After Kapuscinski: The Art of Reportage in the 21st Century

Tue Sep 29 21:50:14 UTC 2009

AFTER KAPUSCINSKI: 

THE ART OF REPORTAGE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

A Public Conversation 
on the ins and outs of long-term and literary journalism

with leading authors:

Breyten Breytenbach, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Lawrence Weschler,
Suketu Mehta, Elizabeth Rubin, Wojciech Jagielski, and others

October 6-7, 2009

http://www.polishculture-nyc.org/?eventId=1585

 <http://tinyurl.com/afterkapuprogram> http://tinyurl.com/afterkapuprogram

The Polish Cultural Institute in New York, the National Book Critics Circle, the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU, and the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute’s Literary Reportage Concentration at NYU present AFTER KAPUSCINSKI: THE ART OF REPORTAGE IN THE 21ST CENTURY. This public conversation on the ins and outs of long-form and literary journalism will be held on October 6-7 (detailed program follows) at Hemmerdinger Hall, New York University, 100 Washington Square East, New York City. The event is free and open to the public.

This two-day event features an exciting public conversation about the state of the art of reportage amid a rapidly changing media landscape, the various approaches to and practices of long-form and literary journalism, and the ongoing legacy of renowned practitioners like Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski (1932-2007). At a time when categorical differences between fiction and nonfiction are increasingly ambiguous, and the gap between their respective segments of the publishing market increasingly small, a discussion of reportage as literary art form is paramount. 

Participants include leading U.S. and international authors: Robert S. Boynton, Breyten Breytenbach, Jane Ciabattari, Joshua Clark, Ted Conover, Eliza Griswold, Arif Jamal, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Suketu Mehta, Alistair Reid, Elizabeth Rubin, and Lawrence Weschler, as well as representatives of the post-Kapuscinski Polish School of Reportage: Wojciech Jagielski and Pawel Smolenski, Polish human rights scholar Wiktor Osiatynski, and editor and Kapuscinski translator Klara Glowczewska.  

Program details: http://tinyurl.com/afterkapuprogram

Kapuscinski's writing, always wonderfully concrete and observant, conjures marvels of meaning out of minutiae… [The Emperor] transcends reportage… – Salman Rushdie

The value of Kapuscinski’s reportage (which he wrote at night, after filing his news agency stories) lies in his return to the forgotten founts of journalism. These are passion, imagination, and an ethical engagement with finding real stories and connections. To do so, one must cut through the world’s thicket of clichés, data and propaganda. – Marcelo Ballve

This conversation may be understood as a continuation of two previous discussions initiated and co-presented by the Polish Cultural Institute: Literary Reportage: The Forensics of Crisis, which took place at Idlewild Books in May 2009, and the Tribute to Ryszard Kapuscinski at the PEN World Voices Festival in 2007. Here, however, Kapuscinski’s work is taken less as an object of reflection and homage than as a point of departure for understanding the current state of reportage and its future. As a Polish writer Kapuscinski both represents a tradition of journalism that is understood as serious literature (the Polish School of Reportage) and offers to English-language readers a perspective on postcolonial experiences and global relations that is unique.

For further information and to schedule advance interviews with participants, contact Bill Martin at 212-239-7300, ext. 3005 or  <mailto:wmartin at PolishCulture-NYC.org> wmartin at PolishCulture-NYC.org. Program and participant bios are available at  <http://www.polishculture-nyc.org/> www.PolishCulture-NYC.org.

This free public program is presented the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, the National Book Critics Circle, the New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU, and the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute’s Literary Reportage Concentration at NYU, in association with the Overseas Press Club of America and Words Without Borders. 

The symposium coincides with the launch this fall of the Literary Reportage concentration at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute as well as a special issue on literary reportage of the online magazine Words Without Borders (http://www.wordswithoutborders.org <http://www.wordswithoutborders.org/> ), which features work by some of the participants.

  _____  

LISTINGS:

What:           After Kapuscinski: The Art of Reportage in the 21st Century. A Public Conversation

Who:            Breyten Breytenbach, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Lawrence Weschler, Suketu Mehta, Elizabeth 

                     Rubin, Griswold, Wojciech Jagielski, and other leading reportage writers from the U.S. and 

                     from the Polish School of Reportage

When:           Tuesday, October 6

                     5:00-7:00 PM: The Art of Reportage on the Ground and on the Page

                     7:30-9:30 PM: Literary Reportage Between Fact and Fiction, Self and Other

                     Wednesday, October 7

                     6:30-8:30 PM: Kapuscinski’s Legacy in the 21st Century

Where:         NYU's Hemmerdinger Hall, 100 Washington Square East. By subway: West 4th: 

                     B,C,D,E,F,V; 8th St: R,W; Astor Place: 6. 

