Story? Essay? Journal? Memoir? Poem? Prayer, confession, incantation, provocation or slapstick? Loud or quiet? Crass or wise? Hiromi Itō's writing is surprising and disturbing, poetic and deeply moving, regardless of the genre she operates in.
(Literaturhaus Berlin) 

The collection Garstiger Morgen. Texte von den Transitzonen des Lebens by Japanese lyricist, essayist, illustrator, manga critic and presenter Hiromi Itō, one of the most important voices in contemporary Japanese literature and a former Dorothea Schlegel Artist-in-Residence, was published to critical acclaim this summer. The book is unusual in that there is no Japanese original: Beginning with a love poem and ending with a manifesto, the volume consists of texts composed over a span of 45 years, selected, translated and furnished with an afterword and comments by Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit (Research Area 2: Travelling Matters).

A particularly exciting way to experience Itō's works is to hear them being performed in the original Japanese by the author herself and in German by actress Maren Eggert, fresh from winning the International Actors Award at the Film Festival Cologne. There will also be a conversation with prize‑winning author, illustrator, musician and radio presenter Frank Witzel, simultaneously interpreted from Japanese to German and vice versa by Fujiko Sekikawa, a true master of her trade.

 

The event takes place on 13 November at 7 p.m. at Li-Be (Literaturhaus Berlin) in Moabit. For more information and tickets, please visit the Li-Be website (in German).

The number of participants is limited, but the event can also be followed via livestream.

Event language: Japanese and German

Address:
Literaturhaus Berlin e.V.
Alt-Moabit 62-63
10555 Berlin