英國新銳文學之旅：城市?生活?文學

2010年11月11-15日

說起英國文學，很多讀者的腦海中會立刻浮現出莎士比亞、狄更斯、簡?奧斯汀、夏洛蒂?勃朗特、拜倫、雪萊這些傳統文學大師的名字，而對英國當代文學卻相對陌生。事實上，當今英國文壇比以往任何時候都欣欣向榮，小說、戲劇、散文、詩歌等各種文學類別都得到了繁榮和發展。

2010年11月，英國使館文化教育特邀英國當代文壇三位新銳作家，柯斯達圖書獎獲獎者凱瑟琳?奧弗林（Catherine O'Flynn）和拉斐爾?塞爾伯恩（Raphael Selbourne）、星期日泰晤士報年度新作家大獎獲得者羅斯?瑞信（Ross Raisin）來華，為中國讀者奉上一系列精彩的文學活動。此次三位英國作家將帶著其處女作品，在廣州、深圳、北京和天津舉辦四場文學活動，近距離與讀者分享他們的文學創作之路和人生經歷，幸運者有機會獲得作家送出的簽名著作！

活動安排：

1、廣州行： 邂逅英倫文壇新力量——英國新銳文學作家交流講座

時間：2010年11月11日（星期四）14:30-17:00

地點：廣東外語外貿大學圖書館多功能報告廳（廣州市白云區白云大道北2號）

2、深圳行：邂逅英倫文壇新力量——英國新銳文學作家書友交流會

時間：2010年11月12日（星期五）20:00-22:00

地點：深圳書城中心書城周五書友會多功能廳（福田區福中一路，地鐵四號線少年宮站）

3、北京行：邂逅英倫文壇新力量——英國新銳文學作家交流會

時間：2010年11月14日（星期日）15:00-17:00

地點：北京單向街書店（朝陽區朝陽公園路6號院藍色港灣11號樓rs-16號）

4、天津行：英國新銳文學作家講座

時間：2010年11月15日（星期一）18：00-19：30

地點：天津外國語大學 (中國天津市河西區馬場道117號)

英國新銳文學作家介紹

拉斐爾?塞爾伯恩

Raphael Selbourne

處女作：《鏗鏘麗人(Beauty)》

“以純正的原汁原味捕捉了城市里真實的人性。”——柯斯塔文學獎處女作獎項評委

拉斐爾出生在英國牛津一個顯赫的書香世家，他在Sussex大學學習政治，隨后前往意大利成為一名翻譯。他曾經做過廣告推銷員及售賣小摩托車，更在中國當過老師。2004年開始定居英國西米德蘭。在中斷了伯明翰大學的伊斯蘭研究學碩士課程后，他開始撰寫小說Beauty《鏗鏘麗人》，講述了一個孟加拉穆斯林女孩逃離強迫婚姻的故事，精準地描繪了一個富有同情心和挑戰性的擁有多元文化的英格蘭都市。該小說為他贏得了2009年英國柯斯達圖書獎（Costa Book Awards）小說新作獎的殊榮。

凱瑟琳?奧弗林

Catherine O'Flynn

處女作：《那些逝去的(What Was Lost)》

“做為一部處女作，《那些逝去的》寫的十分精彩”——英國獨立報

凱瑟琳出生于1970年，在伯明翰長大，在家里六個小孩中排名小幺，父母以經營著糖果店為生。凱瑟琳曾經當過記者，網站編輯，郵遞員，還在多個購物中心打過工。2007年，凱瑟琳以自己成長的經歷以及在唱片公司打工的際遇為線索，寫下了其首部小說What Was Lost《那些逝去的》并獲得了廣泛的好評。該小說以生活在80年代中期一個失蹤小女孩的熱情與樂觀向上，深刻揭露了現代人生活的無奈與空虛，因此獲得了多項重要文學獎的提名，小說更在2008年的柯斯達圖書獎（Costa Book Awards）上獲得了金獎。凱瑟琳也獲得了當年英國Galaxy文學大獎年度新人的稱號。她的第二本作品The News Where You Are 2010年7月1日在伯明翰正式發行，并獲得了一致的好口碑。

