Photo by Ali Ghandtschi
Berlin’s International Literature Festival is back with 200 authors from 50 countries and 10 days jam-packed with readings, panels and even films!
For the 18th time, Berliners will be treated to an annual literary extravaganza that involves readings and a hodgepodge of events and debates in various languages covering hot button topics from the Lehman Brothers collapse (Sep 15, 16:45) to the future of drug policies (Sep 11, 20:30) to decolonisation (sex, art, beauty – 10 panels in total), while an 11-panel series promises to survey recent scientific literature (anthropologist Daniel L. Everett on “How languages are formed” in English on Sep 7, 18:00).
Children and young adults get their own fun with around 30 readings and workshops in English, while comics fans are treated to the traditional Graphic Novel Day (Sep 9, 10:00). Last but not least, a poetry slam will pit Berlin school students against each other (final on Sep 13). There’s even a tribute screening of Claude Lanzmann’s nine-and-a-half-hour Shoah (Sep 4, 10:00) and a Q&A with Ai Weiwei after a showing of his Human Flow (Sep 6, 18:00).
But perhaps most appealing of all is the simple joy of hearing accomplished authors read from their work: Michael Ondaatje (Sep 14, 19:00), Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan (Sep 15, 19:30), Canadian novelist Rachel Cusk (Sep 13, 21:00), English novelist Will Self (Sep 6, 21:00), Hungarian László Krasznahorkai (Sep 13, 18:00), Russia’s enfant terrible Vladimir Sorokin (Sep 11, 19:30, Russian and German), Prix Goncourt winner Patrick Chamoiseau (Sep 11, 19:00, French and German) stand out among the masses.
A little flustered? Just revel in the highly civilised atmosphere of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. Or bring a book and get it signed!
International Literature Festival Berlin, Sep 5-15 | Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Wilmersdorf
