The ACF London is delighted to invite you to a special literary evening featuring the acclaimed Austrian comic artist and illustrator Nicolas Mahler, who will present his graphic biography Completely Kafka. Published by Suhrkamp Verlag and Pushkin Press (UK) to commemorate the centenary of Franz Kafka's death in 1924, this work offers a fresh perspective on Kafka’s life through Mahler's sublime artistry.
Known for his masterful minimalism, Nicolas Mahler delivers a witty and humorous portrayal of Kafka's life and work. In this bilingual event, Mahler will showcase selected parts from Completely Kafka in a visual presentation filled with images, offering insights into his artistic process and sharing anecdotes about Kafka.
He will be joined by translator Alexander Booth, who will discuss the challenges and intricacies of translating Mahler’s work and shed light on their collaborative process.
The evening will be chaired by Andrea Capovilla, Director of the Ingeborg Bachmann Centre for Austrian Literature and Culture, and will conclude with a Q&A session.
Nicolas Mahler has creatively adapted books by Robert Musil and Thomas Bernhard, as well as James Joyce’s Ulysses and the famously difficult Finnegans Wake. In his Alice in Sussex, also available in English translation by Alexander Booth, he stages a fantastic meeting of Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland and the Austrian poet H.C. Artmann’s Frankenstein in Sussex. Mahler’s latest publication is an exploration of the poet Friederike Mayrӧcker’s Larifari (September 2024). Mahler’s unique comic books capture the essence of their subjects and also provide a way into these works in a highly entertaining and inspiring fashion.
Join us for an engaging discussion and a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of art and literature through the lens of one of Austria’s most innovative comic artists.
The event is organised in cooperation with the Ingeborg Bachmann Centre for Austrian Literature & Culture at the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies (University of London).
The Goethe-Institut, in collaboration with the European Parliament Liaison Office in the UK, the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Czech Centre, and Literaturhaus Stuttgart, is pleased to present Nicolas Mahler's work in the ongoing exhibition "Komplett Kafka" at Europe House. For more information, click here.
Nicolas Mahler is an Austrian comic artist and illustrator. He was born in Vienna in 1969. He contributes to Kafka’s centenary year 2024 with his book Komplett Kafka/ Completely Kafka; Suhrkamp/Pushkin. The book is a combination of Kafka’s biography and brief impressions of Franz Kafka’s key works. He has also published drawn adaptations of works by other great authors, such as Alte Meister (Old Masters) by Thomas Bernhard and Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften (The Man Without Qualities) by Robert Musil.
Completely Kafka
Franz Kafka not only wrote prose, he was also passionate about drawing: at one time, he even said it satisfied him more than anything else. In this graphic biography, acclaimed artist Nicolas Mahler echoes Kafka’s own minimalist drawing style in a unique and surprising approach to the great writer’s life and work. Drawing extensively on Kafka’s fiction, letters and diaries, Completely Kafka shows us the major and minor details that formed his life, from struggles with self-doubt and writer’s block to a failed plan for a series of cheap travel guides. Full of fascinating details and witty, absurdist illustrations, it’s a delightful tribute to one of the world’s great writers.
Alexander Booth is an American poet and translator, who after many years in Rome now lives in Berlin. His translations include Friederike Mayröcker, Sandro Penna, Lutz Seiler and many more. His new translation of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus was published by Penguin Classics in 2023. Alexander Booth has, in addition to Completely Kafka, translated Nicolas Mahler’s creative comic book takes on Alice in Sussex, Ulysses and In Search of Lost Time. His poetry collection Triptych was published in 2021 and Kantor in 2023.
