Weilheim books on literature

The Weilheimer Hefte zur Literature are the basis of a particularly successful school reading promotion project since 1980. They are published by the German teachers at the grammar school in Weilheim in Upper Bavaria in order to prepare poetry readings; they contain (mostly on 16 or 24 pages) samples from the work of a writer and are read by the more than 1,300 high school students in German lessons before the author comes to Weilheim. More than 55,000 people attended the 110 events since 1980, around half of whom were young people. More than 17,000 books were bought and signed. Almost all events were sold out, which is why the project is self-sustaining. “I was deeply impressed and touched by the atmosphere, the enthusiasm and even the happiness at your school. Something like this has never happened to me in my more than 800 readings. "( Walter Kempowski , 1982)" The preoccupation with literature as it takes place in Weilheim is exemplary. "(Federal President Horst Köhler on June 13, 2006)

history

1980-1982

The first issue of Weilheim - Ilse Aichinger : Gedichte und Prosa -, edited by Friedrich Denk , Peter Lippert and Thomas Schröer, appeared on April 23, 1980; the poet's reading took place in the overcrowded music hall. The second issue was dedicated to the Bavarian poet Anton Neuhäusler alias Franz Ringseis, who read in the morning in the gym. The third issue - Hans Werner Richter : Chronicler of his time - was published in October 1980 and contained excerpts from ten books by the founder of Gruppe 47 . His reading was the first outside of class in the later so-called “literary” gym and became an overwhelming success in front of more than 500 listeners, documented by television: “As much enthusiasm and attention as I found among the students in Weilheim I hadn't seen it before. ”So Hans Werner Richter in an interview in 1982. Issue 4 was dedicated to Wolfgang Hildesheimer , the fifth contained twelve poems by Peter Huchel . In the school year that followed, there was a four-page report in the magazine “schule & wir” published by the Bavarian Ministry of Culture with the title “Where poets go to school”. In the third school year there were then five readings: one by Barbara König and two each by Reiner Kunze and Ernst Jandl .

1982-1985

While the founder of the series Friedrich Denk taught at the German School in London and founded the London Reading Books there, six editors of the Weilheimer Hefte - Gerhard Auers, Bernhard Grießhammer, Peter Lippert, Brigitte Schmieschek, Thomas Schröer and Friedrich Werner - organized in the "Literary Gym “Nine readings with seven authors: Walter Kempowski and Loriot with two readings each as well as Heinz Piontek , Hilde Spiel , Herbert Rosendorfer , Hermann Lenz and Hans Mayer .

1985–2004: 20 school years with 71 events

After Friedrich Denk's return, the offer expanded: There were two booklets on Bavarian poets from the Middle Ages and in 1987 one booklet and two evenings on poets in exile : from Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. There were lectures, e.g. B. by HG Adler on German literature in Prague. There were two successful literary calendars in 1987 and 1988 (see Wahrhaftige Leselust, in Börsenblatt 4/1988), and since 1988 there has been the Weilheim Literature Prize awarded by a student jury (see below). In addition to the readings, etc. a. Remembrance evenings were held by Martin Walser , Adolf Muschg , Golo Mann , Michael Ende , Siegfried Lenz , Günter Grass , Wolf Biermann , Hans Magnus Enzensberger , Sarah Kirsch and Peter Bichsel : on Eichendorff's 130th and Albrecht Haushofer's 50th anniversary of death or on Hans Werner Richter's 85th birthday. For the 20th anniversary, the "Weilheim Library for Young Readers" and a Weilheim reading competition and a big 20-year celebration were organized (see below). And there were five readings in the Hochlandhalle with an audience of 1,100: Peter Ustinov (twice), Gerhard Polt , Reinhold Messner and Mario Adorf (see the leaflet “30 Years of the Literary Gymnasium”).

Since 2004

Since Friedrich Denk retired, mostly younger colleagues have continued the project under the leadership of Christian Rühle; They organize literary events for the lower and middle school and for everyone a reading prepared with a Weilheim booklet every school year: for Arnold Stadler , Robert Gernhardt , Katja Huber , Uwe Timm , Sten Nadolny , Mirjam Pressler , Peter Stamm , Nora Gomringer , Ingo Schulze , Michael Köhlmeier , Saša Stanišić , Zsuzsa Bánk and Vea Kaiser - and three awards: for Wole Soyinka , Sten Nadolny and Nora Gomringer. A special highlight was the 30th anniversary celebration "In Praise of Literature - Praise of Reading" on April 22, 2010 (see below).

