If
you are looking for a cheap trip in Europe, maybe you’d rather
pick up a copy of Absinthe: New European Writing. This journal contains
poetry, prose and essays from Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Russia,
Germany, Spain and other countries as Detroit native Dwayne D. Hayes
brings contemporary European literature to the U.S. Two issues of
Absinthe have been published and a third one will appear this month.
A2P: Why did you decide to create this kind of publication?
DH: I have always been interested in European literature, in writers
like Oscar Wilde or Charles Baudelaire. But the problem is that
many European authors are not translated into English and consequently
are not published in the United States. So I decided to find these
talented European writers to try to make American people know this
literature, very different from ours.
A2P: How do you find the writers?
DH: First, I have developed a board of advisors who are either authors
or translators. I did some research to find good translators both
in Europe and in the United States. And by word of mouth, it has
been quite easy to find writers everywhere in Europe.
A2P: Why did you decide to publish poetry, prose and essays at the
same time?
DH: I was first thinking about creating a miscellany of European
poetry but then I thought that I would be bored of doing one thing.
Don’t forget that I have to read everything before publishing
it.
A2P: In the preface, you write that “American and European
writers and artists enjoy a relationship (...) and a mutual influence
that has lasted decades”. You seem to care about this relationship.
Why do you want it to be preserved?
DH: American people and culture influence a lot of countries in
the world and I think that it is valuable for us, American people,
to recognize the great wisdom of what is published in Europe, because
it introduces the great European values. Culture and art must be
a kind of exchange between Europe and North America. For instance,
in the first issue of Absinthe, one of the short stories deals with
the Belgrade protest against Milosevic in 1996 to 1997. I believe
that literature can be a good way to understand what people live
and to understand their point of view about the world.
A2P: So you think that reading Absinthe can help to Americans understand
the Europeans?
DH: I believe that it is a good way to understand what it is to
be a human being, as opposed to being an American. By reading foreign
literature, you become more aware of what is going on around you.
Absinthe is available at Shaman Drum Bookshop, Book Beat and independent
bookstores across the country. For more information, visit www.absinthenew.com
—Sophie Roy
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