Published January 23rd, 2024 News
The anthology Tinted Trails. Exploring Writings in English as a Second Language is inter- and transnational per definition. Various of the included authors have experienced some form of migration, and all of them move between languages. Quite similar, our team members work from various places on this Earth or have roots elsewhere.
To transport these global vibes from the book’s inside to its outside, we decided to organize a few stops in selected neighboring countries of Tint’s base, Austria. Tinted Trails went on tour; here is a recollection of what it was like.
First up was the BookCity Milan in mid-November 2023, an annual event dedicated to books and reading in Northern Italy that is joined by libraries and bookstores, foundations and associations, theaters and museums, schools and universities, social venues, hospitals and prisons, condominium libraries and many other entities.
Only one week after the Tinted Trails book presentation in Graz (read more here), Tint Anthology Committee member Filippo Bagnasco and avid Tint supporter Erlis Lacej traveled to Milan to host one of the 1,400 events that took place in the course of the book fair. Their special guest was the winner of the Tinted Trails Readers’ Choice Award, Giada Pesce. In a predominantly Italian-speaking environment, the English collection was perceived as friendly alien, allowing a glimpse into Italian-inspired voices in yet another tongue.
About 12 % of all book sales take place during the wintery holiday season, making books one of the most traditional and most trendy gifts at the same time. With pleasant surprise, we thus received an invitation from Lost Weekend Munich to join their Holiday Book Market on December 10, 2023. About twenty exhibitors had made their way to the café/bookstore/concert space in the vibrant center of the German city. Tint’s Editor-in-Chief Lisa Schantl felt immediately at home at the English-language market, and was also able to connect with fellow ESL writers from or working in Munich. Watch out for one or two reviews of books she discovered there in our In Conversation section later this year.
Europe is known for its rather small countries, especially in comparison to other parts of the world. The shortest trip as part of the Tinted Trails Tour only lasted for about an hour. Filippo had packed a bunch of books and Tinted Trails contributing author Susmita Paul, who currently resides in Graz, into his car and travelled south to the city of Maribor, Slovenia. There, we were warmly welcomed by Tint Art Editor Vanesa Erjavec, who was also responsible for the artwork and illustration in the anthology, and co-moderator of the occasion Dolores Hunsky.
At a reading, artwork presentation and discussion at the University Library’s Glacier Hall, students and scholars from the area could engage first-hand with the book about English as a Second Language writing. The mood was further boosted by musical contributions from Jure Ipavec, Kristian Kolar, Zala Zabukovec and Victor Kennedy.
Austria is one of 44 landlocked countries worldwide. The lack of access to sea or ocean has economic effects, but arguably also such related to psyche and health. One of the few benefits of this condition is that every visit to the sea is a small wonder, and an even greater one when experiencing the seaside off-season, stripped of its sun and water bathers, defined simply by the local cultural vibe.
Our Tinted Trails trip to Rijeka, Croatia, was one of these rare occasions and certainly gave EiC Lisa a boost early in 2024. The reading and discussion in the brand-new City Library on January 15 was a cooperation between the University of Rijeka, the American Corner Rijeka and treffpunkt sprachen at the University of Graz. Two students from the local university, Laura Škalamera and Matea Zovko (thanks to Nikola Tutek for making the connection), got into a conversation with Tinted Trails contributing writer and scholar Olja Alvir as well as with EiC Lisa. The highlight of the evening certainly was the spontaneous multimodal performance conceived by Olja and the present musician Ivan Valušek.
With the stop in Croatia, our book tour came to its first halt. Should you wish to hold a Tinted Trails event in your region, feel free to reach out to us via email. We are always looking for new ways to connect with our readers, writers and volunteers, and are glad that Tinted Trails serves so wonderfully as a stepping stone towards wider transnational exchange.
Conception and organization: Tint Anthology Committee (Filippo Bagnasco, Andrea Färber, Chiara Meitz, Lisa Schantl)
Cooperation partners & friends: FORUM STADTPARK, treffpunkt sprachen, University of Rijeka, American Corner Rijeka, BookCity Milan, University of Maribor, Lost Weekend Bookstore Munich, Radio Helsinki
Supported by: University of Graz, Land Steiermark Cultural Department, Stadt Graz Cultural Department, Alps-Adriatic Alliance
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