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[ 23.10.2009 ]

In actual fact, it was a welcome change. At the Frankfurt Book Fair, which ended just a few days ago, everyone was discussing topics related to China, the fair’s Guest of Honour: China’s official delegation here, its dissidents there; who had been invited and who, disinvited; or talks cancelled at short notice that had never been confirmed in the first place. And so everyone forgot to talk about e-books, Google, and copyright. (Or at least almost - more about these topics soon, here on these same pages).

Not a bad achievement! Thematically, the largest book fair in the world swept over us like a fresh breath of air and was a great success, insofar as there was a lot of talk – and although this was not necessarily between official representatives and exiled authors, it at least revolved around them and the literary world in China.

The overall tenor of the media coverage was, despite many controversial reports about the fair’s ambiguous stance towards its guest, rather sympathetic: an event that sees itself as a meeting place and trading centre for the industry (even for such an honourable cultural product as the book), should not really be blamed for lacking stringency or dancing delicately around topics.

Now that the fair is over, the outcome might be seen as rather ambiguous – that is, if it weren’t for the numbers, which speak for themselves. Members of the Chinese delegation were able to announce that 882 deals were signed for the translation rights of Chinese books, more than ever before. While on the other hand, the more than 220 Chinese publishers who were present in Frankfurt purchased the rights for over 1,300 international titles.

All of which could be taken to mean that the odd genuflection at the fringes of the Chinese Pavilion wasn’t so harmful after all. And if needed, a scapegoat can always be found to remedy matters. Sacking Peter Ripken, project manager of the International Forum, who came to personify a whole string of inconsistencies, with immediate effect seems like an oversimplified solution. The explanation for taking this measure -‘a consequence of the constant difficulties that arose in attempting to reconcile differences in conjunction with this year’s Guest of Honour country’- sounds, on the other hand, like the finest of official delegation gobbledygook.

Whether rapprochement of this sort was meant when Claudio Magris, who was honoured with the German Book Trade’s Peace Prize at the Frankfurt Book Fair, called upon Europe to question itself and seek dialogue with other cultures? In his acceptance speech Magris quoted, among others, Bertolt Brecht: ‘Change the world, it needs it.’