Programme

_09.00_children and young adults
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Readings for pupils
The graphic artist, poet and author Ted van Lieshout (Netherlands) presents inventive poems and drawings from his poetry-picture books “Jij bent mijn mooiste landschap“ (t: You’re my most beautiful landscape) and “Mama! Waar heb jij het geluk gelaten?“ (t: Mum! What have you done with happiness?). Poems in the form of crossword puzzles, and with transparent letters, poems about parrot fish, nighttime and happiness and a grand sonnet made from triangles, squares, circles and rectangles.
School years: 4/5
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_09.30_children and young adults
Weinmeisterhaus

Writing workshop with Tobias Scheffel (Germany)
Workshops for pupils
In cooperation with the BLI BerlinerLiteraturInitiative / BerlinerLeseratten
Tobias Scheffel, translator of Timothée de Fombelle’s adventure novel “Toby Alone”, will talk about the everyday life of a translator, as well as working on passages from his novel translation with the young audience, and encouraging them to attempt their own translations.
School years: 1x 8-13
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_10.00_children and young adults
Stiftung Branderburger Tor | Max Liebermann Haus

Readings for pupils
In “Meriyll”, Viktor Canosinaj (Albania) tells of growing up in Albania after the end of the communist regime: after the death of her mother, the fourteen-year-old Meriyll has to take responsibility for the household and for her brothers and sisters, while her unemployed father spends his day in the pub. Meri starts work in a fast food restaurant and in the evening goes out with Klara and her friends Genc and Aldo – without realising that the two young guys mean nothing but trouble. Can Meri count on her old friend Sid?
School years: 8/9
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_10.00_children and young adults
LesArt

“Where is the cake?”. With Thé Tjong-Khing (Indonesia/Netherlands)
Workshops for pupils
The chocolate cake has disappeared from the Dog family’s coffee table. Two grey robbers are rushing away with their loot… Mr and Mrs Dog behind them… But there’s more going on than a simple robbery: where has the eleventh duckling disappeared to? Who has spirited away Mrs Cat’s hat, and why are all the animals suddenly staring at the top of the rock? Thé Tjong-Khing’s wordless picture book gives the answers. Its detailed double pages demand attentive viewing and give rise to story-telling. Lots of exciting things go on alongside the thieves, who hurry ever forwards from double page to double page.
In preparation for today’s event with Thé Tjong-Khing, Frank Schulz will pursue the cake-robbers in part 1 of the 2-part LesArt-event and will develop, together with children, their own picture stories.
Part 1: 08.09.2008, 09.30 (ca. 2.5 Hrs.), LesArt
Led by: Frank Schulz (LesArt). School years: 1 x 3/4
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_11.00_children and young adults
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Readings for pupils
While returning to the kingdom of Shin-Yogo, the spear-warrior Balsa sees Prince Chagum fall to near death from a bridge. Courageously, Balsa jumps into the river and saves the boy. The empress appoints her to be Chagum’s bodyguard. Balsa is meant to take him to safety – because the emperor himself is out to take his son’s life… Nahoko Uehashi (Japan) reads from her fantasy epic “Guardian of the Spirit" and will show extracts from its animé adaptation.
School years: 6-8
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_13.00_children and young adults
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Readings for pupils
“Les Yazinskis”, Patty and Mado’s parents, are killed in a car accident, and the twenty-year-old Patty with a lust for life obtains custody for her sister Mado, five years younger and level-headed. In her novel “La vie comme elle vient” (t: Life as it comes), Anne-Laure Bondoux (France) recounts how the two mismatched sisters have to come to terms with their new roles, and how their relationship further changes when Patty becomes pregnant.
In French. School years: 11-13
Closed event. Registration required under Tel. 0049-30-27 87 86 66

