The Unbearable Weight of Dissidence
Milan Kundera and the art of laughter, irony and memory in the face of power
Milan Kundera ( 1929-2023 ) was one of the most significant novelists of our times. Shot to fame with the publication of his magnum opus “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” in 1984, he went on to write fiction and essays of great profundity, insight and humor. In his novels, he embodied ambiguities and contradictions, which illuminated pathways to truths.
The session will focus on his biography, his politics and the craft of novel and fiction, and his notion of European and Central European art and culture.
About the Discussants
● Arif Azad, a public health specialist, is also a columnist, political commentator, and art critic. Writing widely on world literature, history, politics, culture, and art, his work work has appeared in the Guardian, Index on Censorship, Tehelka, BBC, and the Dawn. Author of “Thinkers, Dreamers and Doers”, a collection of his essays, he currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal Of Humanitarian Affairs, published by Manchester University. He also contributed to an edited volume titled Creating Space for Freedom, published from London. Other contributors included Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, Albie Sachs and Achille Membe.
● Arshad Waheed is a novelist. He has written two novels “Gumaan” and “Other days”. He has translated two novels, namely, ‘Love in the time of cholera‘ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and ‘Immortality’ by Milan Kundera. He has also translated a book of essays, ‘The art of the novel’ by Milan Kundera. He works as a social policy consultant in Islamabad.