“Heimatgold” is the name of a novel by Andreas Lechner, in which he describes the life of his grandfather; his name was Josef Straßberger and he had a big goal as a weightlifter: to become the strongest man in the world. “Heimatgold” could also be used as the subliminal motto of the “Bavarian Book Days”, which take place for the first time in Berlin from the end of March to the end of May – on the initiative of Lechner, who was born in Munich and now lives in the capital. The “always pulsating tension between Munich and Berlin” should enrich these book days, he hopes, and point to an “unmistakable Bavarian milieu”. This undoubtedly includes the busy musician, director, author and actor himself; and the fact that between Munich and Berlin men keep getting upset when they want to become the strongest in the world is also of ongoing relevance.
Not only between Munich and Bavaria, which is why the photo book “Putin Putin…” by the Munich-born artist Ira Blazejewska will also play a role in the program between the Bavarian Representation, Lechner’s gallery bar Tor218 Artlab and the Tucholsky bookstore. Oskar Roehler is to read from a novel by Klaus Richter, Bernd Schroeder from his own about two misfits from Munich, and Anton G. Leitner to the “summit of subversive dialect poetry”. And what war means, the novel “Fuchsrot und Feldgrau” by Axel Lawaczeck is intended to make it clear to Berliners based on the fate of a Bavarian lieutenant in 1944, as several of the books presented were published by the Munich Volk Verlag, which was one of the organizers.
The initiative could be expanded in several ways, after all there are still a few more publishers in Bavaria, including strong authors, by the wayinsidein. But these book days are only a test balloon. Whether the Berliners appreciate the Bavarian home gold? Even if you don’t tend towards local patriotism: This is an action that doesn’t make the world worse for a change, but more interesting and colorful. And that’s always nice.