KRISTEN SHULTIS
Staff Writer
Stefan Zweig is an actively-writing author, starting pre-World War II and then continuing. Items from his life are housed here in Fredonia. There are letters and some pictures of him from when he was in the war. There are also some letters and novels from authors that were inspired by Zweig. He was Jewish, but fled Austria to get away from the Nazis in Germany. He later arrived in England, then the U.S. and finally ended up in Brazil. One of his novels was “Letter from an Unknown Woman.”
This book was what peaked French author Laurent Seksik’s interest in Zweig’s work. Seksik assumed that he was going to be a great writer someday, but he kept getting rejected.
During his lecture on Oct. 22 in Rosch Recital Hall, Seksik discussed how he found a love for medicine, and how he never realized how much he would miss writing.
“I had this patient leave me a book. It was called “Letter from an Unknown Woman,” and I decided that I would begin reading it. I didn’t realize at the time how much this book would change my life. I had to know about this author Zweig. It interested me. This is when I began to know Zweig on a personal level,” Seksik said.
He went on to tell how he chronicled the life of Zweig and his fleeing from Austria to Britain, to New York and finally to Brazil. This is when he came up with “The Last Days,” Seksik’s novel chronicling Zweig’s life.
In the novel, Seksik talks about how Zweig felt like an outsider, no matter where he went in the world, and that it was clear that he couldn’t go back to Austria. The book also details the events of his and his second wife’s suicides.
Seksik’s novel has been translated into 15 different languages, and has also been translated into play form; the show was performed on Oct. 21 in Bartlett Theatre under the direction of Jessica Hillman-McCord.
“I had a director contact me, and he asked if he could write a play based on my book. I originally said no. I am not a playwright,” Seksik said of having to write the play. “But then I began to write and gave them each act as I finished it, and they loved it. So I became a playwright.”
“The Last Days” is also being turned into a graphic novel set to be released in the states soon, although there is no definite release date.
There is also a movie in the works, which Seksik didn’t talk much about, except to say that it will be coming soon.
This focus on the life of Zweig is a bi-annual event at Fredonia; this is because Fredonia is the home to the Stefan Zweig archive. This archive is located in Reed Library until Dec. 15. It includes pictures of a young Zweig, stories, letters and a few stories written by people that he influenced.
“He was the most translated author; [he] knew many different languages, and we could learn from his writing,” Seksik said.
Seksik’s novel was a bestseller in France and got critical acclaim in Germany. His play was performed numerous times prior to the Fredonia performance, including in Munich to an audience that was very receptive and then here in Fredonia to honor Zweig.
“There are two kinds of people: good readers and good writers. Both of these people are very intelligent, and they should learn from each other,” Seksik said. “A good reader is good at analyzing things; good writers are good at giving those readers something to analyze and enjoy.”