I inhabit a language rather than a country.
Emile Cioran, 1911-1995, Romanian philosopher
Languages and literatures can fly, they know no boundaries. They do not accept restrictions, bans, censorship and silencing: they take off and pass freely and unrestrained from mouth to mouth, from page to page, from country to country. We inhabit many countries when we inhabit many languages. Languages define the places we live. The other, parallel languages that we speak at the same time with our mother tongue, that we learn parallel to, or after our first language, expand our home, open the doors of our house and let in the light of the expression of the other. And just as languages raise toll barres, so does literature shape history according to people’s emotions, transforming it into narration and experience, breaking down prejudices, subverting beliefs, allowing comparisons and identifications. The engagement with language and literature constitutes the necessary precondition for the knowledge and in-depth study of cultures. In the “Club for the Study of Languages and Literature” we delve into linguistic and literary issues, we discuss publications, authors, themes and literary motives, we compare, we celebrate the unique freedom languages and literatures offer us.