in transition. frankfurt lectures in literary and cultural studies
A Touch of the Divine: A Reading & Conversation with Yann Martel
Yann Martel is a world-renowned writer, with a readership in over forty
languages. He has authored four novels, a short story collection and a
book of letters to the Prime Minister of Canada. His acclaimed novel
Life of Pi (2001) – the most popular winner of the Booker ever – was a
universal bestseller, and was adapted to the screen by Oscar-winning
director Ang Lee. Given the prominence of animals, anthropomorphism,
and comparative religions in his work, critics have variedly dubbed him
a postsecularist, posthumanist, magic realist and a maverick of form. A
classicist in style, a lyricist in prose, an Avant-gardist in spirit, Yann
Martel deals with themes and motifs as expansive as God, art,
adventures, migration, and taxidermy. This reading and conversation
will be based on his previous as well as ongoing writing projects.
Moderator: Pavvan Malreddy
Date: 15 July 2021, Thursday
ZOOM/ 17-18:30 hrs. CET