The Weilheim Literature Prize

In 1986 the idea arose to let a student jury choose one of the 17 authors from “Weilheim” that they would “recommend to their peers in a special way”. The prize money was 12,000 DM, today 7,500 euros, the winner thanks with a “speech to the youth”. The first prize winner in 1988 was Ilse Aichinger (laudation: Joachim Kaiser ) (see also “A Rose for the Jurors”, FAZ March 15, 1988), the second in 1991 Wolfgang Hildesheimer (laudation: Peter Horst Neumann ), then Gertrud Fussenegger (1993 , Laudation: Dieter Borchmeyer ), Thomas Hürlimann (1995, laudation: Martin Walser), Reiner Kunze (1997, laudation: Arnold Vaatz ), Loriot (1999, laudation: Joachim Kaiser), Siegfried Lenz (2001 in Hamburg, laudation: Helmut Schmidt ), Rafik Schami (2003, laudation: Harald Weinrich ). In 2006, the African Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka received the Weilheim Literature Prize in Berlin (welcome: Hans Magnus Enzensberger, laudation: Federal President Horst Köhler (cf. Zu Gast bei Freunde, SZ June 14, 2006)). In 2010, Sten Nadolny was a prizewinner (laudation: Volker Weidermann ) and in 2015 Nora Gomringer (laudation: Pia Elisabeth Leuschner ).

Resistance to the spelling reform

The history of Weilheimer Hefte also includes the resistance to the spelling reform, which was initiated by Friedrich Denk, supported by his colleagues and supported by almost all “Weilheim” authors (and their publishers). They were the first to sign the Frankfurt Declaration on the Spelling Reform , which was prepared by the leaflet “Stop the superfluous but billions-expensive spelling reform!” At the 1996 Book Fair on October 6, 1996 , “the introduction of which will waste millions of hours of work, cause decades of confusion, the reputation would damage the German language and literature at home and abroad and cost several billion DM. ”Five of these authors were featured on the cover of the Spiegel on October 14, 1996 : Günter Grass as the standard bearer (he had given two readings in Weilheim in May 1996 ), Martin Walser, Siegfried Lenz, Walter Kempowski and Hans Magnus Enzensberger. With their support, Denk founded the initiative "WIR against the spelling reform" and launched a first referendum. Only with them, u. a. With Ilse Aichinger, Wulf Kirsten , Reiner Kunze, Loriot and Albert von Schirnding , the evening “For the unity of orthography” on October 11th, 1997 in the Weilheimer Stadthalle was possible, including the full-page advertisements “Should the spelling reform be withdrawn?” in six Newspapers on August 19, 2000 and the Frankfurt appeal to the ministers of culture at the 2004 book fair. For the 2016 book fair, an anthology “Twenty Years of Spelling Reform” was published with 30 contributions to the Frankfurt Orthography Prize and a “Frankfurt Declaration after 20 Years of Spelling Reform”. The seven prizes (with a total value of € 22,100) were presented by Mario Adorf.

The Weilheim library for young readers, the Weilheim reading competitions and the 20th anniversary celebration

In 1999 100 authors, professors and artists were asked to name three books "that they would recommend to young readers". This Weilheim library for young readers, which was acquired thanks to the Kester Haeusler Foundation, was presented at the 20th anniversary with a reading competition (cf. Albert von Schirnding: Weilheim lights, SZ 25.3.00, and “Weilheim Germany's secret reading capital ", Passauer Neue Presse 25.3.00. At the 20th anniversary celebration, Ilse Aichinger, Hans Bender, Peter Bichsel, Dieter Borchmeyer, Gertrud Fussenegger, Thomas Hürlimann, Barbara König, Loriot, Albert von Schirnding and Guntram Vesper read from the works of the deceased" Weilheimers “Authors Wolfgang Hildesheimer, Hermann Lenz, Golo Mann, Hans Werner Richter and Hilde Spiel.

