Discussion held on 'Politics and Poetics of Europe'

On May 31, the Embassy of Austria in Georgia, in partnership with Intelekti Publishing House, Goethe Institute, and the Tbilisi International Book Fair, organized a discussion titled Politics and Poetics of Europe at the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia.

The guests included an Austrian writer and award winner Robert Menasse, Georgian writer Zurab Karumidze, the Ambassador of Austria to Georgia, HE Arad Benkoe and Maia Panjikidze, the translator of one of Menasse's books. During the open discussion, Robert Menasse and Zurab Karumidze talked about Georgia and Europe, national identities and common values.

In 2017, Author Robert Menasse was awarded the Deutscher Buchpreis for his satirical novel 'Die Hauptstadt' (the Capital). With the support of the 'Bundeskanzleramt Osterreich,' it was translated into Georgian by the former Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze and introduced at the Tbilisi International Book Fair on May 30.

While opening the discussion, Panjikidze briefly discussed the two books by the Georgian and Austrian writers and how they relate to each other - Untergang - traveling to Europe by Karumidze and The Capital by Menasse.

"These books are about the European identity, the idea of Europe and the book by the Georgian writer also is about the connection that Georgia has with everything, what we want from Europe and what is it that expects us there. And what expects us there is discussed in Menasse's book," said Panjikidze. She also discussed the name of Karumidze's book. German word 'Untergang' has several meanings, like setting, sinking, decline, downfall, etc.. According to the author, he used this word to imply dusk. However, it doesn't mean that it's entirely free from the negative connotation that it has in the German language.

The Ambassador talked about the European values and the expectations that Europeans and Georgians have from them. The participants of the discussion talked about the cultural borders, which "are more important than the political ones."

Karumidze mentioned that from the late 19th century, Georgians had the notion that they should share the "European values," however, they were mostly talking about the artistic and aesthetic values, rather than political. According to the writer, this also seems to be the case today. "Aesthetics have great power and serve as a good basis, and little by little Georgia will manage to share the political values of Europe too," noted Karumidze.

He also spoke about the importance of sharing the knowledge, citing Umberto Eco's quote, "the language of Europe is translation," highlighting the invaluable work that translation provides for the cultures to exchange ideas.

Panjikidze mentioned that it is hard to distinguish politics and poetics from each other, remembering her and Karumidze's political past, when, in 2012, they fought along with the Georgian Dream coalition, eventually winning in the elections, after which, she became a Minister of Foreign Affairs. "We would not have imagined back then when we were protecting these values, that we would one day meet each other on the literature podium," she said.

The Ambassador mentioned that the nationalist forces in Europe are trying to tell them [Europeans] that they are at the crossroad, in an identity crisis. In answer to this sentiment, Menasse said that "artists have never been nationalists," and that if it was up to them, "nationalism probably wouldn't even exist, because throughout history, they always had communication with each other, sharing their ideas."

"Some people are manipulated, that is why often the borders are being revised. Slowly it's starting to resemble the Untergang [referencing Karumidze's book title]. Everything we achieved since 1989 is under threat right before our eyes, it is important to try everything to avoid this," said Menasse. The author then elaborated on the means to preserve the European procurement: "this might sound idealistic, but I think that it's easy to remind people what their true interests are - peaceful living, social justice and basic opportunities for development. What is it other than that, that a Georgian might want and not Greek, Portuguese or Austrian? What is it that Georgian might want that I wouldn't?"

It is evident that the times aren't easy, and the very idea of Europe's unity is having challenges, but according to Menasse's arguments, it is essential for people to go back to their core values and recognize that, at the end of the day, "we all want the same thing - peace and prosperity."