Day One
Poets Nathan Brown and Lauren Camp led a creative writing workshop with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute students and Norman High, Norman North, Dimensions, and Colorado Academy students. Later that afternoon, Rebecca Cruise, Ellen Elias-Bursać, and Mitchell P. Smith joined in a discussion about the European refugee crisis moderated by WLT editor in chief Daniel Simon. The first day of the Neustadt Festival closed with an opening-night celebration that included an introduction of Neustadt Prize laureate Dubravka Ugrešić, brief readings from her work, and a celebration of World Literature Today’s 90th anniversary.
Day Two
Day two of the 2016 Neustadt Festival kicked off with a lecture by poet Lauren Camp titled “Discovering Baghdad.” Camp read excerpts from her poems during the talk and signed books afterward. Later that afternoon, Alison Anderson, Emily Johnson, and Dragana Obradovic discussed the work of Dubravka Ugrešić in the context of contemporary European literature in a panel moderated by WLT editor in chief Daniel Simon. Day two came to a close during a dinner where OU students from the Neustadt class interviewed the Neustadt Festival guest authors, scholars, and participants.
Day Three
The last day of the 2016 Neustadt Festival started with the world premiere performance of “Who Am I? A One-Act Comedy.” Students from the OU Helmerich School of Drama performed the play, a stage adaption of a story from Dubravka Ugrešić’s book Lend Me Your Character, directed by Dr. Judith Pender. After the play, Dubravka Ugrešić delivered her keynote speech titled “Girl in Litland” as the capstone to the 2016 Neustadt Festival of international literature and culture. The festival came to a close at the 2016 Neustadt Festival banquet, where Ugrešić officially received the Neustadt Prize and delivered her acceptance speech to over 300 guests.