The Weilheimer Heft 66: "30 Years of Literary Gym"

A particular highlight was the 66th Weilheim issue with the title "30 Years of the Literary Gym, Weilheimer Anthology 1980 - 2010, Foreword: Hans Maier". This 80-page booklet accompanied the 30th anniversary of the project and the 100th evening in the series on April 22, 2010. Eleven authors contributed to the motto "Praise of literature - Praise of reading" - Tankred Dorst, Hans Magnus Enzensberger , Thomas Hürlimann, Katja Huber, Reiner Kunze, Petra Morsbach , Sten Nadolny, Albert von Schirnding, Arnold Stadler, Guntram Vesper and Hubert Witt - as well as four professors who, after a greeting from Science Minister Wolfgang Heubisch , introduced the authors: Dieter Borchmeyer, Wolfgang Frühwald , Hans Maier and Reinhard Wittmann . At the end of the evening the “Weilheim Declaration on the Future of Reading” was published, signed by 150 authors, professors, publishers, journalists, actors, politicians and the like. a. (). This appeal for reading was presented again with 52 new signatures at the “Matinee in Praise of Reading” on April 21, 2013 in the Munich Literaturhaus.

Effects of the "Weilheimer Hefte zur Literatur" project

The television program about the reading by HW Richter (see above) and the articles in "schule & wir", the Münchner Merkur , the SZ and the FAZ made the project known. It was presented seven times between 1988 and 2004 at the Frankfurt Book Fair . The effects were not lacking. The number of readings at Bavarian grammar schools increased significantly: At the Meranier grammar school in Lichtenfels there have been 27 author readings prepared by reading books for upper school students since 1986, citing Weilheim. a. with Reiner Kunze, Herta Müller , Martin Walser and Arnold Stadler (); At the Schyren-Gymnasium Pfaffenhofen there were 28 readings () between 1987 and 2012, prepared by booklets: by Martin Walser, Wolfdietrich Schnurre, Gertrud Fussenegger, Herta Müller u. a. In Bad Aibling, readings have been held regularly at the grammar school since 1987 as part of the “Bad Aiblinger Literaturtage”. In 1991 a German teacher from Weilheim founded the “Weißenburg Reading Book” in Weißenburg: Book 1 for Adolf Muschg, Book 2 for Reiner Kunze. In Schondorf am Ammersee, a German teacher founded the “litera-tour regional” series in 1998, enabling readings in three high schools, the first reading tour with Reiner Kunze. The international artist house Villa Concordia in Bamberg also published a series of “Upper Franconia Reads” between 2001 and 2006 (13 booklets with 48 - 68 pages, circulation between 1300 and 2000) to read about readings by Guntram Vesper, Arnold Stadler, Petra Morsbach and others. a. to prepare at various high schools ().

Direct “offshoots” of the Weilheimer Hefte were three projects founded by Friedrich Denk and a book about the benefits of reading. From 1982 to 1985 he edited the “London Reading Books”: for Wolfdietrich Schnurre, Ilse Aichinger, Hans Werner Richter, Martin Walser, Uwe Johnson (memorial evening with Günter Grass, Michael Hamburger , Alan Sillitoe , Siegfried Unseld and others - with an echo in 28 newspapers ) and Friedrich Dürrenmatt , who, introduced by Cyril Cusack , gave two readings to an audience of 1,400. The project, accompanied by a nationwide translation competition for British schoolchildren and students, was then continued with an annual reading until 2012. a. by Walter Kempowski, Günter Kunert , Christa Wolf , Peter Bichsel, Enzensberger, Grass, Wolf Biermann, Adolf Muschg, Hans Joachim Schädlich , Gerhard Polt and Peter Stamm . (Cf. “Temple of the Muses on the Thames, poetry readings in DS London with nationwide resonance” in the magazine “Encounter” 2/84 and “An ambassador of poets”, Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung 5.8.84). -