羅斯?瑞信

Ross Raisin

處女作：《狂野的荒原(God's Own Country)》

“該書是語言學的盛宴，作者的自創詞語讓人忍俊不禁。”——英國衛報

羅斯?瑞信1979年出生于約克郡的Keighley，在倫敦國王學院學習英國文學，并成為一名兼職的紅酒吧經理。其后羅斯前往金史密斯學院攻讀創意寫作碩士學位。2008年，羅斯出版了他的處女作小說God's Own Country《狂野的荒原》，小說得到了廣大好評，并分別獲得了8個文學獎項的提名，獲得了衛報首作獎與John Llewellyn Rhys文學獎的提名，并獲得了Betty Trask處女文學獎及星期日泰晤士報“年度新作家大獎”。衛報評論人Justine Jordan稱贊此作品讓人“手不釋卷”，羅斯目前在倫敦生活，正準備推出其第二本小說作品。

NEW WRITINGS FROM UK: CITY, LIFE AND LITERATURE

The Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy warmly invites, three of the UK’s new writing authors, to visit China this November to present to Chinese readers a series of exciting literary activities.

British literature is currently in a particularly vibrant period with many energetic and innovative works filling and enriching the modern British literary scene. Ross Raisin, the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award 2009; Raphael Selbourne and Catherine O’Flynn, Costa Award winning novelists in recent years, as representatives of contemporary British literature writers will offer 4 literary activities in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing and Tianjin to share the living stories in their writing careers. Join us and you will have the chance to get a original copy of the novels signed by the writers.

Events:

1, Guangzhou：Dialogues with the Literature Rising Stars

Date：1430-1700, Friday, 11th November 2010

Venue：Multi-function Room, Library, Guangdong University of Foreign Study

2, Shenzhen：Dialogues with the Literature Rising Stars

Date：2000-2200, Friday, 12th November 2010

Venue：Multi-function Room, Friday Reader’s Club, Shenzhen Book City

3, Beijing: Dialogues with the Literature Rising Stars

Date：Sunday, 14th November 2010

Venue：OneWayStreet Bookstore

4, Tianjin：

Date: 18:00-19:30, Monday, 15th November 2010

Venue: Tianjin Foreign Studies University

New Writers from UK

Raphael Selbourne

First published book: Beauty

“Captures the raw humanity of inner city life with extraordinary authenticity”— Judges of the Costa First Novel Award

Born in Oxford within a distinguished academic family, Raphael Selbourne studied politics at Sussex University, before moving to Italy where he was a translator, sold TV advertising and scooters. He has also taught in China and since 2004 in the West Midlands, where he now lives. He interrupted an MA in Islamic Studies at Birmingham University to write Beauty, which describes a twenty-year-old Bangladeshi woman, back in England having disgraced her family by fleeing an abusive arranged marriage. Beauty is described as “a sharply rendered, compassionate and challenging portrait of a fragmented, multicultural urban England”, and won the 2009 Costa First Novel Award.

Catherine O'Flynn

First published book: What Was Lost

“Catherine O'Flynn's poignant first novel explores bereavement and loneliness, what it is to be invisible and what it takes to be found. Her prose is taut, and the story intricately plotted and compelling.” Francesca Segal, The Telegraph

Catherine O’Flynn was born in 1970 and raised in Birmingham, the youngest of six children. Her parents ran a sweet shop. She worked briefly in journalism, then at a series of shopping centres. She has also been a web editor, a postwoman and a mystery shopper. O’Flynn’s first novel, What Was Lost, drew on her experience of working in record stores – and of growing up as a child intrigued by clues, suspects and methods of detection. News Where You Are, her second novel, was released in July this year to much critical acclaim. She also edited Roads Ahead, Tindal Street Press’ 2009 anthology of young new writers.

Ross Raisin

First published book: God's Own Country

“… a joy to read for the dialect alone, a linguistic feast as chewy as parkin, full of beltengers and hubbleshoos, nimrods and charvers.”— Justine Jordan，Guardian

Ross Raisin was born in Yorkshire in 1979, near Bradford and Ilkley. He studied English at King’s College in London and worked for a time as co-manager of a wine bar. He studied for an MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmith’s University in London before his debut novel, God's Own Country, was bought in a hotly-contested auction by Viking Penguin. It was published to great critical acclaim in 2008 and Ross was shortlisted for 8 separate awards for the book, winning the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award 2009. He lives in London and is currently finishing his second novel.

（英國使館文化教育處提供）