_15.00_children and young adults
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Of Aphids, Snout Beetles and Fighting Ants an encounter with Timothée de Fombelle
After school & at the weekend
A magnificent oak provides the setting of this fast paced adventure novel “Toby Alone” by Timothée de Fombelle. Toby is just one and a half millimetres tall and has a dangerous mission to fulfil! Toby and his people have lived together peacefully in the ancient forest since the beginning of time. Then one day Toby’s father, an ingenious professor, makes a groundbreaking discovery that puts his whole family in extreme danger. Toby is able to flee at the last moment, but he has only one ambition – to free his parents from the deadly intrigues of the tyrannical snout beetle breeder, Jo Mitch. A dangerous expedition through the spectacular world of trees begins…The French author of children’s books will be reading from volumes 1 and 2 of his celebrated “Toby Alone” adventures.
Presented by: Tobias Scheffel. Book signing afterwards.
For children, youth and adults, tree lovers and botanists aged 10 and older. School groups from the 4th/5th form and above are also warmly welcomed.
Entry: 6/5/4 €. (Online-) Ticket presales at www.berlinerfestspiele.de (available immediately) as well as (from 01.09.2008) on Tel. (030) 254 89 100.

_18.00_reflections
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Hans Christoph Buch (Germany), Nuruddin Farah (Somalia/South Africa), Grada Kilomba (São Tomé and Príncipe/Portugal/Germany), James Shikwati (Kenya), Ilija Trojanow (Bulg
Presented by: Volker Panzer
The first panel of the series “African Affairs” is devoted to perspectives on Africa. In the media of industrialised countries, the news coverage is focused essentially on wars and civil conflicts, AIDS, female genital mutilation, corruption and other bad news. These are the associations of “the West” when countries and territories such as Burundi, Congo, Ivory Coast, Darfur, Liberia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, the Western Sahara, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, the Central African Republic, and currently Chad and Kenya, are being written about and considered. The endeavours of some stand in opposition to this perspective and instead emphasize the positive side of the continent’s development, which isn’t reducible to art and culture – or vacation destinations. How would an integral view of Africa be defined?
In cooperation with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation

_18.45_kaleidoscope
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Foyer

Michael Kleeberg (Germany)
In his novel „Karlmann“ (2007), Michael Kleeburg’s carefully detailed portrayals shed light on a few hours in the everyday life of Charly, the average German, from 1985 to 1989. Dirk Knipphals wrote in the “taz“: “There isn’t only a great confession tucked away in this book – see: thus is man (in this time and place)! One also senses that Michael Kleeburg seeks out in Charly – a word of matching proportions – the enigma of what it means to be human”. The author will perhaps spontaneously read from his latest writings.

_19.00_reflections
Max Liebermann Haus

Erosion of European civil society? Geert Mak (Netherlands), Bora Ćosić (Croatia/Germany)
Presented by: Wilfried F. Schoeller
The New Europe was hailed after the E.U.’s eastern expansion. Even if there are repeated setbacks, the bureaucratic structures are gradually stabilising. However, already in the 1990s the Balkans War made clear that the ice on which we are walking is extremely thin. For years, Italy has found itself in a trauma characterised by intellectual and moral downfall. Spain is only just beginning – thirty years after Franco’s death – to come to terms with its history. Belgium has yet to recover from its paedophile scandal, and in the Netherlands there are hints that after the murders of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh, traditional virtues and moral values are losing importance. While “Fortress Europe” is looking to close its borders, its populations are closing themselves off from each other, and in many places a dangerous mixture of Presented byility and indifference reigns. What is the state of Europe’s civil society? Is there a chance, that the growing gap between the bureaucracy in Brussels and the signs of erosion in civil societies can be bridged?
In cooperation with the Brandenburger Tor Foundation
Free entrance

_19.00_children and young adults
Philipp-Schaeffer-Bibliothek | Kinderbibliothek

Telling Stories in Pictures. With Thé Tjong-Khing (Indonesia/Netherlands)
Children’s and youth literature for adults
Presented by: Susanne Helene Becker
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung celebrated Thé Tjong-Khing‘s picture book “Picnic with Cake” (2008) as a “great work on a miniature scale“, a work that, like its predecessor “Where is the Cake?” (2006), tells the story - entirely without words - of the frantic hunt for a much-desired cake. Page after page, dog, sheep, cat, goat, bear, pig, hare and badger make their way through the landscape. Meanwhile, each animal experiences his own story, and an exciting paper chase is played out in front of the observer. The Dutch old master of illustration art began his career as a comic book artist and brought out over 150 works, among them the famous “Fox and Hare“ stories (from 1998) as well as illustrations for fairytales and myths (among them “Heroes. Greek myths”, 2006). Thé Tjong-Khing, who taught at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, speaks of the challenge of making people, time, animals, landscapes and stories come alive on the page.
For adults, young people, fans of comics and illustrations, readers of children’s books and art enthusiasts.
Free entry.