The project “Lesebogen” (1990 - 1999, still today in Murnau am Staffelsee ) was even bigger , with eleven “Lesebogen” (mostly 9000 copies), with 106 readings by Kunze, Kempowski, Dorst, Walser, Michael Ende , Gertrud Fussenegger, Peter Härtling , Hürlimann, Schami, Bichsel ("I've never found such an attentive audience in schools, and it was really fun." March 24, 1998) and Herbert Rosendorfer at eight to twelve grammar schools in southern Bavaria, in Reichenbach im Vogtland , Greiz and Weimar were prepared. (See reading sheets worth imitating, Börsenblatt 5/1992) In 1999, the Bavarian Ministry of Education and Culture withdrew support for this project from Friedrich Denk. In Kaufbeuren there were then eight readings prepared by a “Kaufbeurer reading sheet”: by Uwe Timm, Robert Gernhardt, Eckhard Henscheid and others. a. And at the “Staffelsee-Gymnasium” in Murnau there have been 19 “Murnau reading sheets” since 2000 and one very well attended reading per year: u. a. by Wolf Biermann, Juli Zeh , Ilija Trojanow , Bernhard Schlink and Wladimir Kaminer . - In 1998, Denk founded another project that he called "Bookmarks": one A4 page across, folded twice: with some texts by an author, with a bio and bibliography and a photo. Readings by Reiner Kunze at the grammar schools in Mühldorf, Eggenfelden and Simbach were prepared in the spring of 1998. Readings by Gertrud Fussenegger, Thomas Hürlimann and Guntram Vesper followed. The German teachers in Mühldorf continued the series with readings by Axel Hacke , Uwe Dick and Herbert Rosendorfer. Also with “Bookmarks” very successful readings were prepared at the St. Bonaventura High School in Dillingen : by Guntram Vesper, Gertrud Fussenegger and Reiner Kunze. What all readings had in common was that they took place outside of class. - As a pensioner, Friedrich Denk wrote the book “Whoever reads, comes on. Epilogue: Martin Walser “(Gütersloh 2013) and since then has given 75 lectures (), mainly at schools, etc. a. on the subject of "Why reading is the smartest pastime" or "Read - and get rich!" ()

Individual evidence

[1] In: 30 years literary gymnasium , p. 16, https://www.gymnasium-weilheim.de/index.php?id=1054

[2] ttps://www.gymnasium-weilheim.de/index.php?id=1054

[3] ttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/5658bd42e4b0c6e18e3c3d98/t/5d0261be54deaf0001bbbc5b/1560437198741/Wo+Dichter+in+die+Schule+iegen.pdf

[4] ttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/5658bd42e4b0c6e18e3c3d98/t/5d025898505b1000013356a1/1560434847045/Wahrhaftige+Leselust.pdf ;

[5] ttps://www.gymnasium-weilheim.de/index.php?id=1054

[6] ttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/5658bd42e4b0c6e18e3c3d98/t/5d346c5e4ce26b0001387bc7/1563716705384/Eine+Rose+f%C3%BCr+die+Juroren+1988++FAZ.pdf

[7] ttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/5658bd42e4b0c6e18e3c3d98/t/5d025f72d420d5000155a0bf/1560436597191/Wole+Soyinka+Literaturpreis.pdf

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[9] Jump up ↑ botch with mayonnaise . In: Spiegel Online . tape 42 , October 14, 1996 ( spiegel.de [accessed July 23, 2019]).

[10] ttps://rechtschreibung.com/Forum/showthread.php?threadid=496 , accessed on 2019-07-21

[11] ttps://www.rechtschreibreform.de/die-anthologie

[12] ttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/5658bd42e4b0c6e18e3c3d98/t/5d34abd188e42e000101940a/1563732958431/Weilheimer+Bibliothek.pdf

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[18] ttps://www.boersenblatt.net/2010-04-22-artikel-welttag_des_buches.379961.html

[19] ttps://www.pen-deutschland.de/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Appell-zum-Lob-des-Lesens.pdf

[20] ttps://www.meranier-gymnasium.de/index.php/autorenlesungen/468-lesungen-fuer-die-oberstufe

[21] ttp://archiv.schyren-gymnasium.de/page/standard.php?var=s10

[22] ttps://www.oberfranken.de/de/projekte/archiv/oberfranken-liest.php

[23] ttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/5658bd42e4b0c6e18e3c3d98/t/5d34aca54ce26b00013be5de/1563733181023/Londoner+Lesehefte.pdf

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[27] ttps://www.friedrichdenk.info/vortraege

[28] ttps://www.merkur.de/lokales/weilheim/weilheim-ort29677/friedrich-denk-frankfurter-buchmesse-lies-werde-reich-6901637.html