Wu Ming
- Italy
- Zu Gast beim ilb: 2024
Wu Ming is an Italian collective of authors who worked under the pseudonym »Luther Blissett« until 1999 and under this name published »Q« (1999; Eng. 2003), a novel about the Anabaptist movement in 16th century Europe, which was translated into 18 languages and became an international bestseller. The Chinese term »Wu Ming« means – depending on the emphasis of the first syllable – »without a name« or »five names«.
The collective has so far published six novels, each of which is set in a specific period and rediscovers – and reinvents – its history, expressing a socially critical and utopian approach. Wu Ming’s »54« (2002; Eng. 2005), for example, is a »crime-espionage-gangster tale set in 1954 against the bleakness of the Cold War« (»Die Zeit«). »Manituana« (2007; Eng. 2009) deals with the American War of Independence; »Altai« (2009; Eng. 2013) picks up the narrative thread of »Q« and begins in Venice in 1569. “L’armata dei sonnambuli” (2014; Eng. »The Army of the Sleepwalkers«, 2014) is set in Paris in 1793. The aim of this »extremely multifaceted and intricately designed novel« (DLF) is to tell the story of the French Revolution from the perspective of the people using a montage of different text types such as dialogues, reports, and letters.
Wu Ming’s most recent novel, »Ufo 78« (2022; Eng. 2023), focuses on the triennial year of 1978, when Aldo Moro was abducted and murdered, the soccer World Cup in Argentina took place under the military dictatorship, and UFO sightings increased in Italy – which Wu Ming processes into an »extremely idiosyncratic but simply ingenious book between pop culture, anti-fascism, communism and the longing for an extraterrestrial presence« (»Neues Deutschland«).
The members of the collective live in Bologna.
Status: May 2024
54
Assoziation A
Berlin, 2015
(Ü: Klaus-Peter Arnold)
Manituana
Assoziation A
Berlin, 2018
(Ü: Klaus-Peter Arnold)
Altai
Assoziation A
Berlin, 2016
(Ü: Klaus-Peter Arnold)
Die Armee der Schlafwandler
Assoziation A
Berlin, 2020
(Ü: Klaus-Peter Arnold)
Ufo 78
Assoziation A
Berlin, 2023
(Ü: Klaus-Peter Arnold)