Tod von Günter Grass

Der Schriftsteller Günter Grass ist im Alter von 87 Jahren gestorben.

Harper Lee to publish new novel, 55 years after To Kill a Mockingbird

The news has made headlines in all the major newspapers: Nelle Harper Lee, author of the beloved To Kill a Mockingbird, plans to publish a new novel in July. Go Set a Watchman will be her second one, 55 years after her masterpiece, though in fact it was written before Mockingbird but discarded.

The excitement in the media clearly shows how dearly loved her first and only novel is, the most recommended novel of all time. Published in 1960, Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize and would later be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to literature in 2007. To Kill a Mockingbird was adapted to the big screen in 1962, starring Gregory Peck, and won 3 Oscars. The story is written from the point of view of Scout, a little girl (and a bit of a tomboy), and describes life in a little town with his widowed father Atticus, a lawyer who defends a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman. There's not just anecdote but substance as the racial tension is vividly present.

In Go Set a Watchman Scout visits her father Atticus 20 years later.  It was recently rediscovered and after some hesitation the authoress found it worthy of publication. Will it live up to the expectations? We'll have to wait and see. Meanwhile you can read Mockingbird or watch the film: they are simply wondeful.

For more details, you can read the news in The Guardian or The New Yok Times.

"The Cut" von Fatih Akin

Mardin, 1915: Eines Nachts treibt die türkische Gendarmerie alle armenischen Männer zusammen. Auch der junge Schmied Nazaret Manoogian wird von seiner Familie getrennt. Nachdem es ihm gelingt, den Horror des Völkermordes zu überleben, erreicht ihn Jahre später die Nachricht, dass auch seine Zwillingstöchter am Leben sind. Besessen von dem Gedanken, sie wiederzufinden, folgt er ihren Spuren. Sie führen ihn von den Wüsten Mesopotamiens über Havanna bis in die kargen, einsamen Prärien North Dakotas. Auf seiner Odyssee begegnet er den unterschiedlichsten Menschen: engelsgleichen und gütigen Charakteren, aber auch dem Teufel in Menschengestalt.

Obwohl der Film die Welt vor 100 Jahren beschreibt, ist er brandaktuell, denn er erzählt von Krieg und Vertreibung. Aber auch von der Kraft der Liebe und der Hoffnung, die uns Unvorstellbares leisten lässt.

Kinostart: 16.10.2014 

Tag der deutschen Einheit

Der Weg zur deutschen Einheit

Für alle, die auch andere Sportarten lieben: 

DER BERLIN-MARATHON

THE TOOTH

Read and produced by one of our amazing students.

Tar

It's not very often that a film is made on the life of a poet, but here's one: 'Tar', based on poems by C K Williams, opens in the US on Dec 1. The movie is an independent production directed by 12 film students with an impressive lineup of stars: James Franco, Mila Kunis and Jessica Chastain, among them. Williams is considered one of the most distinguished poets of his generation. Born in 1936, he has won a long list of awards and honors, including the Pulitzer, the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

'Tar', the poem, gave title to the book published in 1983. These are the first lines:

The first morning of Three Mile Island: those first disquieting, uncertain, mystifying hours.
All morning a crew of workmen have been tearing the old decrepit roof off our building,
and all morning, trying to distract myself, I’ve been wandering out to watch them
as they hack away the leaden layers of asbestos paper and disassemble the disintegrating drains.

Read the whole poem at the Poetry Foundation.

Click here to learn more about C K Williams.

Click here to learn more about the movie in the Los Angeles Times.

The most expensive book ever

Last Tuesday 26 November a book became the most expensive ever sold at auction. The Bay Psalm Book, published in 1640, went for $14,165,000. Why is it so special? It was the first book to be printed in the US, and there are only 11 known copies. The book contains psalms translated by the Puritans directly from Hebrew, as they weren't satisfied with the existing edition at the time.

Watch this video by Sotheby's about the Bay Psalm Book.



