The literary series Vorzeichen began as a critique of the canon. Vorzeichen focuses on reading as a practice for critiquing structures of power and illuminating questions of whom, what, and most of all how we read. Through author readings and interventions, book discussions and reviews on Instagram, Vorzeichen highlighted the plurality of themes and aesthetics developing beyond the confines of the canonization process.

On December10, 2024, the series will wrap up with a live stream from the Literary Colloquium Berlin. Author and publicist Christiane Frohmann commences the evening with a discussion of work in the literary scene to combat rightwing extremism. It concludes with a discussion by Simoné Goldschmidt-Lechner (SGL) and Ralph Tharayil about their books.

The conversation will be moderated by the independent literary scholar and critic Maha El Hissy, who is curating the 2024 #Vorzeichen series for the Goethe-Institut Northwestern Europe. The conversation will be held in German and broadcast via Zoom. As always, online participation is free of charge, and all are welcome.
 
If you are in Berlin, you can join the conversation live at the LCB.

The political dimension of literary genres and narrative forms

In Nimm die Alpen weg  [Roll Back the Mountains] (Voland & Quist) Tharayil narrates pictures of a childhood in Switzerland, an anonymous sibling pair, Ma and Pa, kitchens, aprons, and telephone booths, mountains, and Switzerland.

»The food is in the
school bag.

The radio is in the
school bag along with the cassette tapes with our excuses.«

Ralph Tharayil: Nimm die Alpen weg [Roll Back the Mountains]. Voland & Quist, 2023. 

SGL’s book, Days you’ll find me (in a place I like to go) (Matthes & Seitz), tells the story of Rahel who has to report a rape to the police. But not everyone in the victim hierarchy has access to help, while some perpetrators appear ‘plausible.’ Reality and fiction become so intertwined that one converges with the other, interrupting literary form through narration. The works of SGL and Tharayil demonstrate how literary genres and narrative forms can always only be political.

»You talk about bending, bending, bending without
breaking. Well, it did break
in the end now, didn’t it.«

Simoné Goldschmidt-Lechner: Days you’ll find me (in a place I like to go).  Matthes & Seitz, 2024.

Both books were reviewed as part of the project by Armin, one of the three winners of our open call at the beginning of the year. You can read the reviews here:

About the authors

Christiane Frohmann is an author, publicist, curator, consultant, and public speaker. Her theoretical and practical interests center on aesthetic, technological, and ethical conditions, particularly the possibilities of digital publishing. Since 2018, she is frequently represented in public by her fictional literary characters the Pre-Raphaelite Girls. Her latest novella, Vier Wochen [Four Weeks] will be published in spring 2025 by mikrotext.

Simoné Goldschmidt-Lechner (SGL) is a writer and translator interested in (queer) online fandoms, postmigrant horror narratives, language in video games and linguistic experimentation. SGL writes in German and English and is involved with various theater, performance, and film projects. They are also co-editor of the literature magazine process*i. Their debut novel Messer, Zungen [Knives, Tongues] was published by Matthes & Seitz in 2022 and followed two years later by Days you'll find me (in a place I like to go).

Ralph Tharayil was born in Switzerland and lives in Berlin. He studied History, Media Studies, and Literature in Basel where he also worked in theater, as an author, and as a musician. He later worked as a copywriter for advertising agencies in Hamburg. Tharayil develops texts and concepts for audio formats and performances (also in collaboration); his prose and poetry have received numerous distinctions and awards. Published by Voland & Quist in 2023, Nimm die Alpen weg is his novelistic debut.

#Vorzeichen

Further information about the project #Vorzeichen including recordings of past events can be found here: