THE LITERARY BACKGROUND TO THE WORK OF HEINER GOEBBELS
“Too often it appears that a text is merely an occasion for composers to present works they would have composed in any case, and not really a provocation to put their resources to work examining the text in a new way. For the most part, the question of whether there must be a vocal part is never considered, even though—between opera and drama—staged works incorporating composed language can easily be imagined and are too rarely explored. Spoken text seems of little interest for many composers, yet they often use song to create an atmosphere or mood. Still, literary texts are not merely fodder for singer’s voices and crucial to actors. What is more important to me are the texts’ character and substance and the requirement to make them transparent through music.”

With: HEINER GOEBBELS
Moderator: Peter Kraut

Wednesday, 28 June 2017 at 19:30 in the Literaturhaus Zürich
A cooperation of the Literaturhaus Zürich and the Leukerbad International Literary Festival
Admission: 20 CHF, reduced price 14 CHF


CULTURE AND POPULISM
The word ‘populism’ is experiencing a boom. It describes a political strategy most often intended to gain power. Its main characteristics: the rejection of anything intellectual and the criticism of the intellectual and the political as such. It portrays a closeness to the people. This seemingly apolitical façade is enhanced by an explicit and public rejection of the political class. “Them up there” is every populist’s image of the enemy. The looseness of this description is fully intentional because populists avoid definition. “Them up there” corresponds to an unspoken “us down here”, meant to increase a sense of solidarity.

Part I with: DAVID VAN REYBROUCK and BERND STEGEMANN
Part II with: LUKAS BÄRFUSS and ROBERT MENASSE
Moderator: Stefan Zweifel

For time and place see the detailed programme


THE EDITING PROCESS
Although editors contribute significantly to the process of making books, they rarely appear in public. The tasks entrusted to them vary greatly, from helping authors think about the book to helping them write it. The relationship between author and editor is an intimate one.
In the past year, the scope of an editor’s duties has changed dramatically. They work more closely with agents, press offices, and marketing departments to optimize a book’s placement. There is much less time available for them to work on the text itself. Some publishers have abandoned line editing altogether and make do with proofreading.

With: CHRISTIAN DÖRING, STEPHANIE VON HARRACH and KATHARINA RAABE
Moderator: Reto Sorg

For time and place see the detailed programme

Marcel Proust: THE INTERMITTENCES OF THE HEART – in German for the first time
Not long ago, the lost proofs of Marcel Proust’s novel IN SEARCH OF TIMES PAST surfaced in the Bodmer Foundation in Geneva. At the time, the novel was titled INTERMITTENCES OF THE HEART. At the last minute, Proust changed the title and rewrote a third of the novel on the proof pages: “A creative massacre!” (FAZ). Proust cut entire passages, taped notes with new sections onto the manuscript: overwritten passages are cut, he reconceives the novel and writes masterpiece of modern times in between the lines. Stefan Zweifel has translated both versiosn for a new edition in ‘Die Andere Bibliothek’. In Leukerbad he will offer insighst into the sensational discovery for the first time. Stefan Zweifel will reveal the secret of the Recherche — readings by Thomas Sarbacher.

For time and place see the detailed programme


TWO SWISS AUTHORS IN CONVERSATION
They are the two Swiss authors who provide the most material for literary discussion outside Switzerland: Jonas Lüscher and Lukas Bärfuss share a critical stance towards contemporary society, science and politics.

With: JONAS LÜSCHER and LUKAS BÄRFUSS
Moderator: Stefan Zweifel

For time and place see the detailed programme

LUKAS BÄRFUSS

CHRISTIAN DÖRING
He has been instrumental in shaping the lists of publishing houses like Suhrkamp and Dumont, among others. He is also an active jury member for various literary prizes. Spiegel magazine called him “a prominent figure in the German book industry.”
Since 2011 Christian Döring has been shaping the list of ‘Der Andere Bibliothek.” From 2009 to 2012 he also served as a co-editor of the Munich Poetry Lectures series of the Lyrik Kabinett. In addition he is a member of the Lyrik Kabinett Board of Trustees. Many renowned authors, especially poets, have been edited by Christian Döring over the years. He is a freelance editor and publisher and lives in Berlin, Paris, and Venice.

HEINER GOEBBELS

JONAS LÜSCHER

KATHARINA RAABE
Since 1983, she has worked for a number of publishing houses, including Arche Verlag in Zurich. She served as an editor at Rowohlt Verlag in Berlin from 1993 to 2000. In 2000 she joined Suhrkamp Verlag and oversaw the expansion of the Eastern European list. She also commissioned works on current events in Eastern Europe.

GEFÄHRDETE NACHBARSCHAFTEN – UKRAINE, RUSSLAND, EUROPÄISCHE UNION. (Endangered Neighbours: Ukraine, Russia, and the European Union) Wallstein Verlag 2015
TESTFALL UKRAINE: EUROPA UND SEINE WERTE. Herausgeber Katharina Raabe und Manfred Sapper. (Test Case Ukraine: Europe and its Values, edited by Katharina Raabe and Manfred Sapper) Suhrkamp Verlag 2015
ODESSA TRANSFER: NACHRICHTEN VOM SCHWARZEN MEER. Herausgeber Katharina Raabe und Monika Sznajderman. (Odessa Transfer: News from the Black Sea, edited by Katharina Raabe and Monika Sznajderman) Suhrkamp Verlag 2009

BERND STEGEMANN
Since 2005, Bernd Stegemann is Professor for Theater History at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts. He obtained his doctoral degree with a work in systems theory under Manfred Brauneck and has worked with many theaters and festivals. From 1992 to 2002 he worked as Head Dramaturge at TAT in Frankfurt, from 2004 to 2007 as Dramaturge at the Deutsche Theater in Berlin, from 2009 to 2016 as Dramaturge at the Schaubühne in Berlin (Head Dramaturge from 2009 to 2011) and since 2017 he has worked as Dramaturge with the Berliner Ensemble. He founded the “Lessons” series at the Theater der Zeit. The following volumes have appeared: 1 Dramaturgy, 2 Directing, 3 and 4 Acting, 5 Theater Pedagogy, 6 Costumes, and 7 The Theater of Things. He has also published numerous works on dramaturgy and the dramatic arts, most recently DIE KRITIK DES THEATERS (Critique of Theater), Berlin 2013, LOB DES REALISMUS (In Praise of Realism), Berlin 2015, and DAS GESPENST DES POPULISMUS (The Specter of Populism), Berlin 2017.

DAS GESPENST DES POPULISMUS. Ein Essay zur politischen Dramaturgie. (The Specter of Populism: An Essay on Political Dramaturgy), Verlag Theater der Zeit 2017
LOB DES REALISMUS (In Praise of Realism). Verlag Theater der Zeit 2015
KRITIK DES THEATERS (Critique of Theater). Verlag Theater der Zeit 2014

DAVID VAN REYBROUCK

STEPHANIE VON HARRACH
Stephanie von Harrach studied literature and media studies in Frankfurt am Main and took on her first editorial position in 1994 on the Latin American list of Suhrkamp Verlag. In 2001 she was named editor-in-chief at Amman Verlag in Zurich where she worked with international and German language literature until the publishing house closed in 2010. She then edited literature from around the world for the Zurich-based Unionsverlag. Her authors include Navid Kermani, Ulrich Peltzer, Ruth Schweikert, and Ismail Kadare as well as Erika Burkart, Ralph Dulti, Jürg Halter, and Christoph Geiser. She has also worked with many excellent translators. Since 2014 she oversees support of literature with the city of Zurich and works as a freelance translator and editor for various publishers.