Click here to read more at the New York Times.

You can see what The Whole Book of Psalmes looks like at the Word Digital Library.

.

Hommage à Georges Moustaki

Agustín Felices Sa

Francés Nivel Intermedio Grupo 208 

EOI Huesca

Georges Moustaki est mort  à Nice, à l'âge de 79 ans. De Piaf aux influences brésiliennes, sa chanson éminemment délicate témoignait de son profond humanisme.

Révélé en 1969 par sa chanson "le Métèque", Georges Moustaki est évidemment plus qu'un interprète. Commencé bien avant, son métier d'auteur compositeur lui permit de rencontrer les plus grands de la chanson française, et peut-être en devenir un lui-même ...

A la fois auteur et compositeur, il a écrit quelque 300 chansons pour les plus grands interprètes, Piaf, Montand, Barbara, Gréco, Reggiani, avant de les chanter lui-même avec succès. Dans son panthéon, trônaient un « Milord », un « Métèque » et une « Dame brune »

Yussef Mustacchi naît en Egypte à Alexandrie le 3 mai 1934. Ses parents Nessim et Sarah sont grecs et originaires de l'île de Corfou. Ils tiennent une librairie dans la cité cosmopolite où de nombreuses communautés se côtoient. A la maison, chacun parle italien à cause d'une tante qui refuse catégoriquement de parler grec. Dans la rue, les enfants parlent arabe. A l'école, le jeune Joseph, puisqu'on l'appelle ainsi, apprend et parle le français. Ses parents qui sont très attachés à la culture française l'ont inscrit dans une institution scolaire française. Il en va de même pour ses deux sœurs. Le jeune garçon s'intéresse beaucoup à la littérature et à la chanson française. Il écoute Charles Trenet,Tino Rossi ou Edith Piaf. Comme il joue un peu de piano, il s'amuse à reprendre leur répertoire.

Le baccalauréat en poche, il va donc naturellement venir séjourner à Paris. Nous sommes en 1951. Après un aller-retour à Alexandrie pour demander l'autorisation à son père de vivre dans la capitale française, il s'installe chez sa sœur et son beau-frère, lui aussi libraire. Il essaie de gagner sa vie en faisant du porte-à-porte pour vendre des livres de poésie.

Dans ses moments de loisir, il gratte un peu la guitare que sa mère lui a envoyée. Il se rend aussi dans les cabarets, aux Trois Baudets par exemple, où un soir, il entend Georges Brassens alors débutant. C'est le choc. Par un heureux concours de circonstances, il le rencontre quelques temps plus tard dans la boutique de son beau-frère. Il lui montre les quelques chansons qu'il a écrites et Brassens l'encourage à continuer.

http://www.humanite.fr/culture/le-chanteur-du-meteque-georges-moustaki-est-mort-542130

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZILXscrBG7A

Sources: RFI Musique et L'humanité

Saint George's Day is World Book Day

23rd April is special: it's a holiday, we're well into the spring, many people have a picnic at Saint George's Knoll in Huesca. As in the rest of Spain, libraries have stalls in the street and it is customary to buy a book. UNESCO chose this date to celebrate World Book (and Copyright) Day, as it is the date when both Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare died. This coincidence is not strictly correct, though. Accoding to the Wikipedia,

Cervantes died on 22 April and was buried on 23 April according the Gregorian calendar; however, at this time England still used the Julian calendar. Whilst Shakespeare died on 23 April by the Julian calendar in use in his own country at the time, he actually died eleven days after Cervantes because of the discrepancy between the two date systems.

Visit UNESCO' webpage to read an institutional message on the occasion.

In the UK, World Book Day is celebrated on the first Thrusday in March, with a focus on schoolchildren. Their colourful webpage includes videos of different authors giving tips on creating brilliant stories.

