The 5th European Literature Days will be kicked off here with a series of readings, workshops, a concert and an exhibition on May 7.

The events will be held at cultural institutions serving under the embassies of Denmark, Germany, France, and Great Britain, as well as Italy, Israel, Poland, and Sweden.

Recently published Vietnamese translations of European literature will be presented. These include the newly printed Trial by Czech-born Jewish author Franz Kafka, who wrote his novels in German.

Extracts from the book will be read by artist Le Chuc at the opening ceremony on May 7 at the Goethe Institute.

The Israeli bestselling author Etgar Keret will be a guest for the opening night. He will present two short films and read from his short story collection, which is now also available in Vietnamese.

Keret is among the European authors coming to Viet Nam to introduce their works at the European Literature Days event.

Englishman Jasper Fjorde will meet his young readers to explore new territory with his detective novels for children and young people at 9am on May 8 at the Goethe Institute. After meeting the children and reading to them, he will lead a discussion on Mystery and Detective Fiction For Children - An Untouched Land.

Another discussion on How Contemporary Society Is Reflected In Short Stories and Novels will be held on the same day at 3pm, with participation from Keret and Fjorde.

On May 9, children's book author Annette Kohn will tell stories from her playful comic about the little dragon Leto who finds new friends in Viet Nam. Kohn will discuss the theme Illustration For Children's Books with Vietnamese illustrators Thuy Com and Ta Huy Long at 9am.

Many other works will be introduced at the European Literature Day, including Other Pleasures by Polish author Jerzy Pilch and Letter To A Child Never Born by Italian Oriana Fallaci.

This year, the focus of European Literature Days is the interplay between images and words in comics and children's books.

Local children can celebrate the 70th anniversary of the world-famous Swedish children's book character Pippi Longstocking at Pippi's Birthday Party on the closing day, May 10, at 4.30pm at the Goethe Institute.

The European Literature Days will close with the comic artist Reinhard Kleist drawing on stage along with a concert featuring the music of legendary country singer Johnny Cash.

More illustrations and comics by Reinhard Kleist can be seen at the exhibition opening that same evening at the Goethe Institute.

The extensive programme is complemented by bookstands filled with the works of publishers from the Goethe Institute, where many books will be available at special prices. There is also an exhibition of new books from Germany at the Goethe Institute, offered in cooperation with the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The European Literature Days event has been held annually by the European Union National Institutes for Culture following its success in recent years. 

VNS