Jan Wagner: Self-portrait with Bee Swarm
Jan Wagner, who as Curator of the sixth Poetica has chosen the theme “Widerstand. The Art of Resistance,” tonight presents his work in excerpts, in which not only his lyric poetry and essays will play a role, but also his work as translator and editor. For his works he has received numerous awards, including the Preis der Leipziger Buchmesse (2015), and the Georg-Büchner-Preis (2017). Wagner was born in 1971 in Hamburg and has lived in Berlin since 1995. He has translated English-language lyric poetry (among others, that of Charles Simic, James Tate, Matthew Sweeney, Simon Armitage, Robin Robertson, and Jo Shapcott), he is an essayist, and was until 2003 co-editor of the international Literature Box DIE AUSSENSEITE DES ELEMENTES (‘the exterior of the element’). As well as seven volumes of poetry – Probebohrung im Himmel (‘Test drill in the sky’ 2001), Guerickes Sperling (‘Guericke’s Sparrow’, 2004), Achtzehn Pasteten (‘Eighteen pastries’, 2007), Australien (‘Australia’, 2010, all from Berlin Verlag), Die Eulenhasser in den Hallenhäusern. Drei Verborgene (‘The owl-haters in the hallhouses. Three hidden ones’, 2012), Regentonnenvariationen (‘Rain-barrel variations’, 2014), Selbstporträt mit Bienenschwarm. Ausgewählte Gedichte 2001–2015 (‘Self-portrait with bee swarm. Select poems 2001–2015’, 2016) and Die Live Butterfly Show (‘The live butterfly show’, 2018, all from Hanser Berlin) – and the essay collections Die Sandale des Propheten. Beiläufige Prosa (‘The prophet’s sandals. Occasional prose’, Berlin Verlag 2011) and Der verschlossene Raum. Beiläufige Prosa (‘The sealed room. Occasional prose’, Hanser Berlin 2017), he has with Björn Kuhligk published the anthologies Lyrik von Jetzt (‘Lyric of Now’, 2003) and Lyrik von Jetzt zwei (‘Lyric of Now two’, 2008) and the book Der Wald im Zimmer (‘The forest in the room’, 2007). Together with Federico Italiano he has published the comprehensive anthology of contemporary European poetry Grand Tour. Reisen durch die junge Lyrik Europas (‘Grand Tour. Travels through the recent lyric poetry of Europe’, Hanser 2019).
The lecture will be in German.
