The Tinted Trails Festival from November 10th to 11th, 2023 sent a clear signal for greater awareness of second language literature in Graz and beyond.
Over 200 visitors took part in the literature festival, organized as a 5-year celebration by the Tint literary association. Around 90% of the guests attended the program items on site in the festival center, the Afro-Asian Institute, and in the Scherbenkeller in Graz. The diverse program consisting of workshops on literature and illustration, dramaturgical productions, an open mic and the book presentation of the anthology Tinted Trails with readings by authors based in Austria, Germany, Great Britain and the USA radiated openness to linguistic and creative needs in a globalized world.
The Book Tinted Trails. Exploring Writings in English as a Second Language is the first anthology to exclusively feature texts by authors who choose English as a second language for their creative writing. English is the most widely spoken foreign language in the world and therefore plays a complex role as a literary language. On the one hand, texts by non-native speakers address the colonial history of this language, and on the other hand, prose and poetry in this language find an extremely broad readership, precisely because of their widespread use.
Guest editor and award-winning author Juhea Kim on Tinted Trails:
"Tint acknowledges and highlights the native and other languages that inform a text. This openness, fraternity, acceptance and celebration of our human diversity are what publishing needs to deliver art and stories that matter — and indeed, it is what the world needs now more than ever."
The book Tinted Trails, published by FORUM STADTPARK, contains 35 poems and stories by authors with 28 different first languages and can be purchased in bookstores, through the publisher and at www.tintjournal.com/tinted-trails. We would be happy to receive information about this on your channels!
You can find out more about the Tinted Trails Tour on their homepage Blog.
You can find images of the book and festival here and a detailed follow-up report here.
