Berlin reads
Berlin’s 14th international literature festival sees readings staged at “literary” sites.
The idea is to allow the literatures of the world to waft their way throughout Berlin. To mark the start of the 14th international literature festival, ordinary Berliners in all of the city’s districts will be reading from literary works. Here’s just a few of them.
Urban novel at the “Alex”
Alexanderplatz – known by Berliners as “Alex” for short – is one of Berlin’s most-visited squares, situated at the heart of the eastern part of the German capital. The reading performance here will feature extracts from “Berlin Alexanderplatz”, the urban novel by Alfred Döblin (1878-1957) which tells the story of how wage worker Franz Biberkopf battles in vain against the metropolis.
“The Diary of Anne Frank” in a rear courtyard
The Anne-Frank-Zentrum is situated in one of the courtyards at Hackescher Markt in the heart of Berlin. It shows a permanent exhibition entitled “Anne Frank. here and now”, which explores the story of the Jewish girl’s life. Anne Frank and her family had fled from the Nazis to the Netherlands, but became victims of the Holocaust towards the end of the war. The performance here will be a reading from her diary, which is considered to be one of the most important pieces of historical testimony to the persecution of the Nazi era.
“The Blackbird” at the Grimm Zentrum
The Jacob- und Wilhelm-Grimm Zentrum was considered one of Berlin’s most impressive new buildings. This cubic knowledge repository is home to the Central Library of the Humboldt-Universität and its Computer and Media Service. Named after the Brothers Grimm, the building was designed by Swiss star architect Max Dudler and, boasting some two million books, is Germany’s biggest open access library. Numerous reading events are staged here, one of them being a reading from “The Blackbird”, a novel by Austrian writer Robert Musil (1880-1942).
“In Search of Lost Time” on Admiralbrücke
Admiralbrücke is a bridge spanning the Landwehr canal in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. For some years it has been a hip meeting place where young people from all over the world come together to party and listen to street musicians. Built in 1882, it is the oldest iron bridge over the canal and is listed as a historic monument. Its main claim to fame, however, is as a place to drink and make merry. The reading performance here will feature extracts from “In Search of Lost Time” by the French writer Marcel Proust (1871-1922).
international literature festival berlin from 10 to 20 September 2014
