The book launch of Olav H. Hauge's works in Chinese will take place February 28th 16.00 o'clock at Mawood Theatre in Beijing.
The Norwegian poet Olav H. Hauge (1908 – 1994) was inspired by Chinese poetry during his entire life. His work has been translated by Norwegian professor Harald Bøckman and Chinese contemporary poet Xi Chuan, and will be published by the Writers Publishing House in Feb. 2009. See the poster here.
The book launch is by invitation only. If you wish to participate, please send an e-mail to bejinfo@mfa.no.
Time: 4pm – 7pm, Saturday Feb. 28, 2009
Venue: Mawood Theatre (No.4 Zhangwang Hutong, Jiuguloudajie)
Guests: Guests: Mr. Svein O. Sæther (Norwegian Ambassador to China), Mr. Gao Hongbo (Vice Chairman, Chinese Writers' Association), Mr. Xi Chuan, Ms. Liu Baisha, Ms. Hou Xiufen (Chief Editor, Writers Publishing House), Mr. Tang Xiaodu (Editor, Writers Publishing House), Ms. Juni Dahr.
Program:
4pm – 4:30pm: Reception
4:30pm – 5:30pm: Book launch (Guest speech, Poem reading, Media Q&A, book autograph)
5:30pm – 6pm: Break
6pm – 7pm: Musical “Hello Hauge” (by Visions Theatre Company)
Press/Media contact:
Lei Yang (Press/Culture Officer, the Norwegian Embassy, Beijing)
Tel: 010 – 8531 9636
Email: yale@mfa.no
R.S.V.P. via email to yale@mfa.no by Feb. 23 (Mon.) including media name, participant name and contact number.
Olav H. Hauge lived a reserved life as fruit farmer in western Norway. His poems revolve around nature and everyday life, they have been translated into many languages and continue to have a large influence.
Hauge's first poems were all in a traditional form. He later wrote modernist poetry and in particular concrete poetry. Hauge was inspired by the simplicity of Chinese poetry, and it is reflected in several of the poems. The dialogues in Hauge’s poems stretch widely within the literary field. When he conversed intertextually with other poets, it could just as well be pre-romantic, classic European, classic Chinese or Norse poetry as post-romantic European modernists.
Mr. Svein O. Saether (Norwegian Ambassador to China): ”I'm very glad that we have the opportunity to bring Norwegian poet Olav H. Hauge back to Chinese readers. He was deeply influenced by Chinese culture during his entire life. I hope it can further trigger more cultural exchange between Norway and China.”
Writers Publishing House: ”Hauge's poems are simple, generous, swift and direct to the core of the subject and poetry, its style has the magic distant response to ancient Chinese poetry. The publishing of his works is a critical event of Sino-Norwegian contemporary poetry and cultural exchange, which will obsess the Chinese readers.”
Supported by: The Norwegian Embassy, The Norwegian Consulate General in Shanghai, Writers Publishing House, Hauge/Tveit08, Visions Theatre Company, Mawood Theatre, Time Arts, Peking University Concert Hall, Shanghai Fudan University.
Introduction of “Hello Hauge”
In connection with the book launch, the Norwegian artists Juni Dahr, Tore Brunborg and Thomas Strønen will bring the spirit of Hauge to China through their lyrical and musical performance "Hello Hauge" based on Hauge’s poems.
The performance was originally commissioned for a poetry festival in Norway in 2008, where it received great reviews - one newspaper characterized it as "gourmet food for the soul".
“Hello Hauge” will also be performed at Peking University on March 1st and at Shanghai Fudan University on March 3rd.