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Browse our growing library of articles to explore the many aspects of Europe’s thriving literature scene.

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Kevin Power's bookshelf

New Currents in Irish Literature

Best to start, perhaps, with Modernism and its legacies. It is the ambiguous fate of the contemporary Irish writer to find herself working in a literary tradition shaped in part by Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, and Samuel Beckett – whose names, listed in that order, constitute a capsule history of Modernism as such (from 1890s Aestheticism to 1950s Absurdism).

Estonia, the land of the world’s most avid bookworms

A few years ago, a study conducted by US and Australian scholars found that Estonians have almost twice as many books at home as the world’s average. This is not surprising: for about 50 years, literature was our surrogate homeland, because the country itself was under Soviet occupation and our language and culture under constant threat. Therefore, new novels by Estonian writers were published in print runs of 25-30 000 and yet quickly sold out, even though the number of the speakers of Estonian was around just one million people. Reading was a form of resistance.

Contemporary Slovene Literature

Slovenia became independent in 1991. This year marks 20 years of the EU membership. Before independence Slovenia was part of various countries and during that times, it has managed to maintain its language, literature and culture itself. There is a lot of literature in translation in Slovenia – translations allowed writers to come into contact with literature from Europe and the rest of the world. Many literats are also active translators of literature. That is why most literary trends, styles and literary forms, genres from world literatures were immediately present in every period.

And you, do you read Belgian?

For a long time, French-speaking Belgian literature hesitated to be born : how could it exist so late – Belgium is a recent country, born in 1830 -, being so small, so unconvinced of its existence, its legitimacy, and with such intimidating neighbors ? So we had to be cunning, like Thyl L’Espiègle, this young hero to whom Charles De Coster gave, more than 150 years ago, the character that he considered to belong to the Belgian citizen : orphan – and therefore free ! -, sarcastic, mocking, rejecting all forms of authority and good-natured. Ruse, therefore, by exploring less established genres, by sabotaging language, by slipping into the interstices between critical recognition and popular success, notably through comics or thrillers…

Sweden’s Socially Engaged Mystery Fiction

Swedish mystery fiction seems strongly oriented towards novels that portray the whole of society. This trend emerged in the 1960s, heavily influenced by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, the writing duo who laid the groundwork for subsequent mystery fiction in Sweden.

Scene of contemporary Lithuanian literature: contemporary Lithuanian poetry and social contexts

The aim of this article is to represent the scene of contemporary Lithuanian literature and to identify most important aspects and tendencies of Lithuanian poetry. Firstly, it’s important to mention that impactful changes began from the restoration of Independence in 1990. It marks important epistemic change and move to the world – many global contexts including art and literature became more accessible and understandable.

Introduction to Latvian literature

“Latvians are introverts” – so says the platform “Latvian Literature,” which was set up to promote Latvian literature abroad, and which organizes gatherings for translators of Latvian literature, introducing the latest writers and most-talked about books of every year and providing a chance to interact with publishers – a learning opportunity I myself take advantage of.

A brief snapshot of the Maltese literary scene

Though Malta is officially a bi-lingual country, with Maltese and English sharing the load, Maltese remains the country’s national language, a fact amply exemplified by its literary output. Malta’s National Book Council (NBC) has recorded upwards of 700 contemporary Maltese authors in its database, the majority of whom write in Maltese.

A short introduction to the Dutch literary scene

Owing to the Netherlands’ long-standing tradition of international trade and Dutch belonging to the ‘smaller’ European languages, Dutch readers are no strangers to reading literature in translation or even in other languages.

Polish literature today

Novelist Olga Tokarczuk’s (1962-) acceptance of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2018 is fresh in the memory. In 1996, poet Wisława Szymborska (1923-2012) was awarded the same prize. Although they represent different generations and genres, the lucid writing of both authors is widely read and familiar to a broad spectrum of Polish readers. 
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Belgium
Bulgaria
Czechia
Denmark
Germany
Estonia
Ireland
Greece
Spain
France
Croatia
Italy
Cyprus
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Hungary
Malta
Netherlands
Austria
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovenia
Slovakia
Finland
Sweden

＊Countries are listed in the official order of the European Union