READING ON THE ROAD: Move over BookTok. Miu Miu is bringing its Literary Club to Shanghai — and online.
In a continuation of its second edition in Milan that left off in April, the literature-centric event is titled “A Woman’s Education” and will examine the themes of girlhood, love and education afresh.
In addition to French existentialist philosopher and writer Simone de Beauvoir and playwright and writer Fumiko Enchi, considered one of the most prominent female authors in Japan’s Shōwa era, the Shanghai Miu Miu Literary Club will examine the work of Eileen Chang, widely considered one of the most important voices in contemporary Chinese literature.
The one-day event will be anchored by three panel discussions centered on topics influenced by a seminal book by each author: de Beauvoir’s 1954 novel “The Inseparables,” Enchi’s “The Waiting Years” and Chang’s “The Fall of the Pagoda,” a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel that sees its young female protagonist grow up in a declining aristocratic family in 1930s Shanghai. Written in the 1960s, it was published posthumously in 2010.
Discussions will be moderated by Zhang Pingjin, professor in the department of Chinese languages and literature at Shanghai’s Tongji University.
Panelists will include Yuan Xiaoyi, a leading Chinese scholar and translator of modern and contemporary French literature; Malaysian novelist Li Zishu, whose Chinese-language works shaped discourse on diaspora and identity; Tokyo-born, Chinese-language author Yoshii Shinobu, best known for her intimate portrayal of urban Japanese life titled “Tokyo 8m2”; Chinese novelist Di An, considered a representative of the post-1980s literary generation; Zhang Pingjin, whose work connects Chinese and Western feminist theory, and literary critic Ye Zi.
Also on the program will be further readings of poetry and prose as well as live musical performances. While the event’s location in Shanghai’s cosmopolitan Jing’An district is yet to be revealed, the program will be streamed live on Miu Miu’s Tencent channel.
