Cooking and conversation: join an online festival of Georgian literature

An online festival of Georgian literature is set to mark 100 years from the Soviet invasion of Georgia, and 30 years since the country’s independence.

Organised by the Writers’ House of Georgia in collaboration with London’s British Library and New York’s Words Without Borders, Georgia’s Fantastic Tavern: Where Europe Meets Asia, is taking place between 25-28 February. It will brings together prominent Georgian intellectuals, such as award-winning writer Nino Haratischvili, bestselling Georgian-born, Russian crime writer Boris Akunin, and acclaimed filmmaker Nana Ekvtimishvili.

Among the highlights, Georgian-British singer Katie Melua will open the festival on Thursday, 25 February, at 6pm GMT. Her performance will be followed by a conversation on the evolution of Georgian literature and politics following the Soviet invasion of 1921 between the author of the family saga The Eighth Life, Nino Haratischvili, and festival’s artistic director Maya Jaggi.

Other events will include Medea’s Daughters, a discussion with filmmaker and writer Nana Ekvtimishvili and novelist Tamta Melashvili on the pioneering women filmmakers and politicians of the 1920s and the lives of women’s during the Soviet occupation. In the Tbilisi Cafe Kitchen will serve up a Georgian food workshop, while Mysteries of the Russian Empire will feature a talk between Russian novelist Boris Akunin and British author Boyd Tonkin on the Russian gaze on the Caucasian nation.

Find out more details here.