Literary event – Ithaca
On 14th June, students from our school’s Slovene literature club organised a special literary event. Students from all local schools were welcome to attend and listen to the great variety of short literary works being read by Gimnazija Vič students.
The theme of this literary evening was Ithaca, Odysseus' home island, so the collection of poems and short stories which were performed was connected to the Odysseus epic. The audience was taken on a journey through all of Odysseus' stops on his way home with each one marked by one or two short works of literature. About half of the pieces read were written by the students of Gimnazija Vič and the other half consisted of works by established authors. The literary journey was concluded with a reading of Ithaca by Konstantinos P. Kavafis. However, the evening was far from over.
It was immediately followed by the open mic part of the event, where everyone present was encouraged to read or perform their own poetry or prose. We heard a wide range of pieces including socially-critical rap, old diary entries, stunning confessional poems, heartbreaking and grotesque short prose, and much more.
Accompanying the event was a beautiful exhibition of artwork also created by our school’s students. The artists who created these paintings, graphics, drawings, and photographs, also contended for special awards. A book prize for the best photograph went to Martin Konič and Ada Lovenjak received a goat for the best artwork in the category of drawings, paintings and graphics. The goat she won wasn't actually there at the event as it was donated to a family in need in Africa. Our school’s literature club supported a charity campaign called “Kupim kozo” (“I’m buying a goat”) run by the Karitas organisation. For her part of the prize, Ada received a special card telling her about the goat, the opportunity to name this particular animal, and a little goat figurine to keep as a memento of this achievement.
Following a touching musical performance by a trio of Gimnazija Vič students, the event was concluded by a speech of special thanks for the literature club mentors, Ms Marjetka Krapež and Ms Laura Repovš, some closing words, and an invitation to the audience to help themselves to some of the delicious refreshments on offer.
Katarina Adam
Photos by: Feliks Janje and Eva Skeledžija