Schiller 2005

In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Friedrich Schiller's death, the Federal Cultural Foundation is funding a number of projects:

Schiller 24
24-hours-reading

Numerous well-known representatives of politics, culture, music, society, theatre and film will join the event which marks the beginning of the Schiller commemorative year. More

Schiller international
Lecture series

Friedrich Schiller is an writer whose ideas have transgressed national borders and whose works have made an impact on an international level. He drew his subject matter from a several European countries - and if he had completed his planned "Sea Plays" (Seestücke), he would have added a whole new world overseas to his literary cosmos. Friedrich Schiller obviously had the ambition to become a kind of global writer.
A group of internationally renowned scholars will be gathering in Marbach to give a series of lectures on the importance of Schiller's writings and ideas for their countries' literary and cultural histories. All the lecturers come from countries or regions whose historic background provided the material for the plays written by Germany's famous poet: Great Britain, Spain, France, Russia, Italy and Switzerland. Some of the guest speakers in Marbach will include George Steiner, who will open the festival with a lecture at the exhibition commencement on 23 April, Adolf Muschg (Switzerland), Ute Frevert (Germany), Nicholas Boyle (Great Britain) and Michel Tournier (France).
The series of lectures titled "Schiller international" is part of the special exhibition "Götterpläne & Mäusegeschäfte. Schiller 1759-1805".

Schiller in Comics
Special issue of the Marbacher Magazine and exhibition
Date of issue: April 2005

Schiller as a comic strip character? The well-known comics artist Horus (Horus W. Odenthal) will be portraying the poet from a rather different point of view. In cooperation with the ehapa comic collection in Cologne, the Schiller National Museum and the German Literature Archive (DLA) will be publishing a comic book in May 2005 depicting Schiller's thrilling escape from Swabia.
Building on this dramatic incident, Horus will then include other significant events from Schiller's biography in text form and illustrations. An exhibition will document the development of the book and will open at Schiller's birthplace in May 2005, at which time the comic book will also be published.
Horus is not only an expert on Schiller's works; he is considered one of today's most prominent German comic artists. He has regularly developed comic book stories for publishers in Germany and the United States for more than ten years.
The 50-page comic book will be also be published as a special issue for subscribers of the "Marbacher Magazine".

Philosophical Walks: Schiller and his impact on modern discourse
Lecture series
Marbach, beginning in September 2005

Schiller actively participated in the philosophical debates of his time. "You will surely never guess what I'm now studying," he wrote to his friend Körner in March 1791. "Nothing worse than Kant. His criticism of the power of judgement, which I have purchased for myself, captivates me with its brilliant, intellectually stimulating content and has stirred the deepest desire within me to slowly become familiar with his philosophy." His interest in Kant's philosophy was to become a decisive turning point in Schiller's life. And for his part, Kant keenly observed the development of the poet's work. Fichte, Schelling and Novalis contacted Schiller personally. And Hegel was so inspired by Schiller's "Philosophical Letters" that he used two of its verses - slightly altered - in "The Phenomenology of Mind": "From the chalice of this spiritual realm / Gushes forth its eternity."
Schiller is considered one of the most important representatives of German Idealism, and some even give him credit for inventing it. How intensive were Schiller's philosophical endeavours really? What impact did his work have on the development of the freedom principle in historical philosophy and ethics, or on philosophical aesthetics and game theory? The role of Schiller as a philosopher will be the topic of five to seven lectures, given by some of today's most prominent scholars.
The lecture series is planned to begin in September 2005 and extend over two months.

Schiller: Role Model, Counterexample, Provocation
Writers conference
Marbach, 20 November 2005

No other German classical writer is as controversial as Friedrich Schiller. As the quintessential national poet, he has been both celebrated and scorned for the last two hundred years. In many respects, he has truly remained Germany's national poet - a poet whose nation repeatedly elevated him to secular sainthood throughout its turbulent history.
The German Literature Archive will be hosting a writers conference titled "Schiller: Role Model, Counterexample, Provocation" to address the "Schiller issue". The Archive will offer well-known writers the opportunity to clarify their relationship with Schiller and discuss the poet's significance for their own work. The participants will re-examine Schiller's frugal life, his yearning for greatness which was reflected in his plays, his aesthetic pathos and the radical nature of his enlightened thought. The conference will take place in Marbach on 20 November 2005.