A very special event took place in Changchun on World Book Day, Reading and Copyright 2018: NENU’s Main library in Changchun hosted the reading of “Gilgamesh in 12 hours”. Michela Piccin, who organized the event, has sent a report to Mar Shiprim, providing a very interesting description of how it went.
Every year on World Book Day, Reading and Copyright, NENU’s Main library in Changchun hosts various activities. In 2018, “Gilgamesh in 12 Hours” was not only the opening event, but also the central activity that ran for 12 hours in the library’s most prominent space. I would like to thank the Director, Professor Zhang Qiang, the Vice Director Professor Sven Guenther of the Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations (IHAC) and Northeast Normal University (NENU) Main Library for supporting the project in its entirety.
The habit of publicly reading literary works was very common in the distant past; much less so today. “Gilgamesh in 12 Hours” aimed to reverse this trend by staging one of the masterpieces of Ancient Near Eastern Literature: Gilgamesh. This initiative took place from 9am on April 23rd 2018 to 9pm the same day. It stemmed from the desire to take Gilgamesh out of classrooms and involve the general public, alongside scholars and students. Everyone was therefore invited to participate, regardless of their theatrical experience and their Assyriological culture. Instead of being a theatrical dramatisation, it was primarily centred around a reading accompanied by live music.
Readers and Children’s Orchestra performing during the first tablet
The inspiration for this project came to me from an activity that took place at Ca’ Foscari University, Venice (Italy). Two Professors of Classics read the Odyssey in 24 hours, non-stop: this was the complete reading of Homer’s epic poem, which unfolded between Monday 1st June and Tuesday 2nd June 2015, based on one book per hour. The initiative aimed to include citizens who did not have any direct connection with the university or classical studies, and involved the scholars and students of Ca’ Foscari. I was captivated by that event, and thus I considered proposing something similar within my field, Assyriology.
The reason for choosing Gilgamesh was based on it being the most well-known and best-preserved poem from ancient Mesopotamia. Its creation is dated at around 2700 BC and was written in several languages (Sumerian, Akkadian, Hurrian, Hittite), all written in the cuneiform script. It tells the story of Gilgamesh, the hero and protagonist, who grows as a person throughout the course of the story. As a boy, he seeks glory, fame and immortality, but later he grows to be a wise man who realises that the most important factor in life is to have lived and loved well. Although ancient, the story is animated by a stubborn topicality which attracts readers of all ages from children to the elderly, and throughout all ages and places.
Readers of the first tablet from a closer perspective
To choose readers and musicians it was necessary to liaise with departments in NENU and other Universities in Changchun. I set up public auditions, and by the end we could count on 120 readers and 20 musicians. The reading was broken up by music from time to time, to make it more engaging. The musicians brought Western and Eastern music to the scene, ranging from past pieces to more contemporary examples, with modern and ancient Chinese instruments, and sometimes even a mixture of both. The performers (readers and musicians) included members from various departments at NENU, of other institutes in Changchun (such as Jilin University), as well as members of the general public from very different backgrounds. Also participating were students, professors and experts from very different disciplines (Statistics, Computer Science, librarians, etc), not only from Asia but also Africa, America and Europe, ranging from 8 to 65 years old.
By developing my writing abilities, I had the opportunity to create the text “Gilgamesh in 12 Hours” for a public reading on the basis of existing plays and critical editions of Cuneiform sources. [In particular the critical edition by Andrew R. George, The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts published by Oxford press (2003) as well as his critical translation The Epic of Gilgamesh published by Penguin Classics (Reissue edition 2003)]. The original ancient poem was read almost in its entirety within 12 hours. Of course, cuts and additions were made, the cuts depending on the importance of individual elements of the text, and additions in keeping with recent findings of tablets relating to the poem.
To make the text accessible to non-experts, I took advantage of the viewpoint of a colleague from Classics, who carefully read the text and helped me find and amend all the critical points. We “insiders” do not always understand these barriers as we are constantly working on these texts and any peculiarities are taken for normal, and hence often go unnoticed.
Children’s’ Orchestra with traditional Chinese instruments performing during the reading
Another challenge for the realisation of “Gilgamesh in 12 Hours”, in addition to creating a text that was readable in 12 hours and understandable by a mixed audience, was to involve a large number of readers and to enliven the reading with musicians. With the aim of involving the largest number of participants, I arranged a wide range of publicity for the event. My mailbox was then flooded with emails, and after having been contacted by 170 possible participants we came to a final selection of 120 readers and 20 musicians.
At this point, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my two “companions” throughout this adventure, Irene Berti (Classicist) and Li Qiang (Bizantinologist): their help has been invaluable in many moments and in so many ways, and nothing would have been possible without them.
All the readers performed their texts in English: this actually generated a great deal of enthusiasm, because it was seen as an opportunity to practice spoken English. Native English teachers in NENU and other universities in Changchun kindly offered their students as readers and offered their assistance during the rehearsals, to improve the clarity and correctness of the pronunciation.
I was personally responsible for the design of the brochure, advertising posts, as well as posters.
T-shirts for all the readers and musicians had this motif: on a black background for women, and on a white one for men
T-shirts for all the readers and musicians were designed under the supervision of Sven Guenther (Classicist) and his students. The various IHAC employees who teach modern and ancient languages suggested translations for the name of the Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations (IHAC). The translations were then printed on the T-shirts: by wearing them, we wanted to show our common roots (represented by the ancient languages – the core of our studies) and contemporary views (represented by the modern languages – that allowed us to talk about our ancient studies).
My biggest thanks go out to all the readers and musicians. Through their voices and music, the poem came to life. Being touched by such wide-ranging emotions was the most unexpected gift that the experience could provide me, and it has repaid me for the many sleepless nights leading up to the event. When people volunteered themselves to read more parts of the text than those that had been assigned to them, I realised that my goal had been reached even though the final performance was as yet unrealised. I believe that the greatest result of this entire enterprise was the bringing of people together by this ancient literary text.
The event enjoyed a high level of participation and was described in several newspaper articles (See the most representative one The Paper.cn). “Gilgamesh in 12 Hours” was also awarded a public mention during the awards ceremony at the end of the academic year 2017-2018 as the best example of cooperation among NENU Departments and Changchun Universities as well as scholars, students and the general public.
One of the breaks during the performance. On the left three readers, in the centre the Master Flautist, on the right the team. In order: Irene Berti, Michela Piccin and Li Qiang.
To conclude, I would like to thank once again all those who helped me: “Gilgamesh in 12 Hours” came to life because it was a shared project, supported by many colleagues. Their contribution, regardless of size, enriched this project immeasurably. Great result, great team! Thank you all.
Michela Piccin
(Research Fellow at NWU, SA)