Coffee Letter #005: The One About FILIT
My thoughts are still all over the place, guys!
One month of Coffee Letters. Maybe this is why I’m typing this one so late. I really appreciate the past few weeks, opening up and talking with others about the letters, but at the same time I am scared... Scared, but still excited, to share what I read or watch, to offer my friends a glimpse of what goes on in my head. Especially scared when someone asks me to open up the comment section (which I will, if only as an experiment to see how I feel about it). Scared that I like this newsletter even if now it has a schedule and I must always make sure I have it ready by Monday morning. Maybe I like it so much exactly because of this pressure.
However, it is especially terrifying this week when I feel like I have nothing to talk about.
Fortunately, I promised to tell you about FILIT.
I knew Bogdana was planning to go to the festival this year but I did not dare invite myself, and then she asked about my plans for the week of the festival. There are a few moments in life when I ignore my anxious trait and do things completely out of character, and those moments are life-changing. I did that when I first went to Olga’s book club three years ago, or when I asked Indra out for coffee and we clicked instantly (I also did it when I met my husband for the first time). Saying yes to FILIT was another one, and I am so glad Bogdana had asked me.
There were around 140 events at FILIT, in five days. We were there only for the last three days and tried our best to go to as many as possible, meanwhile Bogdana was also working on her interviews, while I was just being a bohemian girlie spending my time in cafés reading poetry.
We started each morning with coffee with a different awesome human — Cristina Alexandrescu (a very cool poet, who wrote Cât mai departe de tot ce cunosc — one of the three poetry books read during FILIT), Diana Mihuta (who works for Carturesti Chisinau, lover of books I could listen to all day long), and Romina Hamzeu (such a warm human who gifted me a poetry anthology Ce-ți spui noaptea înainte de culcare, named after one of her poems).
On the first day we went to a debate about literary magazines in print, talking about whether they are still necessary in our digital age. Very cool debate, and a couple of days after I got to meet one of the speakers — Anda Docea, who writes for Dilema and is also a poet (I’ve read Muzeul convorbirilor întrerupte while at FILIT and now I want to read everything she’s ever published).
In the evening we went to a panel with three writers (Mihaela Buruiană, Kapka Kassabova, Cosmin Perța) and one of the best moderators (Raluca Aftene) I had the pleasure to see. The three writers were very different, yet the moderator’s transitions from one book to the other were really smooth. The night ended with poetry and I am a bit sad we did not stay more, but we were tired and had an early start each morning. Next year I hope we will resist more hours, who knows…
The next day, after our coffee with Diana, we went to a book launch at a museum (we got to see the art exhibition too). The launch was for a short story anthology called Puncte de fugă where the writers were invited to pick an art piece from the museum and write a short story about it. I cannot wait to read the anthology — of course I returned home with it, plus another anthology published this year at FILIT, Lucruri mărunte. Copilăria în comunism vol. II.
Another evening, another panel with writers (Radu Aldulescu, Iulia Gherasim, Ariana Harwicz). More books added to my TBR. I returned home with a lot of books, mostly from the writers I saw at events, but I also have a list of writers I did not buy anything from while there, but I want to read them: Matei Vişniec (Sindromul de panică în Oraşul Luminilor is probably first on my list because Paris), Ariana Harwicz and Kapka Kassabova — I want to read them in English, and I especially want to get my hands on Kapka’s poetry.
We started the last day with a Bookish Brunch where people who love books and promote reading (Dan Byron, Ana Niculescu, Liviana Tane, Claudia Tokacz, Serinella Zara) talked exactly about that, moderated by Eli Bădică. I loved it and I think this was the panel where I took the most notes, naturally, because I am also a book lover and I really wish to do more for books and reading — sponsor me to open a bookish cafe?
Then I assisted Bogdana with her interviews and met many of the amazing people already mentioned, but also Ramona Boldizsar, another beautiful poet (I read her volume Spune-mi unde să apăs mai tare) who also has a bookish podcast and does TikTok as well. We went to the last event of the festival where two prizes were given (one for best translated book from Romanian, and one given by high school students for their most loved book published in the previous year), followed by another panel with Romanian authors that do not live in the country: Tatiana Țîbuleac, one of my favourite writers (Cristina Alexandrescu gave me her invite and I will be forever grateful), Matei Vişniec (this panel made me want to read his books), and Raluca Nagy, who is originally from Cluj, and I will see her again this month at another bookish event, but also at Bogdana’s book club! I am very excited for that!
Probably the reason why I don’t have anything else to talk about this week is because I spent it recovering after FILIT. Don’t get me wrong, the energy at the festival is amazing, but after so many events and a 9 hour train ride I went straight to work, hence why I didn’t do anything else this week — other than coffees with lovely humans and celebrating my friend’s birthday with Dia de los Muertos cocktails and surviving an Escape Room.
