The Czech Republic was represented by eight authors at texttagen.nuernberg. Among them were Vratislav Maňák, Jaroslav Rudiš, Štěpánka Jislová, Anna Řezničková, Alžběta Stančáková, Jaromír Typlt, Josef Straka and Jan Laštovička.
Audience members were given an insight into the art of comics at Štěpánka Jislová’s comic reading.She spoke eloquently about the creative process behind the book Ohne Haare by Tereza Drahoňovská (Kommode Verlag), which deals with living with alopecia and for which she worked as an illustrator. Participants with an interest in art were able to deepen their knowledge in a workshop with the author and try their hand at drawing comics themselves.
Despite the threat of a thunderstorm on Friday evening – which meant the stage programme had to be moved indoors from the outdoor venue at the Katharinenruine – Vratislav Maňák and Jaroslav Rudiš also performed to a large and enthusiastic audience. Together with the German author Miku Sophie Kühmel, Vratislav Maňák spoke about queer visibility in literature and what it means to be queer in Europe today. During a ‘text.talk’ at the City Library, a small group then had the opportunity to engage in-depth with Vratislav Maňák’s book Mit Wittgenstein in der Schwulensauna (Karl Rauch Verlag) and enter into dialogue with the author.
One of the highlights was the interactive reading ‘Reading for Beer’ with Jaroslav Rudiš and Lucas Fassnacht, during which the two read a wide variety of texts brought along by the audience with everything from self-penned poetry and train tickets to erotic literature and a guide to beer, prompting loud applause and roars of laughter from the audience.
On Saturday, the area around the ruins of St Catherine’s Church was transformed into a festival site buzzing with activity and offering plenty of opportunities to get involved, explore and network. At the heart of it all was a joint reading featuring Czech and German authors. Together with their German counterparts, Anna Řezničková, Alžběta Stančáková, Jaromír Typlt, Josef Straka and Jan Laštovička read their texts or presented their illustrations, some of which were created during their residencies in Nuremberg.
Pictures: Nathalie Weber