Our last weekend together at ASH in Berlin. I can't quite believe that four semesters, 15 modules, the work in the feedback groups and almost all the exams will be a thing of the past. Somehow everyone seems more relaxed than usual. It's hot outside the windows, the seminar room is humorous and productive. Questions about the evening's schedule come up again and again.
On this evening, everyone has the opportunity to present one of their texts that they have written during the course of their studies. For weeks now, there has been the opportunity to present texts in the colloquium and get advice. The schedule has now been uploaded to Moodle, but as not everyone has been able to open this file, it is exciting to see who will read out when. It is particularly exciting because this time we will not be reading in the usual ASH seminar room environment. Our lecturer Guido Rademacher, who has accompanied us for four semesters and provided us with advice and support, has organized the Lettrétage in Berlin Mitte for us. This evening there will be an official performative reading open to the public. In addition to the readers themselves, the public will probably consist mainly of families and friends of the authors, but these are only ever known to one of the students. The excitement is building.
It is precisely because of this excitement, because it is getting warmer and everyone should still have enough time to eat something before the reading begins, that we finish our last module a little earlier and set off.
The anchor institution for the independent literary scene is located on the second floor of Veteranenstraße 21. The room gradually fills up around 7:30 pm. Shortly before the start, chairs actually have to be carried into the auditorium.
The well-attended audience then starts with a welcome from Guido Rademacher. Before the guests hear the first text, they can enjoy live music from singer-songwriters Isabell Wiehler and Uwe Friede, the band "SiU".
The first contribution by student Marta Marx already suggests a broad spectrum of text creation. As she was unable to travel in person, she transmitted a speech and sound file that echoes personally and experimentally through the room. Stefan Pamperin will then read an abridged version of the short story he wrote in the Prose module, which even made it onto the longlist of the German Short Story Competition. Ute Reimers shows in lyrical form how she has come to terms with her limitations following shoulder surgery, inspiring the audience. Mareike Mischke presents her short text on the impulse "Wenn ich schreibe" (When I write), which she wrote in her first semester. She then presents the audience with her poem on the same impulse from the third semester as well as another gently recited, touching poem.
The next part of the event continues directly with lyrical texts. Frances Thiessen reads an echo poem from her examination performance in the poetry module and reports on how she fared with writing and the assessment of writing. The audience will enjoy another insight into the students' work. Elisabeth Rudisch's very personal poems, which deal with her time in the former GDR, among other things, also touch the audience. Anna Groß then makes everyone smile with her "flowery field of words" in a text from the "Methods, Techniques, Scenarios" module from the first semester and then takes them on a lively "rust bucket road trip" that stimulates the audience's senses. As Jasaman Behrouz is unfortunately also spontaneously unable to attend, but we all really appreciate her texts, two fellow students present their text, which was written as part of the novel workshop, a compulsory elective module in the fourth semester. The audience is also very impressed by their writing.
After so much text input, the break is just right. We meet in the building's inner courtyard and take stock. The atmosphere is appreciative and very positive, we look forward to the second part and hope the guests feel the same.
The third block starts again with a musical contribution from the band SiU, before May Minhel takes everyone to swimming pools with two texts. She presents the beginning of a novel, arousing curiosity to read more and then shows what exciting texts can be created through freewriting. Margarita Ruby decided against conventional academic writing for her master's thesis. Her introduction lyrically shows how she playfully writes down knowledge. Something that most of the audience have probably never heard before. The applause for her contribution also shows that everyone is enthusiastic. In the abridged version of Michelle Schmiedeberg's short story, the audience gets to know two protagonists and their children who always want to hear the same bedtime story in the evening. In this way, she manages to incorporate a fairy tale into the story, which subsequently explains the protagonists' past. Stefanie Matt's excerpt from the short story "Vom Drücken und Ziehen des Lebens" then takes everyone on the journey of a protagonist and many alliterations that captivate the audience.
The last block begins with a lecture by Sylvia Galossi, who lyrically describes a walk through her neighborhood in her Theory of Relativity. Then it's my turn to describe the everyday life of mentally ill people to the audience in a lyrical form reminiscent of a poetry slam.(Click here for the video on Instagram.) Before SiU rounds off the evening with music, Sonja Knecht presents several short poems, some of which are reminiscent of Dadaism and expand the diverse spectrum of textual possibilities.
The reading ends, how could it be otherwise, with a moderation by our lecturer Guido Rademacher, whom we can thank in the course of this.
But the evening goes on until after midnight. We all take the opportunity to exchange ideas once again, but also to celebrate extensively. The evening's playlist is constantly being expanded with individual music requests, so that the dance floor remains lively until the very end.
I am fulfilled by this weekend. Is that really it?
Thank you!