Admission:    Free and open to public on a first-come, first-in basis

More information:        www.PolishCulture-NYC.org

  _____  

PROGRAM AND PARTICIPANTS:

AFTER KAPUSCINSKI: THE ART OF REPORTAGE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 5:00 PM–7:00 PM

The Art of Reportage: On the Ground and On the Page 

How does narrative arise from reportage? What transformation occurs during the writing process? Answers from journalists who combine investigative skills and literary craft.

with Jane Ciabattari, Joshua Clark, Eliza Griswold, Arif Jamal, Elizabeth Rubin, Pawel Smolenski

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 7:30 PM–9:30 PM

Literary Reportage Between, Fact and Fiction, Self and Other

If a strictly objective take is self-evidently impossible, what sort of warrant as to strict veracity ought the reader expect from the creator of long-form narrative nonfiction? To what extent, if any, ought that writer's vantage be grounded in a personal "I" voice, and to what extent does even that commitment shade into a sort of fiction? 

with Lawrence Weschler, Alastair Reid, Wojciech Jagielski, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Suketu Mehta

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 6:30 PM–8:30 PM

Panel III: Kapuscinski’s Legacy in the 21st Century 

Ryszard Kapuscinski was one of the most celebrated, albeit controversial journalists of the last fifty years, a gorgeous stylist and a rhapsodic, if at times not strictly reliable, witness. To what extent is the kind of reportage he engaged in even possible today? What lessons can the next generation of writers draw from his example? 

with Robert S. Boynton, Breyten Breytenbach, Ted Conover, Klara Glowczewska, Wiktor Osiatynski, David Samuels

  _____  

The Polish Cultural Institute in New York (www.polishculture-nyc.org) established in 2000, is a diplomatic mission dedicated to nurturing and promoting cultural ties between the United States and Poland, both through American exposure to Poland’s cultural achievements, and through exposure of Polish artists and scholars to American trends, institutions, and professional counterparts. The Institute initiates, organizes, promotes, and produces a broad range of cultural events in theater, music, film, literature, and the fine arts. It has collaborated with Film Society of Lincoln Center; The Museum of Modern Art; Jewish Museum; PEN World Voices Festival; Poetry Society of America; Yale University; Lincoln Center Festival; BAM; Art at St. Ann’s; Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, CUNY Graduate Center; and many more. 

The National Book Critics Circle (www.bookcritics.org), founded in 1974 at the Algonquin, is a nonprofit organization consisting of some 600 active book reviewers who are interested in honoring quality writing and communicating with one another about common concerns. It is managed by a 24-member all-volunteer board of directors. In addition to its annual Best Book awards, the NBCC sponsors citations and awards for excellence in reviewing and contributions to the field, and offers forums for the intelligent discussion of books across the nation. 

The New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU (www.nyih.as.nyu.edu) was established in 1976 by founding director Richard Sennett as a forum for promoting the exchange of ideas between academics, professionals, politicians, diplomats, writers, journalists, musicians, painters, and other artists in New York City − and between all of them and the city. It currently comprises approximately 220 Fellows. The NYIH typically holds luncheon-lectures for Institute Fellows every Friday of the academic year. In addition to these events the NYIH organizes a variety of seminars, conferences, discussions, readings and performances that are free and open to the public.

The Literary Reportage Concentration of the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at NYU (www.journalism.nyu.edu) welcomes its first graduate students this autumn. The Literary Reportage track brings together traditional journalism's emphasis on rigorous reporting and research with the emphasis of the MFA writing workshop model on close professional faculty mentorship. We believe that the finest long-form nonfiction is always in conversation with the best thinking of traditional academic disciplines. Students therefore take courses designed to deepen their reporting and research skills as well as their understanding of literary technique and of specific subjects, availing themselves of the resources of the Journalism Institute and other NYU departments.

William Martin

Literary Program Manager

Polish Cultural Institute

350 Fifth Avenue, #4621

New York, NY 10118

212-239-7300 

wmartin at PolishCulture-NYC.org

 <http://www.polishculture-nyc.org/> http://www.PolishCulture-NYC.org

 <http://bacacay.wordpress.com/> http://bacacay.wordpress.com

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