Juan Gabriel Vásquez talks with Rike Bolte about, among other things, his current collection of stories Songs for the Flames, the role of literature in times of fake news, the question of how fiction shapes our perception of the political world, and his time in Berlin.
The Colombian writer is the current Samuel Fischer Guest Professor at the Peter Szondi Institute at Freie Universität Berlin. He is considered one of the most important contemporary narrators in Latin America. In his award-winning work, he deals with the violent history of his home country, which haunts his characters. He himself sees his narrative style as a counter-draft to the style of magical realism.
Rike Bolte is a professor of literary studies in Colombia, co-founder and curator of the Latin American poetry festival Latinale (Berlin), translator from Spanish and French, and freelance moderator.
The talk will be streamed live and will also take place with a live audience at the Instituto Cervantes Berlin - current Corona regulations permitting. Event in Spanish.
