It was the 11th of July and the international literary journal B O D Y was celebrating its first full year of existence. The party took form of a series of readings by published poets and writers - and a word here and there by the editors themselves. Repeatedly, the magazine's rather small body (that includes the Faculty of Art's Stephan Delbos!) heartily invited all guests to enjoy the evening. This was unnecessary, as the open bar and the marvellous interior of the Anglo-American University's library in combination with skillfully recited works of the authors, the warm late evening weather and the picturesque Malostranská right around the corner, it was impossible to do otherwise!
Soon after arriving at the library, I recognized a few faces from Armand's Breakfast at Midnight reading (event review here) and, to my joy, a group of people from the Faculty. With wine or Scotch in hand (the repertoire of drinks developed over the evening), the place was bustling with chatter of Prague's English-speaking residents and the special guests of the evening: the writers, most of whom came over specially for the event from Berlin or Los Angeles. The rooms gradually filled up with people and light jazz notes and eventually, the smokers were asked to finish their actions. All were called into the main room - the bash finally began!
After a prologue from the editors, the writers took over the microphone. Milan Děžinský's poetry started off the line-up, with the main feature of his works - usage of words whose phonetics are emphasised - evident both in the original Czech form and in its English translation. The Chinese female writer Yo Yo followed, reading a passage from Ghost Tides in her mother tongue, then the B O D Y's editor Joshua Mensch read the English translation. The author's flamboyant outfit (brown, thick round Lennon glasses and a purple bat-cut dress) was a contrast to the extract that portrayed a traditional Chinese family's aid in a young boy's transition from boy- to manhood.
The first part of the readings concluded with Natashia Déon's short, yet nonetheless striking depiction of a young slave girl's liberation from mental illness that involved being beaten by her own father. The audience was evidently struck by Déon's utterly-consuming performance, as it took a while for all to wake up back into reality and applaud the writer's art.
After the break, the audience was transferred into the world of poets. Joshua Weiner read from his new collection of poems, The Figure of a Man Being Swallowed by a Fish, that was available to purchase at the event. I was literally astounded by his recitation; visual verses went hand in hand with Weiner's confident posture and bass voice, one could not be anything but captivated! There was no choice than to listen and visualise the descriptions given.
The follow-up and concluding guest of the night was Yang Lian. Before reading his works in Chinese and then leaving the microphone to Weiner to read (in a consuming manner, as ever) the English translation, Lian gave an overture to the chosen poems. "Butterfly" was a political one, dedicated to Ai Weiwei, the Chinese artist and human rights activist - Lian chose the piece, as it "shows a historical connection of a the communist past, China's present" between his homeland and the Czech Republic. "Kafka" was no exception, as he remembered decades back to some friends of his who rejected to believe that a Kafka Museum is to be built in Prague. The Chinese tongue then flowed through the room, in the end creating silence in the room. Like Déon, Lian's work left a lasting effect on the audience. Soon, silence was replaced by an enthusiastic applause and the readings part of the evening was drawn to a close with a collective thank-you speech from all three of the editors: Joshua Mensch, Stephan Delbos and the ever-vehement Christopher Crawford.
In high spirits, the writers, guests and editors of the journal entertained themselves in conversation and drink until the late evening hours.... It was all done in the name of B O D Y's once-year anniversary. To put it short, it was a swell birthday bash - it had style and one cannot do else wise now than look forward to this time next year and enjoy everything that the journal will offer (poetry - prose) until then!
After a prologue from the editors, the writers took over the microphone. Milan Děžinský's poetry started off the line-up, with the main feature of his works - usage of words whose phonetics are emphasised - evident both in the original Czech form and in its English translation. The Chinese female writer Yo Yo followed, reading a passage from Ghost Tides in her mother tongue, then the B O D Y's editor Joshua Mensch read the English translation. The author's flamboyant outfit (brown, thick round Lennon glasses and a purple bat-cut dress) was a contrast to the extract that portrayed a traditional Chinese family's aid in a young boy's transition from boy- to manhood.
The first part of the readings concluded with Natashia Déon's short, yet nonetheless striking depiction of a young slave girl's liberation from mental illness that involved being beaten by her own father. The audience was evidently struck by Déon's utterly-consuming performance, as it took a while for all to wake up back into reality and applaud the writer's art.
The follow-up and concluding guest of the night was Yang Lian. Before reading his works in Chinese and then leaving the microphone to Weiner to read (in a consuming manner, as ever) the English translation, Lian gave an overture to the chosen poems. "Butterfly" was a political one, dedicated to Ai Weiwei, the Chinese artist and human rights activist - Lian chose the piece, as it "shows a historical connection of a the communist past, China's present" between his homeland and the Czech Republic. "Kafka" was no exception, as he remembered decades back to some friends of his who rejected to believe that a Kafka Museum is to be built in Prague. The Chinese tongue then flowed through the room, in the end creating silence in the room. Like Déon, Lian's work left a lasting effect on the audience. Soon, silence was replaced by an enthusiastic applause and the readings part of the evening was drawn to a close with a collective thank-you speech from all three of the editors: Joshua Mensch, Stephan Delbos and the ever-vehement Christopher Crawford.
In high spirits, the writers, guests and editors of the journal entertained themselves in conversation and drink until the late evening hours.... It was all done in the name of B O D Y's once-year anniversary. To put it short, it was a swell birthday bash - it had style and one cannot do else wise now than look forward to this time next year and enjoy everything that the journal will offer (poetry - prose) until then!
