In Other Words - 2

The 24th Lahti Writers' Reunion got off to a rather soggy start, by all accounts. Hannu Marttila writes of a thunderstorm "which drove the writers indoors from the terrace and cut off the electricity for a short time. Now this morning (14th) the first session of the gathering was tested by damp and cold."

As sometimes happens at Lahti, the discussions so far appear to have been characterized by complaints -- about the decline in storytelling as a medium for children's literature, and about the dominance of Anglo-American writing in the international publishing world. However, as Jarmo Papinniemi notes with regard to the latter, "those present were also reminded that some cultures have always dominated others, beginning with the Roman Empire. The hegemonies don't go away, but are replaced by new ones."

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