20th poesiefestival berlin casts a glance at the art of poetry in the US. Programme with Eileen Myles, Queer Poets and Walt Whitman

23.05.2019

The 20th poesiefestival berlin (14 – 20 June) forges the USA into focus. A stage production relocates Walt Whitman‘s Leaves of Grass to an American trailer park and unfolds into a kaleidoscopic verbal journey through the landscape of the United States. In the associated Poetry Talk Kyle Dacuyan (USA) from the Poetry Project New York, the director of the staging, Leopold von Verschuer (Germany) and Ulla Haselstein (Germany) from the John F. Kennedy-Institute of the Freie Universität Berlin will be attempting to get to the bottom of how Whitman and his Leaves of Grass interrogate present-day USA and Europe.

The translation workshop VERSschmuggel – ReVERSible pairs up six US poets (Jericho Brown, Mario Chard, Linda Gregerson, Ilya Kaminsky, Sandra Meek, Brenda Shaughnessy) and six German poets. The results of this intensive poetic exchange will be presented in a bilingual reading and in an anthology due for publication by Das Wunderhorn Verlag in Spring 2020. In the Poetry Talk A Peaceful Country the authors from the workshop will be talking about the social climate on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Two events on queer poetry are linked to 50 years of Stonewall, referring to the riots in the gay scene bar “Stonewall Inn” in New York that marked the beginning of the Christopher Street Day parades and the gay rights movement worldwide. Readings and discussion in Queer Poets. Queer Voices – 50 Years on from Stonewall reflect on the current situation of the LGTB-community in different countries with Angélica Freitas (Brazil), Lee Mokobe (South Africa), Urayoán Noel (Puerto Rico/USA) and Eugeniusz Tkaczyszyn-Dycki (Poland). In the panel discussion Stonewall was a riot! the US authors Edmund White, Eileen Myles and Jericho Brown, will try to get to the bottom of what remains of the spirit of that revolt.

The spoken word icon from the US, Sarah Kay, together with Yugen Blakrok (South Africa), Francesca Beard (Malaysia/UK) and Julian Heun (Germany) perform in the first-rate spoken word night Superpowerpoetry.

A Poet’s Evening and a Poetry Talk about Translingual Poetics present border crossers in language. Don Mee Choi (South Korea/USA), LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs (USA), Johannes Göransson (Sweden/USA), Sawako Nakayasu (Japan/USA) und Urayoán Noel (Puerto Rico/USA) have the US as common reference point but how can English be bent towards Spanish, Swedish, Korean, Japanese, Maori, Hindi and Swahili? The authors will be presenting their texts as sound installation, performance, reading or collage.

 

Events of the 20th poesiefestival berlin related to the US

 

Weltklang – Night of Poetry

FR 14 June | 8 pm | Studio | 13/8 € incl. anthology

info & tickets: bit.ly/2HvI6SB

With Yugen Blakrok (South Africa) | Patrizia Cavalli (Italy) | Anja Golob (Slovenia) | Rainer René Mueller (Germany) | Eileen Myles (USA) | Marion Poschmann (Germany) | Fatemeh Shams (Iran/USA) | Keston Sutherland (UK) | Xi Chuan (China)

Presenter: Maren Jäger (Germany) literary scholar

In the original languages and in German translation.

 

superpowerpoetry

Spoken Word meets Slam Poetry meets Hip Hop

SA 15 June | 8 pm | Kl. Parkett | 14/10 €

info & tickets: bit.ly/2HwZczJ

With Yugen Blakrok (South Africa) | Sarah Kay (USA) | Francesca Beard (Malaysia /UK) | Julian Heun (Germany) | Presenter: Julian Heun  

The event will be taking place in German and English. The texts are available in their original language only.


Stonewall was a riot!

Panel discussion for the 50th anniversary of the New York gay uprising

MO 17 June | 5.30 pm | Clubraum | 6/4 € · 13/8 € Combiticket incl. reading

info & tickets: bit.ly/2VFcw92

With Edmund White (USA) | Eileen Myles (USA) | Jericho Brown (USA) Presenter: Peter Rehberg (Germany) cultural and media scholar

English-German interpreting will be available for the event.

 

Queer poets. Queer Voices – 50 Years on from Stonewall

MO 17 June | 7.30 pm | Kl. Parkett | 10/7 € · 13/8 € Combiticket incl. Poetry Talk

info & tickets: bit.ly/2HasLH1

Reading and discussion with Angélica Freitas (Brazil) | Lee Mokobe (South Africa) | Urayoán Noel (Puerto Rico/USA) | Eugeniusz Tkaczyszyn-Dycki (Poland)

Presenter: Matthias Frings (Germany) journalist and author

English-German interpreting will be available for the event. The texts are available in German translation.

