On September 12, recently selected Villa Aurora fellow Volker Harry Altwasser will be featured at Kulturbrauerei in their series „Literarische Freiheit“ (literary freedom) He will read from his hot-off-the press novel „Ich, dann eine Weile nichts. ein Theaterroman.“ (Me and nothing else for a while. a theater novel. Published by Matthes & Seitz Berlin)

Volker Harry Altwasser, was born in 1969 in Greifswald. He trained to be an electrician and worked as a stoker with the East German railroad, a sailor in the National People’s Army and a private on the frigate „Bremen“ where he failed to be promoted to Private First Class, due to the fact that he „missed“ his ship in Las Palmas.

From 1998 to 2002 he studied at the German Literary Institute of the University of Leipzig. He published several books among them being his debut novel „Wie ich vom Ausschneiden loskam“ (How I Kicked the Habit of Clipping), 2003 . Other titles include „Letzte Haut“ (Last Skin) (2009) , „Letztes Schweigen“ (Last Hush) (2010) und „Letzte Fischer“ (Last Fisherman) (2011), which made the long list for the German Book Award. In 2001, Altwasser won the Italo Svevo Award.

„Ich dann eine Weile nichts. ein Theaterroman.“ Failure a Triumph – A German Hamlet

The novel is the literary awakening of Bogislaw (1580- 1637), the last duke of Pomerania. Altwasser gives that tragic character from a glorious dynasty his own voice. In front of a thoroughly reconstructed backdrop, he creates the psycho gram of a failing man and, with surprising hints to Shakespeare and Schiller, he traces a breathtaking arc. The „grand story teller, fisherman of men“ (so Thomas Hürlimann) courageously stages an audacious theater play, imbedded in a litany of desperation and reflection on ruling and the power of weakness. Bogislaw, who wanted it all, ends up losing even himself.

With this novel, Altwasser sets foot onto new literary territory, the borders of which stretch from Schiller to Artaud.The series „Literarische Freiheit“ is organized be Johan de Blank und Michael J. Stephan in collaboration with Kulturbrauerei.

Location: SODA Salon at Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstr. 97, 10435 Berlin