Prague House of Literature for German-language authors

Logo of the Prague House of Literature

The Prague Literature House of German-Speaking Authors is an institution that seeks to bring the tradition of literature written in German from Bohemia , Moravia and Silesia closer together. It is not only reminiscent of the so-called Prague German literature from the period between 1890 and 1939/45, but also points to the contemporary design of German-writing writers from what is now the Czech Republic .

history

Author Lenka Reinerová

The last German-speaking author and honorary citizen Lenka Reinerová , who came from Prague , was involved in the creation of the literary house , who wanted to preserve the legacy of the writers of the “ Prague Circle ” for the next generations , in which Franz Kafka , Max Brod , Egon Erwin Kisch and important ones Prague compatriots of Jewish descent, who chose the German language for their literary creation, met. Their vision was a museum of Prague literature written in German that would remind Prague as a literary meeting place for European cultures. For political reasons, however, she was initially unable to realize this idea, whose roots go back to the 1960s, in socialist Czechoslovakia.

The Prague House of Literature was only founded in 2004 in the form of an endowment fund at the instigation of Reinerová, together with the then Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Berlin František Černý and the manager of the Franz Kafka Society , Kurt Krolop . It is based in Prague, Ječná 11, Praha 2.

Activities and goals

The aim of the Prague House of Literature is to bring cultural exchange to life and to present Prague as a traditional place where Czech, German and Jewish cultures meet and interweave. It is not only reminiscent of the German literature in Prague penned by RM Rilke , F. Werfels , EE Kisch , Paul Leppins , G. Meyrinks , but also of the design of other, less well-known personalities. The Prague House of Literature awards international “creative residency grants” to contemporary writers and translators.

The Prague Literature House currently has its own book fund, which includes a collection of around 1,000 volumes and was registered as a basic library with a special fund by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in September 2007. In terms of content, these are works by German-speaking authors who were born or worked in the Bohemian countries. Secondary literature and historical volumes relating to Czech-German relations can also be found there. It is a unique, constantly expanding collection, based on a generous donation from Katherina Holzheuer . Since 2009, the Prague Literature House has also managed Lenka Reinerová's private library.

The Literaturhaus regularly organizes readings by authors, workshops, presentations of newly published books or literary memorial and discussion evenings, but also conferences, specialist lectures, discussions and exhibitions. These literary events make it possible to address the general public. They are aimed at all age groups, and special attention is also paid to children and young people - the Literaturhaus organizes writing workshops with writers, recitation competitions in German, competitions in creative writing and much more. The Prague Literaturhaus also offers various programs for school classes and groups.

Every year in September, the Prague House of Literature organizes an international literary festival “Literature in the Park”, which traditionally takes place in the Stromovka Park in Prague. Czech, German, Austrian and also Swiss authors perform at the festival. The event will feature prose and poetry as well as literature for children. The sixth year of the festival will take place in 2016.

Memorial plaque for RM Rilke by the sculptor Vlasta Prachatická

In 2008, the Prague House of Literature of German-Language Authors initiated the Cultural Landscape project , the aim of which was to create an interactive map of cultural institutions that operate in the Czech Republic and abroad and deal with the preservation of German cultural heritage from the Czech territory. This platform simplifies access to information and enables further collaboration. It can be reached on the website of the Literaturhaus.

In September 2012, thanks to the support of the Federal Republic of Germany, the interactive exhibition “Cabinet of Prague German-Language Literature” was officially opened in the Prague House of Literature for German-Language Authors. The cabinet shows literary contexts within one of the most outstanding collections of German literature that was created outside the contiguous German-speaking area - especially in the years 1890–1939. Under the motto “literature you can touch”, visitors can familiarize themselves with old photographs, valuable prints and objects that the authors used to hold in their hands.

Thanks to the efforts of the Prague Literature House of German-speaking authors, several commemorative plaques were unveiled. In 2009 PLH and Labyrint Verlag organized the unveiling of the plaque “in memoriam Lenka Reinerovás” at Plzeňská 129 in Prague 5, where Reinerovás lived for the last ten years of her life. The plaque was unveiled on June 27th in the presence of representatives of the Prague 5 administrative district.

On December 7, 2011, in cooperation with the PLH and the Marina Cvětajevová Society, as well as with the support of the Prague City Council, the memorial plaque and bust of the Prague-born Rainer Maria Rilke was placed on the house of the former German school in Na Příkopě 16, which Rilke attended had attached.

The PLH also campaigned for the memorial plaque of the German Jewish poet Louis Fürnberg, which was given by the Minister of Education Daniel Herman on May 26, 2015 at house No. 94 in Milady Horákové in Prague 7. The memorial plaque was in the presence of the poet's family members and representatives of the diplomatic public.