_19.30_speak, memory
Institut Français

An evening for Einar Schleef
Introduction: Crista Mittelsteiner
The director, actor, writer, painter and photographer Einar Schleef, who passed away in 2001, was considered to be an enfant terrible of the German theatre scene. He said about his novel “Gertrud”: “I built a pyramid for my mother. Just chipped stones on top of each other for a German family tragedy”. The theatrical version of his magnum opus captivates through its very distinct, abrupt and blunt language.
Jutta Hoffman and Marie-Luce Bonfanti are reading. Introduction and presentation: Crista Mittelsteiner.
Preview of the film “Jedes Wort in-und auswendig/Chaque mot par choeur” from Anne-Marie Gourier and Crista Mittelsteiner.
Free Entrance

_19.30_poetry night
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Seitenbühne

Poetry Night I. Qassim Haddad (Bahrain), Christian Hawkey (USA), Zlatko Krasni (Serbia), Tim Liardet (United Kingdom), Don Paterson (United Kingdom)
Presented by: Silke Behl
Reader: Astrid Gorvin, Friedhelm Ptok
Qassim Haddad is his country's most prominent poet and a highly respected representative of Arabic poetry. In altogether 20 volumes of poems his openness towards new influences, topics and free forms is documented. "I respect the traditions of classical Arab poetry. But I recognize no authorities."
Christian Hawkey reads from "Reisen in Ziegengeschwindigkeit". Daring, disturbingly funny and with scurrilous verve he works on the "elastic skin of surfaces". In its folds the subjects withdraw from the demand of conformity or adjustment and retain an instability that could be interpreted as an aesthetic reaction to political demands.
Zlatko Krasni is a poet, literary critic, editor of anthologies and translator of numerous works of German writers from Goethe to Thomas Bernhard. He introduces a lyrical work that focuses on the fragility of the individual.
Tim Liardet is a British poet and critic. His fifth collection of poetry "The Blood Choir" was nominated for the T.S. Eliot Award in 2006. He will be reading from his recent collection of poems, a book-length elegy that revolves around the death of his brother.
The award winning Scottish poet Don Paterson has published four collections of poems most of which have been translated into German. His poems scrutinise the interminable changes in life. According to Paterson, "Poems translate silence and find words that do not exist in our daily language. They fill the gaps with songs that men should actually not be able to hear."

_20.00_Focus Africa
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Große Bühne

Nuruddin Farah (Somalia/South Africa) in conversation with Ilija Trojanow (Bulgaria/Germany)
Reader: Frank Arnold
Authors who are forced into exile like Somalian Naruddin Farah who lives in Cape Town probably have more reasons than others to write about travelling as quest. In his trilogy "Maps”, "Gifts" and "Secrets" he described the quest of the African for social, personal, family-related and sexual identity. These searches are often driven by strong women in the centre of the events just like in his recent work, "Knots".
In addition Farah will be reading from his novel “Links”, which was recently published in German. In it, an expatriate returns to his Somalian homeland, where he is caught in conflict in every aspect of life – between cultures, languages, religions.

_20.00_specials
Kammermusiksaal der Philharmonie

Natacha Atlas & the Mazeeka Ensemble present the new album „Ana Hina“
Natacha’s performance spans centuries and crosses continents from West to East and back again. Her voice sounds like a jewel in these arrangements where captivating cover versions of songs by Egyptian and Western artists are performed side by side with compositions by Natacha and her musicians – producing a sound event that unites joy and pain, love and loss, hope and despair – everything that makes us human.

