Academy of Poetry Criticism

While poetry in Germany has become more dynamic and productive than ever, poetry criticism has fallen severely behind as an art form and bridge connecting the public and poetry. The project organisers claim that instead of engaging readers in thoughtful reflection, poetry criticism has become marginalised in the print media and often delivers little more than descriptive reviews of poetic content. The Literaturbrücke Berlin is organising an “Academy of Poetry Criticism” to counter this disparity and provide a new impulse to poetry criticism with regard to its role in art and reception, and in poetry and the public. How does one craft high-quality poetry criticism so that the critique itself is viewed as an artwork? And how can one generate public awareness of this intention? The coordinators plan to offer private seminars and public events specifically targeted at writers and journalists with the aim of awakening new interest in poetry criticism and recasting it as an (artistic) instrument.

Artistic directors: Hendrik Jackson, Asmus Trautsch
Writers: Michael Braun, Julietta Fix, Franz Josef Czernin (AT), Gerhard Falkner, Paul Jandl (AT), Christian Metz, Daniela Strigl (AT), Insa Wilke, Martin Zingg (CH)