Program / lit.RUHR List of all events

Spring 1958: Ingeborg Bachmann – celebrated poet, winner of the Prize of Group of 47 and Der Spiegel cover star – is about to bring her radio play “Der gute Gott von Manhattan” to the air. Max Frisch,… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Opening event! Ingeborg Bachmann & Max Frisch – The correspondence of the century. With Matthias Brandt & Sophia Burtscher

Being born is a fate that all humans share. Yet birth and pregnancy are topics that were long ignored, or coyly circumvented, by philosophy and literature. But the topic “having children” offers gre… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event It’s just a phase! An evening about having children. With Claudia Michelsen, Rufus Beck and Bärbel Schäfer

This year marks 25 years since “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling was first published in German. Everything that has happened since can only be explained by magic! lit.k… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Expecto Patronum! 25 years of Harry Potter in Germany. With Rufus Beck

Social psychologist Harald Welzer, who recently co-authored “The Fourth Estate” with Richard David Precht, is an expert in transformation and an avid observer of the fault lines of society. His ana… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event End of Times – Harald Welzer’s new, fundamental analysis of society

Deborah Feldman grew up in the Satmar Hasidic community in the New York neighborhood of Williamsburg. Her escape from this ultra-Orthodox community and her emigration to Berlin were the topic of her… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Jew Fetish. With Deborah Feldman

Today she is adored by readers worldwide, but Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) was unpopular during her lifetime. Born in New Zealand, she came to London in the early twentieth century with the goal… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Live and Let Live. Michaela Karl and Anna Thalbach on Katherine Mansfield

He’s one of Ukraine’s greatest authors; his books became best sellers in Germany and have won international awards. For his second book in the historical crime series about a police officer named Sam… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Andrey Kurkov on Samson, the past and the present in Ukraine

Fatih Çevikkollus Mutter litt im Alter an einer Psychose und war nicht mehr gesellschaftsfähig. Nach ihrem Tod fragte sich der bekannte Kabarettist und Schauspieler, ob es einen Zusammenhang zwischen i… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Kartonwand. Das Trauma der Arbeitsmigrant:innen. Mit Fatih Çevikkollu und Aladin El-Mafaalani

“Germany listens when Kermani opens his mouth” (SZ Magazin). And Germany reads when he publishes a new novel. This latest one tells the story of an author at the peak of her success and the nadir of her… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Navid Kermani and the Alphabet up to S

»Eine Literatur der Klasse L. Dinçer Güçyeter, Gabelstaplerfahrer, Kind anatolischer Einwanderer, hat einen großartigen Roman über Herkunft und Familie geschrieben«, titelt DIE ZEIT. »Dieser Autor ist wie… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Unser Deutschlandmärchen. Mit Dinçer Güçyeter und Mithu Sanyal

Lea Bonasera (25), one of the founders of the activist group “Letzte Generation”, gets annoyed by disparaging descriptors like “climate-gluer” and “eco-terrorist” because she’s absolutely convinced that civil di… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event The Time for Courage is Now! Two generations, two perspectives, one goal: Lea Bonasera and Bärbel Höhn on climate activism

A childhood spent in unconventional circumstances, the divided Berlin, family ties and affinities and long, happy summers at the seaside. With her debut novel “Summerhouse, Later”, Judith Hermann set a n… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Judith Hermann - We’d Have Told Each Other Everything

Musician Andreas Dorau is a master of the eccentric and the absurd. With subtlety and depth, he tells stories about himself and his adventures, not only in the arts scene. Those who know Sven… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Sven Regener, Andreas Dorau and the Woman with the Arm

You think you know everything there is to know about the resilient rabbit, its astonishing harmlessness, remarkable fertility and significance in mythology and cultural history? And you’re extremely w… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Resilient rabbits and clever foxes. With Wilhelm Bode, Katrin Schumacher and Judith Schalansky

Edgar, whose father was killed in the war, is being raised by his mother and uncle on Steinhammer Straße in Dortmund in the 1950s. He is expected to take over the barbershop eventually or, if he … This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event “Artist, are you crazy?” Jörg Thadeusz on life in post-war Dortmund

“On the highway overpasses of my youth, at the edge of the town, drunk on yearning, I always felt left behind – while below me everyone was speeding off into the distance”, wrote author Ralf Rothm… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Ralf Rothmann - Theory of Rain

Arielle Freytag is in her early thirties, and she has “made it”. She grew up in Katernberg, a “troubled” neighborhood in the city of Essen, but now has a highly paid job as a social media manager in Dusseld… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event No Good Story with Lisa Roy

The origin story of Philipp Oehmke’s powerful family saga could have come from a script for “White Lotus” or “Succession”: A group of well-off Germans in their mid-20s to mid-70s, standing on the banks of … This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Schönwald. With Philipp Oehmke and Campino

