Bard College Berlin Presents

LitFest 2023: Novel Readings- Birobidschan & Die Perfektionen

This event will feature two writers reading from their respective novels as part of LitFest 2023. 

Author Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus (Germany/Israel) will discuss his novel Birobidschan, and author Vincenzo Latronico (Italy/Germany) will discuss his novel Die Perfektionen / The Perfections.
Moderators: Martin Widmann & Laura Scuriatti
Languages: German, English, Italian

About Birobidschan: In 1908, a mysterious explosion rocks the Siberian forest of Tunguska. Two decades later, Stalin plans the establishment of a Jewish-socialist autonomy called Birobidschan on the Chinese border. At the heart of the story are Alex and Rachel, who have been in love since childhood, along with other captivating characters. Life in Birobidschan descends into chaos when two strangers and a mute girl disrupt the community. Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus' novel Birobidschan tells the story of a Jewish-socialist shtetl in Siberia, drawing from the Yiddish storytelling tradition and magical realism.
About Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus: Tomer Dotan-Dreyfus, born in Haifa in 1987, has been living in Berlin for a decade, working as a freelance author, poet, and translator in Hebrew and German. He holds a background in philosophy and comparative literature from universities in Berlin, Vienna, and Paris. Dotan-Dreyfus was awarded a Berlin Senate grant in 2020 for his project Birobidschan and participated in the 2021 Jewish Writers in Translation program. In 2021 he took part in the Meridian Czernowitz International Poetry Festival. His most recent publications are the essay collection Meine Forschung zum O: Unlearning Sprache (2022, Gans Verlag Berlin) and Birobidschan (2023, Voland & Quist), his Deutscher Buchpreis-longlisted debut novel.

About Die Perfektionen: In the early 2000s, Anna and Tom move to Berlin to experience freedom and pursue an alternative lifestyle. They work as web designers and live as digital nomads. However, while they enjoy their idealized life, they begin to feel an unfulfilled longing for authenticity and contentment. They wonder if there is a better place that meets their needs beyond social media and perfectly curated surfaces.
About Vincenzo Latronico: Vincenzo Latronico, born in Rome in 1984, is a writer and translator. He has translated texts by Oscar Wilde, George Orwell, and Isaac Asimov into Italian, and most recently has focused on new translations of nineteenth-century classics, including works by H. G. Wells, Oscar Wilde, and George Gissing. Latronico has published several novels and written for the theater. His award-winning second novel was published under the title Die Verschwörung der Tauben in German in 2016 (Secession). With his latest novel, The Perfections, he was shortlisted for the prestigious Premio Strega in 2023. The author lives and works in Berlin.

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For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Time: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm CET/GMT+1

Location: W15 Cafe (Waldstraße 15, 13156 Berlin, Germany)

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