Scholarship program

Since 2007, the Prague House of Literature has awarded the following authors creative residency grants:

Radka Denemarková (11/2007, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Peter Härtling (01–02 / 2008, one month stay in Prague)

Tereza Boučková (09/2008, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Petr Čichoň (10/2008, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Michael Schneider (11/2008, one month stay in Prague)

Luděk Navara (08/2009, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Tilman Rammstedt (08–09 / 2009, two-month stay in Prague)

Radek Fridrich (10/2009, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Andreas Martin Widmann (11/2009, one month stay in Prague)

Lars Reyer (05–06 / 2010, two-month stay in Prague)

Josef Moník (06/2010, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Martin Becker (08/2010, one month stay in Prague)

Jaromír Typlt (10/2010, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Stefan Beuse (10/2010, one month stay in Prague)

Tereza Šimůnková (10–11 / 2010, one month stay in Bremen)

Tobias Rausch (11/2010, one month stay in Prague)

Susanne Berkenheger (11/2010, one month stay in Prague)

Rolf Lappert (05/2011, one-week stay in Prague)

Sarah Rehm (05–06 / 2011, two-month stay in Prague)

Robert Prosser (07/2011, one month stay in Prague)

Mareike Krügel (10/2011, one month stay in Prague)

Friederike Kenneweg (11/2011, one month stay in Prague)

Peter Kurzck (1/2012, two-month stay in Prague)

Ilona Stumpe-Speer (05, 06/2012, two-month stay in Prague)

Eva Hauserová (05/2012, one month stay in Bremerhaven)

Vea Kaiser (07/2012, one month stay in Prague)

Tanja Dückers (09/2012, one month stay in Prague)

Markéta Pilátová (09/2012, one month stay in Krems)

Bianca Bellová (09/2012, one month stay in Hamburg)

Radek Malý (09/2012, one month stay in Bremen)

Oksana Zabuzhko (10/2012, one month stay in Prague)

Igor Malijevský (10/2012, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Katharina Hartwell (11/2012, one month stay in Prague)

Harry Volker Altwasser (11/2012, one month stay in Prague)

Andreas Stichmann (12/2012, one month stay in Prague)

Kurt Drawert (02/2013, one month stay in Prague)

Janna Steenfatt (05, 6/2013, two-month stay in Prague)

Isabella Feimer (07/2013, one month stay in Prague)

Věra Nosková (10/2013, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Ivan Binar (05–06 / 2014, six-week stay in Bremen)

Teresa Präauer (07-08 / 2014, one month stay in Prague)

David Zábranský (10/2014, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Akos Doma (08, 09/2014, two-month stay in Prague)

Roza Domascyna (10, 11/2014, two-month stay in Prague)

Jutta Schubert (11/2014, one month stay in Prague)

Rimantas Kmita (03/2015, one month stay in Prague)

Peter Pragal (04/2015, one month stay in Prague)

Jörg Jacob (05, 06/2015, two-month stay in Prague)

Jaroslav Rudiš (05, 06/2015, two-month stay in Bremen)

Verena Mermer (07/2015, one month stay in Prague)

Jaroslav Paclík, journalist (09/2015, two-month stay in Bremen)

Rena Dumont (09, 10/2015, two-month stay in Prague)

Jakuba Katalpa (10/2015, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Dirk Hülstrunk (11/2015, one month stay in Prague)

Radka Denemarková (11/2015, one month stay in Krems)

Claudia Bollmannm, journalist (12/2015, two-week stay in Prague)

Christian Hussel (05, 06/2016, two-month stay in Dresden)

Constantin Göttfert (07-08 / 2016 one month stay in Krems)

Gesa Olkusz (09/2016, one month stay in Bremen)

Henning Bleyl, journalist (10/2016, six-week stay in Bremen)

Gert Loschütz (11/2016, one month stay in Wiesbaden)

Organizational structure

The PLH foundation fund has two organs - the management board and the supervisory board.

The members of the board:

František Černý (Chairman of the Board) - Ambassador a. D.
Markéta Mališová (Deputy Chairwoman) - Director of the Franz Kafka Society in Prague
Viera Glosíková - Germanist (lecturer at Charles University in Prague)
Ernst Kurt Krolop (1930–2016) - Germanist
Eva Pátková - German studies specialist
Jana Šebková - Consul General a. D.

Members of the supervisory board

Eva Giese (Chair)
Tomáš Homola
Tomáš Jelínek

Director of the Prague Literature House - David Stecher

Program director - Barbora Šrámková

Web links

50.0757443 14.4225433Coordinates: 50 ° 4 ′ 32.7 " N , 14 ° 25 ′ 21.2" E