Description
Literary Nonfiction. Women's Studies. Translated by Abigail Fagan. Her thoughts actually revolved around Paris, stoking the fire of her imagination. Paris, the dream of a city that kept her going. Yet she decided on the incomplete city of Berlin, a city of change and aspiration: A mirror of her own development and symbolic for arrival in a new world. Romanian author Carmen-Francesca Banciu has lived in Berlin since 1991 and has since become a part of the city herself. In her autobiographical reports and literary miniatures, she immerses herself in the life of the metropolis, visits enchanting localities from world history, and tells of her encounters with interesting and unique people. She whisks readers away to her favorite cafes, goes on journeys of discovery through dreamy court yards, and shows how Paris can be forgotten in this New Berlin. Melancholic, jovial, and idiosyncratic stories of life between two cultures and of a city that is once again starting to exude cosmopolitan flair.
"You sense that someone is really being honest here and testing the limits of a newly learned language while also thoroughly exploring the ways in which a city might become a home."—Berliner Zeitung
"A home of words. Although Paris was the city of her dreams, Romanian author Carmen-Francesca Banciu certainly doesn't feel out of place in Berlin...BERLIN IS MY PARIS brings together texts not only about making the switch to this new city, but also about 'coming into your own in a new language.'"—Der Tagesspiegel
Author Bio
Carmen-Francesca Banciu was born in Romanian Lipova and studied religious painting and foreign trade in Bucharest. As a result of being awarded the International Short Story Award of the City of Arnsberg for the story Das strahlende Ghetto (1985), she was banned from publishing her work in Romania. In 1991 she accepted an invitation extended by DAAD Berlin Artists-in-Residence program and came to Germany. She has been living in Berlin since 1992, employed as a freelance author writing articles for the radio and newspapers as well as leading seminars for creativity and creative writing. Since 2013 she has acted as the co-editor and deputy director of the transnational, interdisciplinary and multilingual e-magazine Levure Littéraire. Banciu has received numerous literature prizes and scholarships; most recently her Novel Lebt wohl, Ihr Genossen und Geliebten was nominated 2018 for the German Book Prize. Her work has been translated into many languages. Her works include FLEEING FATHER (PalmArtPress, 2021), LIGHT BREEZE IN PARADISE (PalmArtPress, 2017), and BERLIN IS MY PARIS (PalmArtPress, 2016).
Author City: BERLIN GER