In December, you can look forward to a wide variety of events at the Lettrétage, ranging from magazine releases, panel discussions and book premieres to musical performances and experimental reading formats. We invite you to a programme dedicated to exploring the connections and interfaces between literature, other arts and current socio-political issues – for example in the form of feminist perspectives on desire and corporeality in literature, the interaction of language and music, or solidary practices in the literary world.
Continue reading “December at Lettrétage”November at Lettrétage
A breaking point in a relationship, the intrusion of the private into the political, breaking language into verses: in November at Lettrétage we will explore different kinds of breakage in literature. Together with numerous narrative voices, we will set off on journeys, examine the possibilities of the connections between activism and literature and attend events that break down the apparent boundaries between literature and other art forms. Book presentations, performances and discussion formats invite you to a diverse programme from the independent scene.
Continue reading “November at Lettrétage”lettretalks: Barrio | Bairro Berlin with J. A. Menéndez-Conde
As part of the Barrio | Bairro Berlin literature festival, which takes place from October 10 to 17, there will be five events in the Lettrétage. The festival aims to make the Latin American literary scene in Berlin more visible and improve networking between its players. The events will focus on Berlin as a central location for Latin American writing outside Latin America and will be held in German & Spanish or German & Portuguese with simultaneous translation. Videos and sound interventions by various artists will also be shown during the talks and readings.
For the second interview in our series we have spoken with author J. A. Menéndez-Conde about his view on the Latin American literary scene in Berlin, his desicion to write short stories and the developement of his writing.
Continue reading “lettretalks: Barrio | Bairro Berlin with J. A. Menéndez-Conde”September at Lettrétage
Back from the summer break, we are still in the holiday mood. In September, we become travellers and explorers. While we deal with this topic more directly in our German events, we take a more metaphorical and musical journey in the english ones.
On Friday the 13th of September at 8.00 pm, we will linger in the world of creative possibilities. In Convergence IV, the Kross Collective presents a multi-sensory performance and explores the connections between sound, text and visuals. There will be four shorter and two longer performances. Christian Forte, Ginés Olivares, Felipe Sáez Riquelme, Elina-M. Pantsyr, Ana Gagulidze, Mire, Julia Witas and Days Like Television will present their works. Tom Bresemann will be the moderator.
Continue reading “September at Lettrétage”lettretalks: THE DEAD LADIES SHOW – Interview with Katy Derbyshire
The Dead Ladies Show happens every two months or so and celebrates ladies who were fabulous while they were alive, in English and in German.
Each time, the two co-hosts, Katy Derbyshire and Florian Duijsens, invite two special guests to share their love of particular ladies of yore in the form of lively presentations showcasing these people’s lives, works, and achievements. Covering all walks of life – from ancient mathematicians to silent-movie stars to record-breaking athletes – the Dead Ladies Show is all about women or non-binary people who achieved great things against all odds. The live footage from the shows is used as material for the monthly feminist history podcast, so deceased-dames fans can also listen in or catch up from wherever they may be.
Previously hosted in our immediate neighbourhood at ACUD, the Dead Ladies Shows now take place at Lettrétage. To mark the occasion, we spoke to one of the hosts, Katy Derbyshire, about the format of her shows, the selection of people featured and what has changed recently.
Continue reading “lettretalks: THE DEAD LADIES SHOW – Interview with Katy Derbyshire”What does an anchor-institution do?
The Lettrétage is an anchor-institution of the independent literature scene in Berlin. This means that we:
- provide free spaces for evening events, such as readings, performances, or panel discussions.
- offer free spaces for daytime use, such as writing groups, editorial meetings, or workshops
- take care of the technical aspects and beverages for evening events and assist in promoting the events.
- organize free professional consultations for those involved in writing, translating, editing, or organizing literature.
- host the “Industry Meetup: Literature” once a year. Those professionally engaged in literature can find like-minded individuals for exchange and networking.
- initiate projects that explore ways to innovate and redefine literature.
Paul Brody on LOVE&DEMOCRACY
This July sees the launch of Paul Brody’s LOVE&DEMOCRACY, a sound installation in four parts that will accompany Lettrétage until the end of the year.
Paul Brody has lived in Seattle, Boston, California and Berlin, to name just a few. As a sound artist, composer and trumpeter, he works regularly on projects at the Théâtre de Vidy in Lausanne, the Münchner Kammerspiele, the Berliner Schaubühne, the MC93 Paris, the New York Harlem Opera and the Wiener Burgtheater, among others – and now also at Lettrétage.
“The theme of Love&Democracy stems from the necessity of our times. They are a silent duo. Without a love of place and our neighbors, we cannot truly have a democracy, and without treating each other fairly – democratically – there can be no real love”, Paul Brody explains about his project.
Continue reading “Paul Brody on LOVE&DEMOCRACY”April at Lettrétage
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.
Continue reading “April at Lettrétage”“She manages to explore complex political issues through compelling scenes and dialogues” – Interview with Lucy Jones on her translation of Brigitte Reimann’s DIE GESCHWISTER
Almost exactly 50 years ago, Brigitte Reimann, considered one of the most important female writers in the GDR, died of cancer, aged 39. It’s hard to think of a better way to mark the anniversary of her death than the one Lucy Jones has chosen: translating Reimann’s novel DIE GESCHWISTER into English for the first time. SIBLINGS, as it is titled in English, has been recently published by Penguin Classics and Transit Books, and received wide media coverage, ranging from the Guardian to the New Yorker. The novel is about how the division of Germany affected Reimann’s family personally. We are beyond proud that Lucy Jones is going to present and discuss her translation at Lettrétage on 16 April together with the journalist and writer, Alexander Wells. Here is an interview she gave us on translating Reimann’s work.
Continue reading ““She manages to explore complex political issues through compelling scenes and dialogues” – Interview with Lucy Jones on her translation of Brigitte Reimann’s DIE GESCHWISTER”March at Lettrétage
What our English-language events have in common this month is love: a strange love that lasts beyond the grave, a love-hate relationship with a city, and the first love of a girl who becomes a woman. When love and the grave are mentioned in the same breath, the gothic novel is not far away. Heather Parry’s ORPHEUS BUIDLS A GIRL draws on this genre to unfold a tale of deranged obsession. Joseph Roth did not like Berlin. At the same time, it can be said that the years he spent in the German capital were one of the most successful periods of his career. WHAT WE SEE: JOSEPH ROTH AND OUR BERLIN features a discussion of Roth, his life and his feuilletons, as well as readings of texts inspired by him. THE FIRST WOMAN by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi tells a cross-generational story about growing up, first love, being and becoming a woman, and the search for one’s own roots. A story between traditional and modern feminisms against the backdrop of Idi Amin’s violent regime in Uganda in the 1970s.