British artist David Hockney displayed his latest piece here: a complete collection of his artwork in a huge book. The book costs about 2,500 Euro and contains 62 years of Hockney’s work. It was set up on a stand so visitors could browse through it.
The Arts+ exhibition shows that books are not only about literature; they are about beauty, too. In an area named Beautiful Books, visitors could judge the most beautiful book. It was inspiring to browse through all these stunning books.
Discussions and readings were happening everywhere at the book fair. I moved on to listen to Turkish author Can Dündar talking about his newest book, We are Arrested. He was editor-in-chief for Cumhurriyet, which is a Turkish newspaper. Dündar was imprisoned because he wrote about things the government didn’t want publicized. In the discussion he talked about the freedom of the press and the circumstances in Turkey. His latest book is about politics in Turkey and his time in prison.
Freedom of the press and freedom of speech are huge topics at the book fair. Everywhere in Europe journalists losing their jobs, and newspapers – like recently in Hungary – are being shut down by government.
There are so many fascinating presentations, discussions and books at the Frankfurt Book Fair, that if you go, you need to decide what to focus on. But sometimes you find unexpected treasures, like I did when I walked by a stand of independent magazines.
“We have a magazine for redheads,” a representative at the magazine table told me, noting my red hair.
It is called MC1R and published by a German designer.
Because they sell some copies to the UK, USA and Canada, it is written in English, the editor in chief, Tristan Rodgers, told me.
I am astonished and fascinated by this well-created magazine. The topics are all about redhead-gatherings, issues like freckles and features of red haired artists. Tristan Rodgers and I had a nice chat about ginger issues and magazine-making. As I walked away to the Flanders and the Netherlands pavilion I felt inspired. And this was only the first day of the book fair.
Book Tips from the Frankfurt Book Fair
Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen
We Are Arrested, by Can Dündar
Discover Dutch authors Leon de Winter, Cees Noteboom, Margriet de Moor
MC1R Magazine: mc1r-magazine.com
