Soul and the City; Oliver Toth
April at Lettrétage is all about numbers. In Redfern Jon Barret’s novel PROUD PINK SKY, which will be presented on April 1, Berlin has grown to 24 million inhabitants. It’s the first gay nation of the world, divided into neighborhoods for each sexual orientation. Cissie loves Berlin’s towering high rises and chaotic multiculturalism, yet she’s never left her heterosexual district — not until she discovers a walled-off slum of perpetual twilight, home to the city’s forbidden trans residents.
April 6 is for anyone tired of hoarding books you have always wanted to read but never have. THE HOW TO BOOK-SWAP PARTY!, hosted by The Reader Berlin, Siena Powers, and Victor Breidenbach helps you get rid off the ambitions that are weighing us down. So bring one or two books for the pile, but also make specific gifts to friends or foes. There may be hard feelings, which is why there will be wine and wrestling referees. On April 14, the number of nations from which this evenings’ performers come is almost uncountable. They will shed light on the relationship of LOVE & POLITICS – with poetry, story poetry, music, spoken word, storytelling, comedy, dance, visual arts and surprise acts.
Almost exactly 50 years after the premature death of Brigitte Reimann, considered one of the most important female voices of the GDR, Luyc Jones has translated her novel GESCHWISTER into English for the first time. It revolves around the conflict between the first-person narrator Elisabeth and her brother, who wants to flee to West Germany. As Lucy Jones points out in an interview with Lettrétage, it is a story that “manages to explore complex political issues through compelling scenes and dialogues”. She will discuss her translation SIBLINGS with Alexander Wells on April 16.