Author Reading by Olga Grjasnowa

The Department of English and Humanities at ULAB, in collaboration with Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, organized a an Author Reading and Q/A on November 7, 2018 with Olga Grjasnowa, whose debut novel All Russians Love Birch Trees (published in the original as Der Russe ist einer, der Birken liebt, in 2012) caused quite a stir.

The program began with an introductory speech by Goethe-Institut Bangladesh Director, Dr. Kirsten Hackenbroch. Prof. Kaiser Haq, Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, then conducted a conversation with Ms. Grjasnowa, bringing forth interesting insights about the author and her writing.

Ms. Olga Grjasnowa was born into a Russian-Jewish family in Baku, Azerbaijan and later moved to Germany. Now she is married to a Syrian actor, and has one daughter. Olga’s varied experiences of many cultures interested the audience, comprising students and faculty members from all departments at ULAB, and questions centered around those experiences and their reflection in her writing.

The event ended on a friendly note with hopes of future collaboration with Goethe-Institut Bangladesh. Dr. Hackenbroch invited students to learn German and use the library resources at the Institut.