpt from his new novel. Stay tuned!

Interview with Manuel Rivas

Thanks to the Literary Saloon we learned about the interview with Galician writer Manuel Rivas over at the Financial Times:

When did you know you were going to be a writer?

One day I noticed that I talked to myself. On the way to school, in winter, I saw the letters of my breath rise out of my mouth. When I arrived at my class, I tried to recreate that writing in the air. Those were the first poems I had published in a magazine.

Read more about Rivas and pick up From Unknown to Unknown, translated by Jonathan Dunne, at Small Stations and also read his work in Absinthe #8.