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Explore Essays and memoir

Evaporation in the Boundary Zone

Ilija Matusko

‘From a dish washer to an author who writes about washing dishes.’

Memoir by Ilija Matusko, translated by Jen Calleja.

Lentille

Urs Mannhart

‘I can’t help Lentille. Even though she roars. As long as she roars, I won’t be able to work.’

An essay from Urs Mannhart, translated by Christine Müller

Haruspex

Rebecca May Johnson

‘How can I accept a trauma or a loss that I cannot define?’

Rebecca May Johnson on pregnancy and divining the future.

Introduction

Thomas Meaney

‘This issue of Granta collects writing headed full tilt in the opposite direction from the literary lassitude of the land.’

The editor introduces the issue.

Today We Just Say Germany

Alexander Kluge

‘A philosopher will reflect on the world from any place.’

Alexander Kluge on Germany, translated by Peter Kuras.

Auto Mind

Adrian Daub

‘Today, Germany knows it’s supposed to talk about cars.’

Adrian Daub on car-washing the past.

Living with Germanness

Nell Zink

‘It sounds like a stand-up comedy routine, but it’s true: I moved to Germany to get away from attractive men.’

Nell Zink on German men.

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.

Last Week at Marienbad

Lauren Oyler

‘The only thing on the schedule was spa.’

Lauren Oyler on her trip to Marienbad.

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.

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.

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.