Paul Celan Literature Festival 2020

Readings, discussions and book presentations in Ukraine and Germany

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This year offers two historical-biographical occasions to commemorate one of the greatest German-speaking poets of the 20th century: 23 November marks Paul Celan’s 100th anniversary, and just 50 years later, the poet died under tragic circumstances in Paris. He is the author of perhaps one of the best-known poems of the post-war period: “Todesfuge”. The trauma of the Holocaust became one of the recurring motifs for the Jewish poet and native of Czernowitz, whose overwhelming popularity in Germany helped establish him as one of world’s leading poets of post-war modernism.

The Ukrainian city of Czernowitz is Europe’s unofficial capital of poetry; long has poetry shaped the cultural life of the city. It is fitting, therefore, that Celan’s 100th birthday will be celebrated throughout the city in the form of a major festival with numerous events. The Paul Celan Literature Festival 2020 from 21 to 23 November 2020 in Czernowitz is embedded in an extensive two-year programme comprised of readings, seminars, discussions, a congress and presentation of a new anthology in several cities in Germany and Ukraine. The residency programme offers German and Ukrainian writers and translators an opportunity to intensively acquaint themselves with Celan’s work, his significance in the current situation in Ukraine, and perspectives on the cultural relationship between both countries. The Paul Celan Literature Festival 2020 aims to raise awareness of the historical and current influence of Paul Celan on contemporary poetry.

Artistic director: Evgenia Lopata
Authors: Yurii Andrukhovych, Max Czollek, Tetiana Maliarchuk, Katja Petrowskaja, Igor Pomeranzev, Peter Rychlo, Thomas Sparr, Yoko Tawada, Ron Winkler, Serhiy Zhadan and others

Additional Venues:

  • “Paul Celan 100” residency: 1 Jul. – 30 Oct. 2020
  • book presentation at the Lemberg Book Fair, Lemberg: 17–20 Sep. 2020
  • lecture series, Paul Celan Literature Festival, Czernowitz: 21–23 Nov. 2020
  • reading tour (presentation of the anthology in Germany): 5–11 Dec. 2020

Events

No upcoming events at present

Previous events

  • 29 May, 2021 to 30 May, 2021: Book presentation

    6pm–6:40pm | with Klaus Reichert, Tanja Maljartschuk and Serhij Zhadan

    Leipzig Book Fair, www.youtube.com/watch, online

Contact

Ukrainisches Atelier für Kultur und Sport e.V.

Rosenbergstr. 47 b
70176 Stuttgart

www.celanzentrum.com (external link, opens in a new window)