Carl Djerassi Opens “Buch Wien” Book Fair
Nov 21, 2012
The International book fair Buch Wien 2012 officially opens its doors 21 Nov, kicking off four days of readings and workshops in bookstores and cultural institutions throughout Vienna.
Playwright Carl Djerassi has the honour of reading the opening address, the man perhaps better known as the inventor of the birth-control pill. He was born in Vienna in 1923, emigrated to the U.S. in the midst of the Second World War, where he then studied chemistry. In the early 1950s, he co-developed the oral contraceptive pill. For many this is the accomplishment of a lifetime, but Djerassi is also a successful writer, author of numerous books. The emeritus Stanford professor invented the genre "science-in-fiction" (fiction portraying the life of real scientists), but has also published poetry, non-fiction, fiction novels and plays.
Although the opening is invitation-only, the four-day fair offers over 400 readings by published authors about their works. Below is a selection who have been covered in The Vienna Review.
21 Nov., 19:00: Carl Djerassi (invitation only; see "Carl Djerassi: the Poet of Progressive Science" in June 2012 TVR)
22 Nov., 10:45: Hans-Henning Scharsach with Strache (see "Draining the ‘Kellernazi’ Swamp" in Oct 2012 TVR)
23 Nov., 15:15: Erhard Busek with AEIOU Europa (see "Living Across Borders"
in June 2011 TVR)
25 Nov., 11:00 & 13:00: Ari Rath with Ari heißt Löwe. Erinnerungen (see "Ari Rath: Israel’s Loyal Opposition" in Nov 2012 TVR)
Buch Wien
21-25 Nov
Messegelände Wien
2., Messeplatz 1