 

Poets’ Evening #6: Freily ausgefranst. Translingual Poetics

MO 17 June | 9.30 pm | Studiofoyer | 10/7 €

info & tickets: bit.ly/2VJoFcX

Performances with the authors Don Mee Choi (South Korea/USA) | LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs (USA) | Johannes Göransson (Sweden/USA) | Sawako Nakayasu (Japan/USA) | Urayoán Noel (Puerto Rico/USA) | Concept and presenters: Christian Hawkey (USA) poet und Uljana Wolf (Germany) poet 

The event will be taking place in German and English and interpreting will not be available. A chapbook will be published for the event by hochroth, including statements, texts and translations and will be on sale on the evening for € 8.

 

Poetry Talk: Freily ausgefranst. Translingual Poetics

TUE 18 June | 4.30 pm | Clubraum | 6/4 €

info & tickets: bit.ly/2HNDlmq

With Don Mee Choi (South Korea/USA) | LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs (USA) | Johannes Göransson (Sweden/USA) | Sawako Nakayasu (Japan/USA) | Urayoán Noel (Puerto Rico/USA) | Concept and presenters: Christian Hawkey (USA) poet und Uljana Wolf (Germany) poet 

English-German interpreting will be available for the event.

 

Poetry Talk: A Peaceful Country

TUE 18 June | 6 pm | Clubraum | 6/4 € · 13/8 € Combiticket incl. VERSschmuggel / reVERSible

info & tickets: bit.ly/2VIwrnq

With Linda Gregerson (USA) | Ilya Kaminsky (USA) | Ulrich Koch (Germany) | Ronya Othmann (Germany) | Presenter: Karolina Golimowska (Germany) literary scholar and translator

English-German interpreting will be available for the event.

 

VERSschmuggel – USA – Germany – reVERSible

TUE 18 June | 7.30 pm | Kl. Parkett | 10/7 € · 13/8 € Combiticket incl. Poetry Talk

info & tickets: bit.ly/2we7Psv

With Jericho Brown (USA) & Georg Leß (Germany) | Mario Chard (USA) & Ronya Othmann (Germany) | Linda Gregerson (USA) & Ulrich Koch (Germany) | Ilya Kaminsky (USA) & Dagmara Kraus (Germany) | Sandra Meek  (USA) & Yevgeniy Breyger (Germany) | Brenda Shaughnessy (USA) & Anja Kampmann (Germany) | Presenter: Karolina Golimowska (Germany) literary scholar and translator

With the assistance of language mediators Irina Bondas (Germany) | Catherine Hales (UK & Germany) | Magdalena Kotzurek (Germany) | Anneke Lubkowitz (Germany) | Lilian Maria Pithan (Germany) | Joel Scott (Australia)

Reading and discussion in English and German.


Poetry Talk: Walt Whitman – Leaves of Grass

WED 19 June | 6 pm | Clubraum | 6/4 € · 13/8 € incl. staging

info & tickets: bit.ly/2wo2ajP

Kyle Dacuyan (USA) The Poetry Project New York | Leopold von Verschuer (Germany) director in conversation with Ulla Haselstein (Germany) John F. Kennedy Institute of the Freie Universität Berlin

English-German interpreting will be available for the event.


Walt Whitman: Leaves of Grass – A Staging

WED 19 June | 7.30 pm | Studio | 13/8 € incl. Poetry Talk

info & tickets: bit.ly/2VWiGXf

Director: Leopold von Verschuer | Actors: Claudia Burckhardt | Tony De Maeyer | Matthias Rheinheimer | Leopold von Verschuer | Voice: Sarah van der Kemp | Piano: Adrian Heger | Music: George Crumb | Paul Hindemith | Franz Schreker | Kurt Weill

In the German translation by Jürgen Brôcan.

 

The 20th poesiefestival berlin is a project of the Haus für Poesie in co-operation with the Academy of Arts. Sponsored by funding from the Hauptstadtkulturfonds (Capital City Cultural Fund) and the German Foreign Ministry, with the kind assistance of the Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin. Presented by taz, BÜCHERmagazin, tip Berlin, ASK HELMUT and Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

 

14–20 June 2019

20. poesiefestival berlin: Finally time for Language

Akademie der Künste

Hanseatenweg 10

10557 Berlin

 

Press photos for download:

https://www.haus-fuer-poesie.org/en/press/press-photos/

 

For inquiries and information:

Haus für Poesie

Silvia Halfter

Media and Public Relations

Tel: 030. 48 52 45 24

E-Mail: presse@haus-fuer-poesie.org