It’s the same as it used to be, but nothing is the same as it used to be. After two years of moving to some very pretty backyards due to the pandemic, the poet festival in Erlangen is taking place again in the palace garden and the surrounding baroque buildings. There, the new autumn releases are presented by the authors themselves, and a slight irritation creeps into this literary midsummer night’s dream at the first reading on Saturday, when the city of Lemberg appears in Shelly Kupferberg’s novel “Isidor”. Lviv has been in the news for months under the Ukrainian name Lviv, as the city in western Ukraine that has become the new home for thousands of internally displaced people.
Although the Poetry Festival is to take place again as it was before Corona, the experiences from the pandemic and the latest news from the war in Ukraine hang above all. The expectation and hope that literature could provide answers or explanations for these world crises seems to prevail in the palace garden. Literature seems to be in demand again as a seismograph of the present. The fact that this expectation is addressed, but not overstrained, is a testament to the class and level of this festival.
The war and the pictures from the war zone are discussed
The political part of the program this year is dedicated to the war in Ukraine with several events. Thomas Dworzak, photographer and former head of the Magnum agency, as well as media scientist Annekathrin Kohout and war reporter Gabriele Riedle discuss an aspect of the Russian war of aggression that everyone has already come into contact with: the images from the war zone.
Dworzak explains that we are experiencing a new aesthetic in war photography because of the smartphone images, which always look a little “crisper” than other photos. The war seems more beautiful than reality, as if provided with a flavor enhancer. Kohout adds that these amateur images now sit side by side with professional photos on social media – this permanent presence also requires constant interaction with the war from viewers. Gabriele Riedle, on the other hand, pointed out right at the beginning that war reporting had been a part of literature since Homer’s “Iliad”: “From Homer onwards there was an aesthetic quality.” Another interesting side aspect: Reports from the war, whether in image or text form, were always a form of entertainment. War photographer Robert Capa published his pictures in the glossy magazine Life.
War was not always something that only happened to others, as it had been in Germany in the last few decades. Dworzak sums it up in relation to the flood of images on social networks: “We had a luxury. The luxury of isolation.”
Looking away was a luxury one can no longer afford
Writer Nora Bossong takes a similar view. “The security policy issues have long been forgotten.” Her current book “The Smooth Ones” is about the generation of around 40-year-olds to which she herself belongs. The book happened to be published on the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Bossong had to push through the chapter about a German army pilot against the publisher’s concerns. Now it’s cutting edge.
In addition to writing, Bossong is currently working in the Airbus Group’s “Technical Responsibility Working Group”, where she deals with ethical issues relating to new air combat weapon systems. Germany has a lot of catching up to do in terms of security policy and with regard to a pan-European strategy. Moderator Nana Brink asks whether the literary scene has also failed to think about the possibility of war? Bossong was rather missing the debate in society as a whole. “Literature doesn’t have to be political and serve the seismograph,” she replies. “But if we look at the really big debates in the arts section, then it didn’t happen anymore, and that was also a great luxury.”
Looking the other way was a luxury that you can no longer afford or want. A discussion panel with Mithu Sanyal, Winni Modesto and Sharon Dodua Otoo, which deals with the experiences of minorities in the literary world, shows how new the old world of literature has become. Sanyal in particular, who stirred up the identity politics discourse with her novel “Identitti” in 2021 and emphasizes that diversity is permanent work, then brings out this small fact that has actually been known for a long time, which shows how narrow the perspective of the literary business can sometimes be: Thomas Mann , who is now considered the epitome of the white male author, was the son of a Brazilian mother.