Parataxe with Sonia Solarte & Ian Orti – 8 June

8 June 2017

Stadtsprachen Magazin and SAND
Bring You Parataxe Presentation

What languages does Berlin write in? The PARATAXE event series showcases Berlin authors who write in languages other than German in discussions, lectures, and translations.

The June 2017 event presented Sonia Solarte (Colombia/Berlin) and our Issue 10 alum Ian Orti (Canada/Berlin) with texts translated into German especially for the occasion by Christiane Quandt and Joey Bahlsen. Stadtsprachen’s director Martin Jankowski also discussed SAND with Jake Schneider, our Editor in Chief.

Sonia Solarte was born in Cali, Colombia, where she worked as a teacher, psychotherapist, voice actress, and cultural appointee. She has lived in Berlin since 1988. From 1991 until 2013, she worked as coordinator of the S.U.S.I. Intercultural Women’s Center in Berlin. Since 1992, Sonia Solarte has been singing in the Orquesta Burundanga, which came to be known as the first all-women salsa band of Berlin. In 2009, she founded the “Trio Sol Arte.” Sonia Solarte has participated in various literature and poetry festivals. Her poems have been published in numerous national and international anthologies, literary magazines, and journals in several Latin American and European countries.

Ian Orti (featured in SAND Issue 10) was born in Canada to Ecuadorian and Irish parents. He is the author of the award-winning books The Olive and the Dawn, and L (and things come apart), as well as his most recent story collection Royal Mountain City Fugue. His short stories and poetry have been published in journals across North America and Europe and his first book was published in French with Les Editions Allusifs. Orti was featured in the Big Small documentary series for the Pop Montreal music festival by Australian director Tim Kelly and is a former columnist for McSweeneys in the US and Matrix Magazine in Canada. He has lived in Berlin since 2011, where he is now working on his next novel.

PARATAXE (supported by the Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa) and stadtsprachen magazin jointly introduce today’s multilingual authors and literary scenes of Berlin.