“… only that I left, and for good.”
This is how a poem by Fedia Filkova ends. It is from her bilingual poetry collection Nachtgras, published by Drava in 2013. On this evening, we would like to commemorate this great poet, translator, and diplomat. Fedia Filkova was vital in establishing crucial connections between Bulgaria, Austria, and Germany; with her sensitive translations that are committed to nothing but the author she has given a voice to German-language literature in Bulgaria. For it, she was awarded and honoured with the Austrian State Prize for Literature in 1995.
Mirela Ivanova, poet, translator and director of the Ivan Vazov Museum in Sofia, was a close friend of hers for decades, Andreas Tretner did a wonderful job translating Fedia Filkova’s poems into German, Klemens Renoldner, literary scholar and author, became a close friend during their days together in Berlin, and with Antje Contius Fedia shared a close collaboration that went beyond the TRADUKI network. Naemi Latzer will read a selection of her poems. The evening will be moderated by Annemarie Türk.
Commemorative evening for Fedia Filkova (10 March 1950 – 16 December 2020)
Österreichische Gesellschaft für Literatur, 9th November 2021, 7 PM