Saint George is a very popular saint in the world, patron of Aragón, Catalonia, England and Georgia, also venerated in many other countries including Ethiopia, India and Iraq. George was a soldier in the Roman imperial guard. When Diocletian issued an edict that all christian soldiers should be arrested, George didn't want to renounce his faith and was finally executed.

Saint George is most popular due to the legend of he and the dragon. Here's a cute version of the story:

Happy Saint George's Day!

THE IRON LADY

As you all possibly know by now, Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady, has passed away .

 

No other politician has provoked such polarised opinions of hatred and devotion as Margaret Thatcher, whose legacy will continue to divide opinion for generations.

The Iron Lady’s death this week has prompted yet more reflection on a premiership spanning eleven years which stimulated economic and social reforms which continue to be felt today.

The neo-conservatism policies of the Thatcher regime secured three election victories as the woman dubbed ‘TINA’ – there is no alternative – remained a Downing Street resident for eleven years.

 

Lost of books have been written about her life, I would like to share with you an interview held about  one of them, The Downing Street Years. Enjoy it!

25th March: Tolkien Reading Day

Tolkien's work is so appealing that there is a Tolkien Society and an annual Tolkien Reading Day, celebrated on 25th March.

"Launched in 2003 Tolkien Reading Day event has sparked interest in reading and reading groups across several nations and ages, from primary schoolchildren to university students and library users of all ages. 25^th March has significance to Tolkien's readers, as it is the day of the Downfall of Sauron at the conclusion of the 'War of the Ring' in The Lord of the Rings."

I'd like to contribute to the event with a video from Air New Zealand. Enjoy!

The Four Agreements

Some years ago I came across this book by Miguel Ruiz and my life started to change in a very positive way.

This is why I would like to recommend it once again to all those who are interested in leading a better life by making the most of it for themselves and for the others.

Enjoy your reading!

Don Miguel moved to the United States to share his wisdom, and spent the next 15 years exploring ways to heal and change the human mind. He witnessed his students struggling to quiet their minds and sought to create tools to assist them. The result of this quest was The Four Agreements®. That book contains a specific series of practical steps, that when used by anyone, can result in consistent and long-term personal transformation.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Directed by Sam Raimi, Oz The Great and Powerful opens today in cinemas worldwide. Disney's latest production invents a story for the famous wizard. There is little in common with the lovely 1939 film, or with the original novel.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum, was first published in 1900. It tells the story of a young girl named Dorothy who is carried away from home by a tornado. She turns up in the Land of Oz, where she must look for the Wizard if she wants to return home. On her way she meets a scarecrow who wants a brain, a tin man who wants a heart, and a cowardly lion who wants courage. They all go together to the Emerald City, hoping that the Wizard will solve their problems.

The Wizard of Oz is one of the most popular stories in American culture. It was so successful that Baum wrote 13 sequels in his lifetime, followed by 21 more after his death. You will probably be familiar with Oscar-winning song Over the Rainbow, from the1939 film. I include this other cheerful one, though: We're Off to See the Wizard.

You're off to see the Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
You'll find he is a whiz of a Wiz! If ever a Wiz! there was.
If ever oh ever a Wiz! there was The Wizard of Oz is one because,
Because, because, because, because, because.
Because of the wonderful things he does.
You're off to see the Wizard. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

You can borrow the novel from us or download the text and audio.

PS.- It is Sunday now and Oz had a strong debut, according to the Los Angeles Times, grossing a combined  $150 million worldwide on Friday and Saturday (the movie cost $235).

10 questions for Toni Morrison

In today's edition of El Pais there's an article about Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison's latest novel, Home (2012), and a Time magazine video interview from 2008. Morrison won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. Her long list of awards also includes the Pulitzer Prize in 1988.

Here's the video of the 10 questions series.



You can read a simplified scrip of the interview here.

You can also see a short slide show on her life and career here.

Song of Solomon (1977), Morrison's 3rd novel, is available at our library.

