On Thursday, 21 November, a literary evening was held as well as a book promotion as an integral part of the five-day cultural and artistic programme marking the jubilee of the Madlena Art Palace, with the beginning at 7 p.m. The most recent edition of Zepter Book publishing house, Selected Letters to N. R. F. by Louis Ferdinand Celine, was presented on the third day of the festivity. This is a book of correspondence generated between 1931 and 1961, containing selected letters which Celine sent to his publisher and editors of books and literary publications, same as their letters to him.
Loius-Ferdinand Celine became famous in the 1930s, as the author of the novels Journey to the End of the Night (1932) and Death on the Instalment Plan (1936). Due to his clearly expressed antisemitism, he was exiled to Denmark upon order of French authorities. In 1951, he returned to France to restart publishing novels such as D’un château l’autre and He died in Meudon on 1 July 1961 (on the same day as Ernest Hemingway).
Renowned professors and experts in French language, culture, and literature: Anđelka Cvijić, journalist and literary critic, prof. Katarina Melić PhD, professor of French language and literture, prof. Aleksandar Jerkov PhD, theoretician and literary critic, and Bojan Savić Ostojić, translator and writer spoke about the book, while actor Tihomir Stanić read selected parts of the book. The discussion was opened by professor Jerkov, who unfortunately could not attend the event personally, but who addressed the guests through a video link. According to his words, Celine presents an event by itself. As a rightist with almost undefendable political positions, he remains in the shadow despite the opinion of his publisher that he was a literary genius who had changed and promoted French literature. However, in recent years, Celine has gained additional popularity, while since 2000 interest in his books has grown perceptibly. Professor Jerkov reminded us that this is not the first publishing of Celine, as the Publishing house Zepter Book had published his novel Death on the Instalment Plan more than two decades ago (in 2003). Professor Jerkov also observed that through Celine’s attitude towards the nation it may be concluded that he was one of those writers who problematized and questioned everything. Anđelka Cvijić, literary critic, emphasized the importance of his book, imparting to us some of less known details from Celine’s life and explaining the circumstances which contributed to forming of such an exceptionally unusual individual. Professor Katarina Melić PhD expressed the attitude that Celine kept creating myths about himself as a threatened, rebelling author, someone in conflict with everyone ever since the beginning of his creative career. In the period between the two wars, French literature was marked for exceptional writers (Proust, Camus, Sartre), with Celine persistently fighting for his place under the sun. This attitude was supported by the translator of the book Bojan Savić Ostojić, who added that what Celine longed for was some form of pardon on part of the newly-created cultural and political establishment in France.
Following the discussion on Celine and French literature, a concert of Neapolitan music entitled Napoli Sempre (Napoli forever) followed, performed by Italian musician Angelica Sepe, who, or the benefit of the public, evoked the eternal beauty of Neapolitan melodies composed in the period from 18 century till the present date. Her music accompaniment comprised a trio featuring pianist Pino Tafuto, percussionist Emidio Ausello, and guitar-player Michele Montefusco. Being popular and recognizable outside the boundaries of Italy, Neapolitan songs became one of the symbols of Italian vocal music. The multitude of songs presented to the Belgrade audience included those well-known throughout the world: Reginella, Era de Maggio, ’O Sole Mio…
