Villa Aurora had invited literary critic Denis Scheck to travel to Los Angeles in January of 2014, to discuss - together with literary critic Michael Silverblatt - the status and development of European and U.S.-American literature. Illuminating cultural differences in literary criticism were part of their encounter on the other side of the Atlantic.

 

Denis Scheck made a name for himself with his literary magazine Druckfrisch on German television and as literary critic for Deutschlandfunk. Michael Silverblatt is the renown host of Bookworm on KCRW. He can be heard nationally on National Public Radio.

 

On January 9 at Villa Aurora, Denis Scheck and Michael Silverblatt talked about the role of the literary critic, the significance of literature on both continents and the works of authors such as Roberto Bolaño, Italo Calvino, Penelope Fitzgerald, William Gass, Arno Schmidt and W.G. Sebald. Journalist Kerstin Zilm produced a piece about the event which was aired on Fazit (Deutschlandradio Kultur) on January 14, and can be listened to at DLR Fazit 14.1.2014.

 

At the studios of KCRW SIlverblatt and Scheck touched on subjects ranging from the role of the literary critic and the consequences of his/her judgement to Stephen King and German gothic fiction. The show was aired on January 16, 2014 and can be listened to or downloaded at KCRW Bookworm 16.1.2014. 

 

Michael Silverblatt is the host of the nationally syndicated radio interview program Bookworm on KCRW. He was born in 1952 in Queens, New York and moved to Los Angeles in 1980. In 1988 he was invited to host a literary program on KCRW. That's how he started Bookworm, a weekly radio program where Michael is in conversation with renowned authors about their work. There is hardly an internationally published author who is not to be found on his guest list. Michael Silverblatt is described as the man authors go to when they would like to have a serious literary conversation about their writing.