Ach die dumme Literatur!

Exhibition opening, reading and talk
with Nicolas Mahler, moderated by Anne-Dore Krohn

Book signing: 5.30 to 6.30 pm in the bookshop of the Literaturhaus

Following the overwhelming success of the exhibition "Completely Kafka", which was shown in five literature houses in 2024 and in cooperation with the Goethe Institute at 129 other locations worldwide, the Literaturhaus has developed a new exhibition with Nicolas Mahler. Mahler has combed through the correspondence, diaries and works of 12 authors of world literature and put the authors on paper in original quotations and drawings. In 1907, Hermann Hesse lamented the difficulty of putting something good on paper with the exclamation "Oh, the stupid literature! Self-doubt, unwillingness and disappointment were familiar to all of them, from Ingeborg Bachmann to Marguerite Duras and James Joyce - the exhibition shows the laborious stages of literary production. "Thanks for the reviews - which are both equally stupid," is how Peter Handke puts it. The 150th anniversary of Thomas Mann's birth is also addressed, with Mahler creating fictional encounters between Mann and other greats of the literary world such as Stephen King or J.R.R. Tolkien. Nicolas Mahler's cartoons appear in numerous newspapers and magazines, while his adaptations of classic literature are mainly published by Suhrkamp Verlag. He is artistic director of the School of Poetry in Vienna.

Supported by the Helmut Nanz Foundation for the Promotion of Art and Art Education