German-Israeli Literature Festival “interrelationship(s)”

In Germany and Israel today, both real life and fiction seem to be marked by a renewed focus on close relationships; that is, the microcosm of familial relationships in all their different forms. A reaction to societal, economic, or political crises? On each of the five evenings at the 2012 German-Israeli Literature Festival in Berlin, two authors from Israel and Germany respectively discuss, read from their works, and talk about their lives. Thus conversations arise about literature more generally as well as the literary industry more specifically in each country. Above all, and in direct relation to the theme of the festival, the evenings are about the togetherness and isolation, and family as a place of refuge and imagination. The audience participates in these discussions and in turn is called upon to question one’s own images of family and relationships. In the end all participants benefit from the experience of thinking about the “texture”– in both senses of the word – of connections in the context of societal and literary commonalities and differences between both countries. 

Participating authors reading and in discussion are: Lizzie Doron, Eshkol Nevo, Thomas Hettche, Christopher Kloeble, Dirk Kurbjuweit, Amichai Shalev, Arye Sharuz Shalicar, Sara Shilo, Yotam Tolub and Olga Grjasnowa.


The German-Israeli Literature Festival “interrelationship(s)” takes place in Berlin from April 25 to April 29, 2012. It is a project of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Berlin and the Goethe Institute Munich in cooperation with the German Theatre, the Berlin Literature House, and the Maxim Gorki Theatre. Over five evening a total of ten authors from Germany and Israel read from their works. The program also includes a film evening and a round-table discussion on the theme. Since 2005 the German-Israeli Literature Festival has taken place annually and alternates between Berlin and Tel Aviv.