Book launch ‘Het volk boven’
Jaroslav Rudiš at Goethe-Institut, Amsterdam
13 June 2018
https://www.goethe.de/ins/nl/nl/sta/ams/ver.cfm?fuseaction=events.detail&event_id=21272412
On Wednesday 13 June, the Goethe-Institut in Amsterdam, in cooperation with the Czech Centre Rotterdam, will host the launch of Het volk boven, the Dutch translation of Czech author Jaroslav Rudiš’ novella Národní třída (2013, translated by Edgar de Bruin). At the event Rudiš will talk about his literary work, music, and theater with Guido Snel, writer and professor in European literature at the University of Amsterdam.
Rudiš’ (1972) debut novel, Nebe pod Berlínem (The Sky under Berlin), in 2002, was one of the most acclaimed Czech books of recent years. For this novel he received the Jiří Orten Award in 2003. This was followed by a comic-book in three parts which Rudiš wrote together with the artist Jaromír Švejdík, entitled Alois Nebel (2003, 2004, 2005). Not only was this trilogy a hit with readers, but is was also adapted into an animated feature film, which was awarded the European Film Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the Venice Film Festival in 2011. Later it also won the award for Best Animated Feature Film at the Holland Animation Festival in 2012.
Het volk boven is Rudiš’ second work to be translated into Dutch, following the translation of Konec punku v Helsinkách (2010) as Het einde van de punk in Helsinki in 2016. Both works are published by publishing house Nobelman and both works are translated by Edgar de Bruin.
Rudiš’ books have been translated into many languages including German, Spanish, French, and Italian, among others. Especially the German translations were very well received - so well, actually, that he was presented the German Award of Literature Houses (Preis der Literaturhauser) for the diversity of his literature and his ability to work with different forms including novels, plays, and comics at the Leipzig Book Fair last March.
The book launch is part of Rudiš’ activities during his stay as writer in residence at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS) in Amsterdam, during which he will be working on a new book. The event is hosted by the Goethe-Institut in Amsterdam in collaboration with the Czech Centre Rotterdam.
The program will start at 8pm. Entry is free and the event will be spoken in English.
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