March Love Letter

Shanghai’s events calendar is dominated by corporate, Champagne-drenched celebrations of style over substance. March, however, belongs to Shanghai’s embattled collegiate crowd, thanks to the Shanghai International Literary Festival, now in its 7th year. Around 50 poets, novelists, playwrights, travel writers, bloggers, and academics—including some stellar literary names—have been lured to the Bund to give a series of intimate talks, readings, and Q&A sessions (in English). As always there’s no shortage of Old China Hands to help explain aspects of Shanghainese—and Chinese—culture and history. James Fallows and Jeffrey Wasserstrom, two big US names on China’s English-language blogosphere, will be discussing their most recent books. With the Obama bounce still reverberating here, there’s particular focus on the US, including a dedicated debate on how China and the US view the American future and a talk by celebrity academic, Simon Schama. Among the many Asian writers in attendance is Pakistani journalist Mohammed Hanif, whose debut novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes received huge critical praise last year. The irony of one of Shanghai’s least flashy festivals is that it’s held between Glamour Bar, and the equally showy Crystal Room of the M on the Bund restaurant, just upstairs.

The majority of sessions will be held on the weekends of March 7–8, 14–15, and 21–22, though there are a handful of midweek events. See m-onthebund.com for more. Tickets are 65 RMB per session, including a drink. They can be bought in advance from mypiao.com or by calling the hotline (from China) on 400 420 4006

Graham Bond