For the fourth edition of Read My World, its Dutch editors invited the poet, translator and festival director Iryna Vikyrchak (Ukraine) and writer en program director Grzegorz Jankowicz (Poland) to give shape to the programme. In turn, the two guest curators selected the up-and-coming literary voices of their region: talented and outspoken writers. The final line-up was announced during the event Writing For Change at the forum Re:Creating Europe.

The European Cultural Foundation and Read My World collaborate on a special event during the festival, a public talk on Friday October 7th:

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 Jas Kapela of Krytyka Polityzcna Poland and Anna Kravets of Krytyka Polityzcna Ukraine will discuss these questions with writers Olga Tokarczuk [Poland] and Oksana Zabuzhko [Ukraine] 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?