Top Reads 2022 | Poetry
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We Would Have Told Each Other Everything
Judith Hermann
‘The story distracts the readers from the heart of the matter; it distracts them from me.’
Fiction by Judith Hermann, translated by Katy Derbyshire.
mutiliation with a goal
Elfriede Czurda
‘the density in the brain telescoped and collapsed with a scream’
Poetry by Elfriede Czurda, translated by Rosmarie Waldrop.
Once Again, Germany Defines Who Is a Jew | Part I
George Prochnik, Eyal Weizman & Emily Dische-Becker
‘We just do not think that it’s for the Germans to say to us what kind of Jews we should be, what kind of project we should be part of.’
George Prochnik in conversation with Emily Dische-Becker and Eyal Weizman, before 7 October 2023.
FC St Pauli
Ilyes Griyeb & Imogen West-Knights
‘If a bar has a St Pauli flag, they know they will find reliably leftish people inside.’
Imogen West-Knights introduces Ilyes Griyeb’s photographs.
Allegro Pastell
Leif Randt
‘It was fantastic to own a phone, it was fantastic to have people you loved in your life.’
Fiction by Leif Randt, translated by Ruth Martin.
Last Week at Marienbad
Lauren Oyler
‘The only thing on the schedule was spa.’
Lauren Oyler on her trip to Marienbad.
The Texture of Angel Matter
Yoko Tawada
‘When human beings fall silent, a music can be heard.’
Fiction by Yoko Tawada, translated by Susan Bernofsky.
From the Planetarium
Ryan Ruby
‘For some it is an endpoint, for others a tear in the very fabric of time.’
Ryan Ruby on the fall of the Berlin wall and the Zeiss-Großplanetarium.
Europe’s Mistake
Jürgen Habermas
‘Today, I no longer believe that the EU will play a globally influential role in the future.’
Granta’s editor interviews Jürgen Habermas.
The Killing of a Berlin Power Broker
Peter Richter
‘Why does the centre of Berlin look like an abandoned shopping mall on the edge of Omaha?’
An essay from Peter Richter, translated by Shaun Whiteside.
Out of the Woods
Elena Helfrecht & Hanna Engelmeier
‘Helfrecht’s forest is a place where dead wood has taken on the form of a woman, where we stare wild animals in the eye, where we suspect body parts may be hidden under the snow.’
Hanna Englemeier introduces photography by Elena Helfrecht. Translated by Peter Kuras.
In the Movie Bunker
Lutz Seiler
‘On 6 April 1981, I walked into the District Conscription Office, thereby obeying the very first command of my time as a soldier.’
Memoir from Lutz Seiler, translated by Martyn Crucefix.
Where the Dragons Live
Clemens Meyer
‘Then they ask me if I love Germany, if I’d show my pussy to dirty Turks and Yugos, all that kind of stuff. It hurts.’
Fiction from Clemens Meyer, translated by Katy Derbyshire.
A Very German Coup
Jan Wilm
‘The suspected ringleader was a 71-year-old real-estate developer with an engineering degree.’
Jan Wilm on an attempted coup in 2022.
Model Country
Shida Bazyar
‘Are you talking as Laleh now, or as the Islamic Republic of Iran? I don’t say anything.’
Fiction by Shida Bazyar, translated by Ruth Martin.
How Lustig is It
Peter Kuras
‘Germans don’t really have a word for ‘funny’, which seems appropriate enough.’
Peter Kuras on German humour.
Out of Germany
Michael Hofmann
‘It is pleasant – to me, confusingly so.’
Michael Hofmann on returning to Germany.
Have a Good Trip with Trabant
Martin Roemers & Durs Grünbein
‘Question: ‘What do a Trabant and a condom have in common?’ Answer: ‘Both decrease the pleasure of the ride.’’
Durs Grünbein introduces photography by Martin Roemers.
Notebook 2021
Peter Handke
‘‘Order is half of life’ – and the other half? – You get one guess.’
Extracts from Peter Handke’s notebook, translated by Peter Kuras.
Reunified German Images
Fredric Jameson
‘Political or not, the element Rauch works in is certainly what we call History.’
Fredric Jameson on the paintings of Neo Rauch.
SO WHAT
Frederick Seidel
‘Poetry is a disgrace on a warm spring day in March. You look at the sky with unconditional love.’
Poetry by Frederick Seidel.
Wings of Red
James W. Jennings
‘Every time you could have died you kind of do.’
An extract from Wings of Red by James. W. Jennings.
Israel in 600 Words or Less
Etgar Keret
‘My mind contains a lot of good answers to bad questions’
Etgar Keret on the impossibility of representing a nation.
His Idylls at Happy Grove
Ishion Hutchinson
'the sand trenches, where the anonymous / sprung up a permanent humility.'
Poetry from Ishion Hutchinson
