author photo © Francesca Mantovani
A reading, Q&A, and book signing to celebrate the English translation of Jakuta Alikavazovic's Like a Sky Inside (Comme un ciel en nous).
About the book:
In March 2020--as part of Alina Gurdiel's series Ma nuit au musée, where writers are invited to spend a night in a museum--Jakuta Alikavazovic camped out in the Louvre Museum. At home: her nine-month-old son. In her overnight bag: a notebook, a toiletry kit, a duvet, a cube of nougat, and something that shouldn’t be there. In her head: memories of the Venus de Milo, of land art and the American road, of romance, travel, immigration and war – and of her father, who after each of their many visits to the Louvre would ask just how she’d go about stealing the Mona Lisa. Like A Sky Inside is an insightful and heartfelt meditation on the possibilities and impossibilities of art, on parenthood and the betrayals of growing up, on foreignness and belonging, and on the secret conversations between our souls and the places that linger in our dreams.
Praise:
A perfect sculpture of pure thought, the kind of artwork that makes you want to steal it, a generous and joyful book that stitches memory and philosophy and narrative together so elegantly I was completely enthralled.
Catherine Lacey, author of Biography of X and Pew
Jakuta Alikavazovic’s sentences, beautifully translated by Daniel Levin Becker, are quicksilver prodigies, many-headed and many-tailed; one experiences them as disturbances and occasions, as corporeal shocks. She is one of the great writers of our time.
Garth Greenwell, author of Cleanness
Like a Sky Inside is about a night spent at the Louvre, but really it is about art and enchantment, exile and longing. Above all, it is a devastatingly tender portrait of Alikavazovic’s relationship with her father, written with unsurpassed brio, intelligence, and empathy.
Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies and A Separation
Buy your copy of the book here and pick it up at the event!
About the author:
Jakuta Alikavazovic was born in Paris to a family of Bosnian and Montenegrin origins. Her parents settled in France in the early 1970’s and Jakuta Alikavazovic was brought up bilingual, with close ties to her Bosnian and Montenegrin relatives. In 2008, she was awarded the prestigious Goncourt Prize for a first novel and more recently, the Médicis Prize for non-fiction with her latest work Like A Sky Inside (Comme un ciel en nous, Stock; trans. by Daniel Levin Becker, Fern Books, 2024). She is also a columnist for the French newspaper Libération and the translator into French of authors including Toni Morrison and David Foster Wallace.
About the translator:
Daniel Levin Becker is the author of Many Subtle Channels and What’s Good and the translator of, most recently, Éric Chevillard’s Museum Visits and Laurent Mauvignier’s The Birthday Party, which was longlisted for the International Booker Prize and the Dublin Literary Award.
This event is a part of Villa Albertine’s Authors on Tour program. Jakuta Alikavazovic’s 2024 US tour is made possible by Villa Albertine and Fern Books.
About Fern Books
"Fern Books is a small press unhurriedly dedicated to forms of writing, and ideas about publishing, that are thoughtful, generous, and expansive." Learn more about them here!
About Villa Albertine
Villa Albertine is a cultural institution that supports exchanges in arts and ideas between the United States, France, and beyond. With outposts in 10 US cities—Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Washington, DC—Villa Albertine presents innovative programming nationwide including 50+ customized residencies for international artists, thinkers, and cultural leaders across disciplines each year; a series of cross-cultural dialogues and events; a magazine and podcast; and grants, resources, and incubator programs for professionals in the cultural sphere.
Villa Albertine is an institution of the Embassy of France in the United States.
Follow Villa Albertine on Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.
Villa Albertine
Établissement culturel relevant du Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères, la Villa Albertine organise plus de 50 résidences d’exploration par an sur l’ensemble du territoire américain. Avec une équipe de 80 personnes déployées dans dix grandes villes (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, La Nouvelle-Orléans, San Francisco et Washington), la Villa Albertine propose également plusieurs programmes d’accompagnement pour les professionnels de la culture et des industries créatives, des fonds de soutien à la recherche et à la diffusion artistiques, ainsi qu’un magazine et de nombreux événements, pour constituer une plateforme globale d’accompagnement des acteurs culturels français dans leurs enjeux et projets américains.
Suivez la Villa Albertine sur Instagram, Facebook, X, et LinkedIn.
About the Cultural Services of the French Embassy
With offices in ten cities across the country, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy crafts projects and programs that make French language and culture more accessible in the US and builds partnerships that strengthen collaboration between French and American institutions.
The Cultural Services works to ensure broad and equal access to French language programs for US-based learners of all ages. It also collaborates with and forges connections between French and American higher education institutions, facilitating transatlantic research projects and education abroad.
Villa Albertine, the arts institution launched by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in 2021, provides customized exploratory residencies across the US for global creators and thinkers, as well as incubators and grants, multidisciplinary public events, and a print magazine and podcast.
Follow the Cultural Services on Instagram and LinkedIn.
A propos du Service culturel de l’Ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis
Avec des antennes dans dix villes à travers le pays, le Services culturel de l'Ambassade de France élabore des projets et programmes pour rendre la langue et la culture françaises plus accessibles aux Américains et construisent des partenariats qui renforcent la collaboration entre les institutions françaises et américaines.
Le Service culturel s'efforce d'assurer un accès large et égal aux programmes de langue française aux Etats-Unis pour tout âges. Il collabore également avec les établissements d'enseignement supérieur français et américains et établie des liens entre eux, facilitant les projets de recherche transatlantiques et d'enseignement à l'étranger.
Villa Albertine, l'institution artistique lancée par le service culturel de l’Ambassade en 2021, propose des résidences d’exploration sur-mesure à travers les États-Unis pour des créateurs et penseurs mondiaux, ainsi que des bourses, des programmes professionnels, des événements publics multidisciplinaires et un magazine et podcast.
Suivez les Services culturels sur Instagram et LinkedIn.
Accessibility note: This event is up two flights of stairs and Lost City Books does not have an elevator.
This is a free event. RSVPs are appreciated as they help us anticipate the number of guests. Come early to get a seat!