Literary Colloquium Berlin
The Literarisches Colloquium Berlin eV (LCB) was founded on May 16, 1963 by Walter Höllerer to prevent the cultural desolation, isolation or provincialization of West Berlin after the Wall was built . Höllerer, who died in 2003, was a member of Group 47 . Today it sees itself as a modern, target group-oriented service provider in the field of literature. The first events took place in Berlin-Charlottenburg from 1963 to 1964 before moving into the villa at Sandwerder on the Großer Wannsee .
Focus
The LCB runs the cross-border commuter program with the Robert Bosch Foundation , which supports research into publications. These are intended to stimulate discussion, promote dialogue and mutual understanding and can cover different subject areas, countries and historical epochs.
The focus of the work is the international exchange of literature. The LCB helps some authors from all over the world - especially those from Central and Eastern Europe - to make contacts. The LCB was one of the initiators in founding HALMA , the European network of literary centers.
At the same time, the LCB is a guest house . In cooperation with various government agencies and foundations, authors from all over the world are invited to work intensively on their projects. In October 2019, the following literary guests will be in the house, among others: Juan S. Guse , Lorenz Just and Tabea Steiner .
As early as the 1960s, workshops were held in which young authors such as Peter Bichsel and Hubert Fichte could discuss their texts and develop literary projects. This tradition lives on in the “ Prose Author's Workshop ”, which has been held regularly since 1997 and from which authors such as Judith Hermann , Georg Klein , Inka Parei and David Wagner emerged .
For more than twenty years, the promotion of translations and the work of translators in the context of seminars, conferences and grants has been another central concern of the association. In 1997 the " German Translator Fund " was founded, which has become the most important institution of its kind in Germany.
With the aim of promoting German literature abroad, the association, in cooperation with the Goethe Institutes , presents younger German authors in the most important publishing cities around the world.
The journal Language in the Technical Age , founded by Höllerer, is editorially supported by the association. It is a forum for literary texts and theoretical reflections. The proximity of the LCB to contemporary authors allows insights into tendencies and current developments in literature.
Last but not least, authors and their books are presented to the Berlin public at public events. Readings are combined with conversations and thematic discussions.
In 2006 the LCB and the Brandenburg Literature Association opened the literature platform Literaturport . The literary port includes, among other things, an author's lexicon and a database with prizes and grants for literary professionals.
In April 2009 the association was awarded the “Prize of the Literature Days” at the 25th Weiden Literature Days. Also in 2009, Jürgen Jakob Becker, as deputy managing director for the LCB, received the translator's bar from the Association of German-Language Translators of Literary and Scientific Works , VdÜ. The award speech emphasizes that Becker is known and loved among literary translators . He organizes the translation workshop at the LCB, the German Translation Fund, which he runs, has its address here. He organizes events with translators, offers them temporary accommodation in the Literary Colloquium and is always committed to the translators' guild in relation to the public.
The Heimito von Doderer-Gesellschaft is also based in the LCB .
literature
- Sven Arnold: Literarisches Colloquium Berlin eV In: Christiane Kussin (arrangement): Literary Societies in Germany: A Handbook . Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-351-02435-5 . Pp. 207-210.
- Hans-Joachim Neubauer: 40 years of LCB . (PDF; 1.5 MB).
- Literary Colloquium Berlin: 50 years in the midst of literature (PDF, 2.7 MB)
Honors
In 2009, the LCB received, for the person of its deputy manager Jürgen Jakob Becker, a small, unique work of art, the "translator's bar", from the Association of German-speaking Translators of Literary and Scientific Works , VdÜ, for its outstanding services to literary translation.
Web links
- Official website
- Website of the German Translation Fund
- Website of the journal Language in the Technical Age
- Website of the platform Literaturport , the portal of the Literary Colloquium Berlin and the Brandenburg Literature Office