_20.00_
Clärchens Ballhaus

New German Voices
Jörg Albrecht (Germany), Anja Jardine (Germany/Switzerland), Thomas Melle (Germany),
Steffen Popp (Germany), Verena Roßbacher (Austria/Switzerland), Ulrike Almut Sandig (Germany)
Presented by: Thomas Klupp
A first in the history of the ilb: for the first time, young, talented, German speaking authors will be presented in their own part of the programme, authors who could become internationally renowned. When choosing – as in the other parts of the programme – we looked for literary quality, for a unique style. We are particularly pleased this year to welcome six New German Voices, among them guests from Austria and Switzerland. And also to welcoming the presenter Thomas Klupp, whose début “Paradiso” will come out in early 2009. He edited the literature magazine “BELLA triste” and is a scientific collaborator at the University of Hildesheim’s Literature Institute.

_20.00_reflections
Literarischer Salon der Allianz

“Why Berlin?“: László Krasznahorkai (Hungary), Marie N'Diaye (France/Germany), Steinunn Sigurdardóttir (Iceland)
Presented by: Marie Neumüllers
The “New York Times Magazine” was rather taken aback: “$1 a Square Foot! Gross!“ was the disbelieving title of an article last summer that discussed young New Yorkers in Berlin. Here, you can get an eight-room flat for the price of a windowless room in a flat share in New York – if you’re lucky. But it can’t be the rents alone that draw authors and artists of all kinds and from all over the world to the German capital…can it?! Three writers, who have all recently chosen to live in Berlin, talk about their affection for their new home up close, and what they expected from afar.
In cooperation with the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation
Free entrance

_20.00_reflections
Werkstatt der Kulturen

To Iraq and Afghanistan - Gwynne Dyer (Canada), Markus Kaim (Germany) and Jochen Thies (Germany)
presented by: Thomas Carl Schwoerer
Western troops – according to Gwynne Dyer in his book “After Iraq and Afghanistan. What happens, when the western troops leave” – ought to leave Iraq and Afghanistan today rather than tomorrow. Due to the military deployments, the situation has tended to deteriorate rather than improve, and the west has no solution for the true challenges of the region – such as the refugee crisis in Iraq, demographic developments in Israel or the conflicts in Afghanistan, characterised by complex feudal relationships. The renowned Canadian political scientist presents his arguments to high-calibre German experts for them to discuss.
In cooperation with the Werkstatt der Kulturen and the Campus publishing house

_20.00_kaleidoscope
Literaturladen Wist

Jenny Erpenbeck (Germany)
Presented by: Carsten Wist
A house next to a lake in Brandenburg is the centre – twelve lives, stories, fates from the 1920s to the present day are entwined around it. The house and its inhabitants live through the Weimar Republic, the “Third Reich”, the war and its end, the GDR, the reunification of Germany and the post-reunification era. Jenny Erpenbeck gives each life an individual literary form, every life unfolds its drama, tragedy, happiness in a completely individual way. Taken together, they form a kind of literary memorial to the last century.
Entrance 5/4€

_20.15_kaleidoscope
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Foyer

Nancy Huston (Canada/France)
Presented by: Gabriele von Arnim
In her Prix Femina awarded novel "Fault Lines" the author outlines a family chronicle over sixty years. Describing six-year-old children from four generations, the novel traces a dark secret back to the times of National Socialism.

_21.30_reflections
Haus der Berliner Festspiele | Große Bühne

About Barack Obama: Nuruddin Farah (Somalia/South Africa), Geert Mak (Netherlands), Tzvetan Todorov (Bulgaria/France) and Eliot Weinberger (USA)
Presented by: Arno Widmann
In a historical speech delivered in Philadelphia in March of this year, Barack Obama directed the country’s attention to the history and status quo of racism in the U.S. The U.S. must work its way out of the dead end of race relations, said Obama. Ever since his speech, all hopes have been pinned on Obama, who also intends to make crucial changes in foreign affairs. Composed of authors from three different continents, the panel will discuss the substance of these hopes and answer the question as to how realistic they are.