On International Women’s Day, the team of the Urbana Vrana Institute is preparing its first tour dedicated to women in literature, entitled The Mystery of Women’s Literary Ljubljana. The title, of course, alludes to and references the well-known work by Zofka Kveder The Mystery of a Woman, making it clear that the tour does not shy away from history in any way. This, however, does not mean that it will not proudly pay tribute to the present as well.
Did you know that the earliest women who recorded words wore headscarves? Are you familiar with the writer who sewed her own poetry notebook at the age of fifteen? Which women writers were considered too short-haired for the prevailing moral standards? Which of our authors are studied and taught at foreign universities? Would you like to write without capital letters and punctuation and still win awards? Of course—but someone has already beaten you to it. Would you rather found theatres wherever you go? Slovenian literary history knows such a woman as well. We also have a cult crime novelist. And a volunteer who spent almost forty years punching holes in pages so others could read.
These are just some of the many mysterious stories we reveal on a walk through the past and present of women appearing in Ljubljana’s literary history—slightly over the footnote line, and slightly beneath it as well.
Why a women’s literary tour? Because we need it!
We all know that many women authors lived and wrote in Ljubljana. In this beautiful city they worked, created, enjoyed themselves, fell ill, struggled, and died. Yet although they marked the city with their presence and their art, relatively few memorials remain of their lives. Look around—there are not many streets in the city centre named after women authors. Nor are there many monuments that remind us of them. In cooperation with Ljubljana, UNESCO City of Literature, and the Fabula Festival, we are therefore organizing the first tour along the paths of women authors in Ljubljana, which aims to somewhat redress this injustice.
The walk will take place on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2020, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is open to everyone who feels close to literary creation. We are keeping our fingers crossed for good weather. We will meet at Breg 12, by the Ljubljanica River, or at the International Women’s Day book stand of Fabula and Ljubljana, UNESCO City of Literature, where you will also be able to purchase books by women authors. We will conclude in front of City Hall.
Please note: the tour will be conducted in Slovenian.
Admission to The Mystery of Women’s Literary Ljubljana is by voluntary contribution, but registration is required. If you are unable to attend, we kindly ask you to inform us as soon as possible so we can offer the spot to the next person on the waiting list.
BASIC INFORMATION
When: Sunday, 8 March 2020, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Meeting point: Breg 12 (at the International Women’s Day book stand of Fabula and Ljubljana, UNESCO City of Literature)
End point: In front of City Hall
Language: Slovenian
Organizers: Urbana Vrana, Ljubljana UNESCO City of Literature, and the Fabula Festival
Program: Part of the emerging Women Writers Route
Weather: The tour will take place in all weather conditions
Cover photograph: Katja Goljat
Price: Voluntary contributions (registration required)