Morgennebel. Das Frühstücksseminar

25 Years of the Literaturhaus –
Floating. A Contrast in Difficult Times

with Beate Tröger
High up, to gain a bird’s-eye view—Petrarch’s account of the ascent of Mont Ventoux, published in 1350, allows the poet to see the world from above. He establishes a bird’s-eye perspective through the medium of poetry. Similarly, the narrator in Peter Handke’s
*The Lesson of Sainte-Victoire* (1980) also gains a new perspective on nature and art during his ascent of Mont Ventoux. How does one attain greater lightness, freeing oneself from the pull of the ground and the weight of the earth? What opportunities—but also what dangers—does this desire hold? Drawing on works such as Jean Paul’s “The Sea Book of Giannozzo the Airship Pilot” (1801), Italo Calvino’s “The Baron in the Trees” (1957), and Samantha Harvey’s novel “Orbits” (2024), we will reflect on the motivations behind the desire to float.

Supported by the Baden-Württemberg Foundation