Klassiker der Literaturgeschichte

Classics of Literary History
with Ulrike Draesner and John von Düffel; Hosted by Anne-Dore Krohn; Prologue and Epilogue by Timo Brunke
“The Artificial Silk Girl” by Irmgard Keun, published in 1932, tells the life story of Doris, a young woman living during the Weimar Republic. She comes from a destitute working-class family but harbors glamorous dreams of a life as an actress. When she suddenly loses her job as an extra, she begins to scrape by through a series of fleeting romantic encounters with men. Her life oscillates between homelessness and brief moments of luxury. Blacklisted by the Nazis as “asphalt literature with anti-German tendencies,” the author was also overlooked in the Federal Republic of Germany during the 1950s and 1960s. It was not until the publication of an annotated complete works edition of her writings, released in 2017 by Wallstein Verlag, that Keun gradually came to be recognized for what she truly was: one of the greatest literary talents of the Weimar era. Her style is original, fresh, and poetic. Author Ulrike Draesner and dramaturg and author John von Düffel will discuss “Das kunstseidene Mädchen” and other texts by Irmgard Keun.

A series of events presented by LpZ Stuttgart and DerDiwan Hörbuchverlag. Supported by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports