How can the poem cope with the challenges of turbulent times? - Yevgeniy Breyger and Wilhelm Bartsch pose this question together
Participation for EU civil servants and ministerial officials from the permanent representations of the EU member states and interested parties
‘Writing a poem after Auschwitz is barbaric.’ And even though this much-quoted sentence by Theodor W. Adorno has always been the subject of controversy, it seems impossible to find poetic words in the face of speechless brutality. Yet this is exactly what Yevgeniy Breyger did when he learnt of Russia's attack on Ukraine, and Wilhelm Bartsch's poetic journey around the world sometimes takes him to oppressive places. Why they took this risk, what significance the poem has in today's world and why they chose this genre - this and much more will be the subject of the moderated discussion.
Afterwards, we invite you to a reception, which offers the opportunity to meet the two authors in person and have the prize-winning poetry books signed.
Programme
| 18:00 |
Admission |
| 18:30 |
Greetings |
| |
Dr Julia Sattler, Director Goethe-Institut Brussels
Tanja Baerman, Head of the Representation of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen to the EU
Dr Henrike Franz, Head of the Department ‘International Cooperation, EU Affairs, Protocol, Media Policy’ of the State Chancellery and Ministry of Culture of Saxony-Anhalt |
| |
Talk and reading by Wilhelm Bartsch from ‘Hohe See und niemands Land’
Talk and reading by Yevgeniy Breyger from ‘Peace without War’.
Discussion between the authors and questions from the audience |
| 20:00 |
Reception |
| 21:00 |
End of the event |
Moderator:
Katrin Schmidt, Representative Europanetzwerk Deutsch, Goethe-Institut Brussels
Wilhelm Bartsch, born in Eberswalde in 1950, studied philosophy in Leipzig and taught at the literary institute there. In 2025, he was awarded the Bremen Literature Prize for his volume of poetry Hohe See und niemands Land, published by Wallstein Verlag.
In the past, he has received various work and residency scholarships in Germany and abroad, including the Brothers Grimm Prize, the Wilhelm Müller Prize and the Rainer Malkowski Prize in 2024. He writes poems, novels, short stories and essays, most recently Frankensteinmonstrum, Gotische Knoten and Neun Irrfahrten zu Hilbig. Wilhelm Bartsch has lived in Halle (Saale) since 1976.
Wilhelm Bartsch received the Bremen Literature Prize 2025 for his volume of poetry Hohe See und niemands Land.
The jury's statement said: ‘The Bremen Literature Prize 2025 goes to Wilhelm Bartsch for his volume of poetry “Hohe See und niemands Land”, which combines images of a voyage to the north with swansongs to the disappearing natural world in a lively dialogue with European tradition. Shakespeare's love poetry is just as at home in the broad spectrum of forms in his literary cosmos as the historical experience of East Germany between the GDR and the present.’
The Bremen Literature Prize has been awarded by the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen since 1954, making it one of the oldest prizes for German-language literature. The prize is awarded annually as part of the Bremen Literary Week.
Yevgeniy Breyger has published several volumes of poetry, most recently Peace Without War, published by kookbooks in 2023. His work has been honoured with the Munich Poetry Prize, the Leonce and Lena Prize, the manuskripte Prize of the Province of Styria, the Mondsee Poetry Prize, the Christine Lavant Prize and the Klopstock Prize, among others. Breyger lives in Vienna and teaches language arts at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. His first novel will be published by Suhrkamp Verlag this year.
Yevgeniy Breyger was awarded the Klopstock Prize for New Literature of Saxony-Anhalt 2024 for his poetry collection Peace Without War. The jury honoured Peace Without War, which spans the arc from Babyn Yar and the German attack on Kharkiv to the Russian attack on Kharkiv and the current war in ME - in the self, in peace, in the world. It is an attempt to create a language that does not capitulate to this war, that withstands it and does not deny it. Breyger's language ‘bursts into several languages that cannot be translated down to the last word and deny neither anger, nor pain, nor powerlessness, nor shame.’
The Klopstock Prize for Literature is the highest literary prize in the state of Saxony-Anhalt and has been awarded annually since 2015 for outstanding literary achievements.
Applications are possible until 4 April.
Alumni of the Europanetzwerk Deutsch have the opportunity to participate in an
online preparation session on Tuesday, 8 April from 17:00 - 18:30. If you are interested in participating, you can indicate this option in the registration form.
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