Life of Pi

I'm pretty excited. Later this month opens Life of Pi, based on the wonderful novel by Yann Martel. Born in Salamanca of Canadian parents, Martel won the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Life of Pi, which was translanted into 40 languages and stayed in The New York Times Best Seller List for 57 weeks.

In the story, Pi Patel's family own a zoo in India but decide to emigrate to Canada. Unfortunately, the ship where they're travelling along with their animals sinks and 16-year-old Pi is stranded in a lifeboat for 227 days. His only companion, a Bengal tiger.

Pi's real name is Piscine Molitor, after a famous swimming-pool in Paris. With a name like that, you can expect he has trouble at school, so when he changes schools he decides to go by the name of Pi, as in the number. However his plan backfires, as his classmates then call him 'lemon pie.'

The film is directed by Ang Lee, winner of an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain and nominated to another for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; he's also responsible for the very successful Sense and Sensibility. With these credentials one expects a brilliant movie, and it certainly looks spectacular, as you can see in the trailer.



Life of Pi is available at our library.

More on Life of Pi:

• Read the first chapter (only 5 pages long)
• Read a review on the film
• Listen to an interview with Yann Martel
• Listen to the author reading short excerpts from the novel

Ray Bradbury Dies at 91

Just before the summer holidays, as we were all busy with final exams, legendary science-fiction writer Ray Bradbury died at the age of 91. Author or 27 novels and more than 600 short stories, he was one of the most popular writers in the world. Many of his works have been adapted into television shows or films, including Farenheit 451 by François Truffaut in 1966, and The Martian Chronicles, a collection of short stories - both available in our library. Among many other awards, Bradbury received the National Medal of Arts, presented by President George W Bush, and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He was also given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and this year's landing site of NASA's Mars Rover was named Bradbury's Landing.
The Martian Chronicles is about the colonisation of Mars by humans escaping a devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the colonists. First published in 1950, it is curious to see how the future - now - was imagined more than half a century ago. As an example, see this prune advertisement featuring Mr Bradbury. You can read a short excerpt here.
 
Farenheit 451 presents a future USA where books are outlawed and firemen burn any house that contains them. Read this short article describing the circumstances in which it was written - on a rented typewriter at a public library. Also, here's the film trailer.

Hardcore book lovers

This pair takes their reading very seriously.

You can find the lyrics in the author's blog, and a link to the original video (look for the March 19 entry).

A new take on the Three Little Pigs

Last week we saw this video in one of the Students Talks held on Tuesday. As part of their open journalism campaign, The Guardian made this advert where they imagine how they would cover the story of the Three Little Pigs in print and online.


There seems to be a growing interesting in children's tales. Currently you can watch Once Upon a Time (AXN), a series on the story of Snow White set in the modern world. There's also a similar series in production for Spanish TV. This year there is not one, but two major live action movie releases for general audiences on the same fairytale: Mirror, Mirror - starring Julia Roberts - and Snow White and the Huntsman - with Charlize Theron. These follow in the footsteps of French production The Sleeping Beauty (2011), and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010), not to mention other recent animated features. What's going on? Are we becoming childish? Are we looking for comfort in a period of our lives when we didn't have any troubles? Is this just a passing fad?

Whatever the answer, this is not the first time when traditional children's stories have been given a modern perspective. Author Roald Dahl re-interpreted six well-known tales in Revolting Rhymes (1982), giving them surprise endings in place of the traditional happily-ever-after. Listen to his version of Little Red Riding Hood, read by himself. You can read some others, including Three Little Pigs, on this other webpage.

The animal I really dig

Above all others is the pig.

Pigs are noble. Pigs are clever.

Pigs are courteous. However,

Now and then, to break this rule,

One meets a pig who is a fool.

Tell us: what was your favourite fairytale when you were a child?

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore

We proudly present this year's winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, a moving story of books with a mind of their own. If it reminds you of  The Wizard of  Oz and Buster Keaton, it is no coincidence. Simply marvellous.



You can watch the whole thing in YouTube. More information here.