Conversation Series “Dialogues”: Gert Hofmann: The Parable of the Blind
Date: 27 Mart 2026, 6:00 PM
Venue: Orient-Institut Istanbul
Language: Turkish
A conversation series by Ayfer Tunç and Murat Gülsoy, organized in cooperation of the Nâzım Hikmet Culture and Arts Research Center at Boğaziçi University and the Orient-Institut Istanbul.
Ayfer Tunç and Murat Gülsoy will discuss Gert Hofmann’s novel The Parable of the Blind on Friday, March 27, 2026, at 6:00 pm at the Orient-Institut Istanbul as part of the Dialogues series.
In a town of the early modern period in Flanders, early in the morning, there is a knock on the door of the barn where six blind beggars are sleeping, and they are told to prepare themselves to be painted. Yet, just like the blind men, those delivering the news do not know who will paint them or for what reason. Thus begins the march of the blind. Inspired by Pieter Bruegel’s world-famous painting The Blind Leading the Blind (1568), The Parable of the Blind (David R. Godine, 2017) narrates the fictional creation process of the painting from the perspective of the six depicted blind men—speaking as if they were a single body. The story is told in the first-person plural and in the present tense. While recounting the imagined creation of what is considered one of Bruegel’s masterpieces, Hofmann’s novel preserves its distinctive grotesque style; moreover, by employing the cyclical and repetitive staging and dialogue structure of the theatre of the absurd, it turns the painting into something akin to a living organism.
Gert Hofmann’s The Parable of the Blind, a work that masterfully pushes the boundaries of fiction, is available in Gül Gürtunca’s translation (Jaguar Kitap, 2022) from the original German.
For years, Ayfer Tunç and Murat Gülsoy have been engaging in public conversations about world literature, unrestricted by language or historical period. The Orient-Institut Istanbul is pleased to make its auditorium available for this series.
More information on “Dialogues”:
https://nazimhikmetmerkezi.com/kategori/etkinlikler/diyaloglar-etkinlikler/
The event is free of charge and will be held in Turkish. Photo and video recordings will be taken during the event. By attending, you consent to their use on the OII website, in the newsletter and on social media. Registration is required.
Venue:
Orient-Institut Istanbul
Galip Dede Cad. 65, Şahkulu Mah., TR–34421 Istanbul
Tel: +90 212 293 60 67
oiist@oiist.org
www.oiist.org
REGISTRATION
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