~ read
Surprise, surprise, not much reading was done. I am lying to you again.
I read the book I was a beta-reader for because I had to send in my notes — and I did, and in time! I can’t tell you more about it. I also read a few books for review including a rushed graphic novel that had an amazing idea (turning guys into magical girls — iykyk), a cookbook that’s not special enough to tell you about it, and another picture book for kids from the Little People, BIG DREAMS series by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara — Mary Kom, about an Olympian boxer I knew nothing about.
I am also 50% into The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk and I am in love with her writing, and the story so far, even though I know what will happen because I couldn’t finish it in time for the book club, but I wanted to go anyway. I think Stephen King once said that spoilers don’t matter, because it’s more important how you get there. And I agree. I know what will happen in Empusium and I’m still thrilled to finish it.
Here are the other books I started reading this weekend:
The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante. I just started it, but I can already smell the coming-of-age goodness oozing out of it.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. I’m in love with it already, from the very first pages. Returning to Rooney’s writing feels like I’m coming back home. I don’t know how else to explain it.
Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You're Too Scared to Watch by Emily C. Hughes. This one isn’t new, it’s just the audiobook I listen to while we clean the house on the weekend. I’m 25% in and I am afraid I want to rewatch Rosemary’s Baby and I have a huge list of horror novels to read.
~ watch
Bogdana introduced me to The Office (2005-2013) last weekend so this week whenever I watched TV it was The Office. I am on season 2 and I am having the time of my life. I think I am the last person on the planet who hasn’t seen it, right?
Bloodsuckers/Blutsauger (2021), d. Julian Radlmaier. Continuing with the vampire films this week, Bloodsuckers is about a penniless Soviet posing as a wealthy baron to impress the glamourous Octavia, who is spending the summer at the seaside with her faithful servant. Are they vampires or are they just capitalists? I liked how the film plays with many genres and many styles, it reminded me of a lot of other directors (Wes Andersen included). It’s a tad bit too stuffy, a tad bit too long, but visually stunning.
Lips of Blood/Lèvres de sang (1975), d. Jean Rollin. Mubi decided to focus on vampires too and that’s how I discovered these French vampires from the 70s! The film follows Frederick who is trying to recover his childhood memories after seeing a picture of some ruins. It’s a strange film. It’s not your usual horror (nothing I watch is your usual horror because I cannot watch scary horror), even though this one is a bit more dark than all the other vampire films I shared so far. It’s very visually charged, very atmospheric and a tad bit érotique (it’s French, it’s the 70s).
~ and other things I did last week
Music: Please pretend I am not sharing Christmas music at the beginning of November — we have a rule: no Christmas things until after my birthday, but, guys, it’s Laufey! Laufey has just released an EP A Very Laufey Holiday and it starts with my favourite Christmas song, Santa Baby (it even has a music video for it). If it’s too early for you (as it should be), then anything from Laufey is chef’s kiss anyway, like Everything I Know About Love (I listen to Fragile at least once a day) or Bewitched. Think jazzy pop with old Hollywood vibes, but, oh, so modern. No boy's gonna kill the dreamer in me.
Food: Galette! I have yet to make my own galette, but Bogdana made a savoury galette that fed me the whole weekend and yesterday Nicola Lamb talked in her newsletter about an apple galette. It’s a sign, I need to make my own galette now. But do I go salty or sweet?
Other things consumed last week:
The Banality of Online Recommendation Culture (The New Yorker). Is it ironic that I’m sharing an article about human-curated recommendations in a newsletter about my own recommendations?
‘Sex writing feels less cringe now’: are we entering a new era of erotic literature? (The Guardian). I sure hope so! Gillian Anderson’s anthology is on my TBR list, naturally. Desire is one of my favourite things. Maybe one day we will talk more about this because I am fascinated by the subject.
Pamela Anderson: ‘Instead of Trying to be This Polished Person, I’d Rather be Raw’ (Glamour). I am here for Pamela Anderson living her best life.
Why You Should Eat a Dense Bean Salad Today (Time). I learnt about the dense bean salad on TikTok too and it’s a thing I make every week (Violet also has a substack).
This month I want to prioritize resting, to slow down. The weather is getting colder, the days are getting shorter, it’s only natural. I am tempted to make a list of books to read until the end of the year — it’s that trend “10 before the end”, but I have enough anxiety in my life, I don’t need to add some around my reading too. So I won’t. Plus I already have so many book clubs this month that my list got written on its own.
Thank you so much for reading. I apologise if I rambled too much this time around.
Hugs 🥰🩵