Mankind Mankind joins the talents of two women who are fierce, fabulous and maybe just a little bit nuts. But these are no ditzy ingénues. These are interdisciplinary artists who have been around the block and aren’t afraid to get a little dirty in the pursuit of strange and wonderful artistic territory. Friends for years, they formed this duo to have fun and to create strong sensations in the world of performance poetry. Pressed to define what they do, they would say: " Sonic cinema, with a visual bonu ... more Mankind
Ana Luísa Amaral Ana Luísa Amaral (born 1956, Portugal) studied English in Lisbon and wrote a doctoral thesis on Emily Dickinson. She teaches English Literature at the University of Porto. In her poems she confronts features of the literary tradition that strike her as odd: male dominated poetry and the myths of Western culture. Everyday women's topics often collide with images of biblical origin and Greek myths are retold from a female point of view. Voices from poetry of the past become loud when they relate ... more
Marzanna Bogumila Kielar Marzanna Bogumila Kielar (born 1963 in Goldap, Poland) debuted in 1992 with the poetry collection “Sacra Conversazione”, for which she won two major literary prizes the same year. She writes subtle, personal verse into which she constantly threads references to culture and philosophy. Her images are practically tangible in their strength and sharpness. “The poems of Marzanna Boqumila Kielar reconstruct a mythical, motionless space.” (Andrzej Stasiuk). Publications:Sacra Conversazione (1992)Mater ... more
Roman Honet Roman Honet (born 1974 in Krakow, Poland) is a polish poet and literary critic. He teaches Creative Writing in the literary-artistic studio at the Jagellonian University in Krakow. From 1995-2008 he edited the literary journal “Studium” and the books published by this journal. His poems have been translated into several languages including English, German, Russian and Italian. Honet’s verse is full of contrasts, with a moving combination of sensitivity, sensibility and cruelty. It is dominated b ... more
Neşe Yaşin Neşe Yaşin (b. 1959 in Peristerona, Cyprus) is a Turkish-Cypriot poet and teaches the Turkish language at the University of Cyprus. In 1965, she and her family fled to the north of the island. A sociologist and peace activist, she was critical of the internationally unrecognised regime of the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'. Her political convictions led her to move in 1997 to the Republic of Cyprus, where she has since then been active in the Greek Cypriot popular movement, including as c ... more
Irene Mattioli Irene Mattioli (born in 1976 in Rome, Italy) lives and works as a director in Zurich. After completing a course in directing at the Accademia Nazionale "Silvio D’Amico" in Rome, she came on a scholarship to Berlin in 2004, becoming active in the Acting course at the Universität der Künste. As founder of the Bagatelle No. 5 ensemble, she has staged works by such authors as Ingeborg Bachmann and Jean Cocteau. Projects such as "Working for Paradise", a workshop as part of the Na ... more
Siham Bouhlal Siham Bouhlal (b. 1966 in Casablanca, Morocco) is a writer and translator living in Paris. She studied Literature at the Sorbonne. She translates mediaeval and contemporary Arabic texts into French. Her own poems are short and elegant, sensuous and elegiac at the same time. She writes in free verse completely without punctuation so as to enable the reader to experience the rhythm directly. The subjects she deals with in her poetry are the great subjects of all literature – love and death. Althou ... more
Youssef Rzouga Youssef Rzouga (b. 1957 in Mahdia, Tunisia) is one of the Maghreb's most important writers. His earliest poems date from the early 1970s. They are marked by their innovativeness and reveal their author's encyclopaedic knowledge covering not only literature but also mathematics, biology and physics. What is remarkable is his attitude to the various literary traditions he moves among, transferring, for instance, Arabic prosody into his poems written in French. His texts bear witness to an inexhaus ... more
Caroline Melzer Caroline Melzer has been a permanent member of the Komische Oper Berlin ensemble since 2007 and regularly sings the major roles, most recently those of Countess Almaviva in “The Marriage of Figaro” and Giulietta in “The Tales of Hoffman”. Her wider activities as a concert singer include performances at festivals such as the UltraSchall Festival Berlin or the Rheingau Musik Festival. In addition to opera, this multi-faceted singer is also interested in singing “Lieder” and interpreting New Music. ... more
Küçük İskender Küçük İskender (*1964 Istanbul, Turkey) is currently one of Turkey’s most popular and most radical poets. The publisher Beatrix Caner calls him a “true rebel”. He comes from a wealthy family from which he broke away at an early age. His work defies all classification. His first poems appeared in journals in 1986. He has since published many essays and novels in addition to poetry collections. In his poems, he effortlessly links from high and sub-culture with aggressive, flowing language. N ... more