In “Mirror Story”, Ilse Aichinger (1921–2016) tells the life story of a woman backwards. For this book, the Austrian author won the Prize of Group of 47 in 1952. Her novel “The Greater Hope” (1948) is consid… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event “Silence! Let her talk!” Maria Schrader reads Ilse Aichinger

“A sometimes enjoyable, sometimes difficult read which encourages deliberation, and in a very personal and individual manner, explores what it means to be a man, especially outside of the norm, c… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Oh boy! An inventory of masculinity. With Joris Bas Backer, Mithu Sanyal and Donat Blum

No German painter triggers emotions like Caspar David Friedrich. Even today, his evening skies remain icons of yearning; he inspired Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” and Walt Disney’s “Bambi”. But Goethe was … This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Florian Ilies and the Magic Of Silence

The music played by scrap metal collectors as they traversed the streets. Games of skat in the little summerhouse in the garden. The black rings around the eyes of the miners when the showers at the… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Like sweets from the kiosk. A literary review of the little details unique to life in the Ruhr region. With Dietmar Bär, Thomas Böhm and Anna Schudt

“Bin nebenan – Monologe für zuhause” [“I’m Next Door – Monologues for at Home”] is a collection of 12 episodes about people and their attempts to furnish a home. The colors mint green and light blue to ward off da… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Monologues for at home – With Bjarne Mädel and friends

In their sensational podcast “Last Game Standing”, authors Christian Alt and Christian Schiffer have passionate yet harmonious discussions about computer games. But now they have a dispute – and it’s about a… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event They do exist! Christian Alt and Christian Schiffer on UFOs, aliens and Elon Musk

Hamburg, 1955: Uwe begins his apprenticeship as a furrier in his father’s fur business. Clocking in and out every day, he learns the quirks and secrets of this art form. He listens to the stories of h… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event All My Ghosts. With Uwe Timm

“I know what you want,” he says. “You won’t get it.” Muna, or Half a Life is the new novel by Terézia Mora, winner of the Georg Büchner Prize and German Book Prize. In this gripping, touching and articulate … This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Muna, or Half a Life. With Terézia Mora

“Through writing, I have learned to organize my war experiences for myself. Until now, they were like scattered pieces of a puzzle, and it wasn’t clear to me what the big picture would ultimately loo… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event “When the first bombs fell, I was lying on my belly on the bedroom rug and listening to the radio.” Tijan Sila talks to Micky Beisenherz about Radio Sarajevo

With his books “Tasting Sunlight” and “The Grand Summer”, Ewald Arenz has written his way into the hearts of many readers. His latest best seller, Love on Lousy Days, tells the story of Clara and Elias, … This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Ewald Arenz - Love on Lousy Days

“I want to stay where I have never been” is the last line of one of Thomas Brasch’s most famous poems. And it is a key sentiment for the writer, dramatist and filmmaker, whose life was like a “deso… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event “I want to stay where I have never been” An evening dedicated to Thomas Brasch, with Albrecht Schuch and Marion Brasch

Over the past year, have you tried to count the number of times that someone has made you shake your head or want to tear your hair out? You’re probably rolling your eyes right now as you read these l… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event I CAN’T STAND IT! Cordula Stratmann and Bjarne Mädel want to brighten your mood

Aging Dr Stotz lives in a villa on Zurich’s hillside, surrounded by portraits of a young woman. Melody was once his fiancée, but shortly before the wedding – more than forty years ago – she vanished. Stotz … This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Martin Suter and Melody

The political podcast “Lage der Nation” [“State of the Nation”], co-hosted by journalist Philip Banse and lawyer Ulf Buermeyer, is one of Germany’s most successful podcasts. As Germany’s coalition government … This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Germany: A Work in Progress. Philip Banse and Ulf Buermeyer analyze the situation

Facial recognition software and geo-location via drone, smartphone or credit card are well-established technologies. Is it even possible these days for a person to escape from the system of digital… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Going Zero. With Anthony McCarten and Johann von Bülow

Where coal mines, blast furnaces and workers’ housing estates once provided subject matter for investigative reporting features, the current structural transformation of the Ruhr region is more l… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event The revival of the Ruhr Valley. Writers-in-residence Nora Bossong, Per Leo and Wolfram Eilenberger on a region reinventing itself

At a secluded private clinic, a patient makes a seemingly impossible claim: She asserts that she is such a good liar, whatever she says comes true. After every session, where she spills out the… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event The Liar. With Friedemann Karig and Samira El Ouassil

A new book by one of Germany’s greatest contemporary authors, Daniel Kehlmann, is always a big deal. In his outstanding new novel Lichtspiel [“Light Show”], Kehlmann tells the story of G.W. Pabst, perha… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.

More information about the event Daniel Kehlmann presents his latest novel: Lichtspiel