24th ilb
5 – 14 Sep 2024 Program
9 – 18 Sep 2024 Young Program

Programmsparten: Literatures of the World

Water in Flux

Part I. Kathrin Röggla: »Das Wasser« What does climate change mean for water, the substance on which we depend even more than on gas and oil? In the play of the same name, Kathrin Röggla paints a picture of a society oscillating between heavy rainfall and intense heat, a society

New US-American Voices: Lauren Oyler & Rebecca Rukeyser

Two authors from the USA present their debuts. In Lauren Oyler’s »Fake Accounts«, a blogger discovers that her boyfriend is spreading conspiracy theories on the Internet. When he dies shortly thereafter, she begins a game with virtual identities. Rebecca Rukeyser’s »The Seaplane on Final Approach« is about a young woman

Damon Galgut: The Promise

Set against the backdrop of South Africa’s political transition, this novel relishes in bitter satire as it tells the story of the white Swart family, who once promised their longtime servant, a black woman, a house and land of her own. Awarded the 2021 Booker Prize, »It’s all in here:

Poetry Night with Margaret Atwood, Paul Muldoon, Haris Vlavianos, Jay Bernard

Margaret Atwood, a two-time Booker Prize winner, may be a world-famous novelist, but she started out writing poetry. Her poems feature observations and reflections and are often inspired by fairy tales and myths that have fascinated her since childhood. Important themes in her prose works, such as feminism and saving

Durs Grünbein: Äquidistanz

Like a wanderer through time and space, Durs Grünbein, who also sees poetry »as a device for capturing the future«, explores the history and the present throughout Germany and Italy in his twelfth volume of poetry. He also continues his longstanding exploration of European thought. »Durs Grünbein is one of

Margaret Atwood und Jan Wagner: Die Füchsin

»Die Füchsin. Gedichte 1965–1995« [2020] is the first volume of poetry by novelist Margaret Atwood to be available in German translation. The lyricist and Büchner Prize winner Jan Wagner. He talks with Margaret Atwood about her lyrical work and translating. Speaker: Hildegard SchmahlLanguage: EnglishInterpreter: N.N.

3 x 8: Irene Solà, Monika Fagerholm, Luka Holmegaard

The Catalan poet and novelist Irene Solà presents her poetry collection »Beast«, the Swedish-speaking Finn Monika Fagerholm reads from her novel »Who Killed Bambi?«, and Luka Holmegaard presents the essay-novel hybrid »Look«. The three authors will each read for eight minutes in their languages and provide information about their works.

Reinhard Kaiser-Mühlecker: Wilderer

Jakob, a petulant young man who questions life, manages his family’s farm. When he starts a family with a young artist and turns the farm organic, everything seems to change for the better. But Jakob remains a driven man. »Kaiser-Mühlecker gets close to his character in a fascinating way without

Andrei Kurkov: Samson and Nadjeschda

In the spring of 1919, when the Bolsheviks take Kyiv, Samson loses an ear and his father during a pogrom. Shortly thereafter, he begins his service with the new Soviet police. Kyiv is restless, citizens are robbed by both real and fake soldiers of the Red Army, the suburbs are

Jérôme Ferrari: In His Own Image

In Corsica, Antonia, a young photographer, and Dragan, who once fought as a Croatian mercenary in the Yugoslav war, meet again. On the way home, Antonia has a fatal accident; at her funeral, her godfather delivers the eulogy. Interspersed with essayistic passages, the Goncourt Prize winner’s novel explores Corsica’s history

Sarah M. Broom: The Yellow House

In 1961, Sarah M. Broom’s mother bought a yellow wooden house in New Orleans. For more than four decades, it was the center of the family’s turbulent life until Hurricane Katrina wiped it off the map. »Sarah M. Broom’s debut is an indispensable text that explores the past, present, and

Elisa Shua Dusapin: The Pachinko Parlour

Claire’s grandfather runs a pachinko arcade in Tokyo. He and Claire’s grandmother are originally from Korea. But they haven’t been back since they fled the war. Now the granddaughter is trying to convince them to take a trip back to discover their roots. Winner of the Swiss Prize for Literature