Dora Kaprálovás Erzählerin reist in die slowenische Kleinstadt Maribor, um einen Reiseführer zu schreiben, beschließt jedoch stattdessen, die Stadt aus der Perspektive einer Fliege kennenzulernen. Gestalten der Gegenwart wie der Gitarrist Jim, der US-amerikanische Hofnarr Timo oder die 80-jährige Hostesse Daša, die Putin als einen Retter sieht, sowie historische Figuren des 20. Jahrhunderts treten auf, insbesondere Josip Broz Tito, der umstrittene »wohlmeinende Diktator«, der Schriftsteller Hašek und der Dramatiker Wedekind. Die kaleidoskopische Perspektive aus der Sicht eines Insekts ermöglicht eine originelle Erzählweise, in der sich Fakten und Fiktion miteinander verflechten und eine hypnotische Wirkung erzeugen.

Mit diesem Roman gelingt der Autorin ein außergewöhnlicher Blick auf den Balkan und Europa sowie auf eine wenig beachtete Stadt, unter der die Drau dunkel dahinfließt. Mit der Literaturwissenschaftlerin und Journalistin Katrin Schumacher spricht Dora Kaprálovás über Magie, Macht und die Kraft der Illusion. Es liest der Schauspieler Stephan Wolf-Schönburg.

Eine Veranstaltung mit freundlicher Unterstützung durch das Tschechische Zentrum Berlin

Dora Kaprálová »Die Mariborhypnose«, mikrotext 2026

Moderator: Aleš Šteger

Participants
Eli Eliahu (ISR), Carolyn Forché (USA), Anna Gual (ESP), Ivan Hristov (BGR), Kristina Kočan (SVN)

Carolyn Forché (1950) is an American poet, translator, and human rights activist. Her debut poetry collection won the prestigious Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition in 1976 for the best young poet. Having received a scholarship, she then spent some time in El Salvador and worked for Amnesty International. It was often these experiences that served as the foundation for her following poetry collections, which have regularly received the most prestigious American literary accolades. She held many university lectures and does so to this day. She is also an established and acclaimed translator (she translated authors such as Georg Trakl, Mahmoud Darwish and others) and widely respected for her human rights activism.

Carolyn Forché’s creativity is heavily influenced by her humanitarian experience. She has spent over four decades waking sleeping, comfortably situated readers with a heavy reliance on people’s testimonies and experiences. Her Poetry of witness, nestled in between the monstrosities of Auschwitz and refugees on the Rio Grande River, intensely and honestly explores pain and suffering, resulting in her being dubbed a political poet by many critics, because she is an exact observer of the violence and horrors of our time. She incessantly reminds us on the need for tolerant mutual relations. The selection of her poetry, through which the readers can come in touch with her creative opus, was prepared and translated by Kristina Kočan. Most of the poems in the selection is from the collection In the »Lateness of the World« (2020), for which the author was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Forché will also write an autopoetic essay for the Slovenian release of her work.

Days of Poetry and Wine, one of the most prominent Central European poetry festivals, successfully unites poetry with enology. Every year in the last warm August days the festival hosts over twenty poets from all over the world along with selected domestic winemakers. Korean phenomenon Ko Un, American poet C. D. Wright and Swedish nominee for the Nobel Prize Lars Gustafsson are just some of the 500 prominent names of past festivals. The main emphasis – poetry and wine – is accompanied by a thoughtfully made programme in the field of music, visual, photography, film and other arts for all ages and interests.

Moderators: Tilen Kolar and Tomi Petek

Participants
Aifric Mac Aodha (IRL), Jordi Julià (ESP), Tomasz Różycki (POL), Nataša Velikonja (SVN), Selahattin Yolgiden (TUR)

Tomasz Różycki (1970) is a Polish poet, translator, and university lecturer. He has published eight poetry collections, most notably the long, epic Twelve Stations, for which he was awarded the highest Polish literary honour for young authors. He has since received several other awards for his work and has been translated into numerous languages. He is also an established translator of Stéphane Mallarmé and Arthur Rimbaud.

The contemporary Polish poet Tomasz Różycki is known amongst readers and critics for his relatively strong poetic form, which he introduced in several poetry collections. His rhythmic poetry often refers to the literary tradition of the sonnet, but also to humour, irony, and the grotesque. However, it is not just an image and shape of the past, but a mirror for the present, where the contemporary man travels and dreams about art. Różycki is a different contemporary poetic voice – his lyrical meditations on solitude, love, and poetry interwoven with the past, tradition, and memories are enhanced with allusions to Polish literary traditions. In his Slovenian release, the poet will introduce himself with his own selection of his quarter-century-long poetic opus.

Days of Poetry and Wine, one of the most prominent Central European poetry festivals, successfully unites poetry with enology. Every year in the last warm August days the festival hosts over twenty poets from all over the world along with selected domestic winemakers. Korean phenomenon Ko Un, American poet C. D. Wright and Swedish nominee for the Nobel Prize Lars Gustafsson are just some of the 500 prominent names of past festivals. The main emphasis – poetry and wine – is accompanied by a thoughtfully made programme in the field of music, visual, photography, film and other arts for all ages and interests.

Moderator: Aleš Šteger

Participants
Eli Eliahu (ISR), Carolyn Forché (USA), Anna Gual (ESP), Ivan Hristov (BGR), Kristina Kočan (SVN)

Kristina Kočan (1981, Slovenia), poet and translator, is the author of four collections of poetry: »Migrations« (»Selišča«, 2021), »Stitchwork« (»Šivje«, 2018), »Wheels and Mulberries« (»Kolesa in murve«, 2014) and »Junk« (»Šara«, 2008), which was nominated for the best debut of the year. At the end of 2018, a multimedia book »s|prehod« was published, which includes a selection of her poetry, audio recordings of her set poetry and photographs by Bojan Atanaskovič. In 2019, her short fiction debut »Wildlife« (»Divjad«) was published by Litera. Her poetry has been translated into more than 10 languages and included in numerous international anthologies, including »Europe in Poems: The Versopolis Anthology in Other Words/Druge besede«. Her translation work focuses mainly on American authors. As a lyricist, she works with the band Brest, with whom she has released two acclaimed albums.

Days of Poetry and Wine, one of the most prominent Central European poetry festivals, successfully unites poetry with enology. Every year in the last warm August days the festival hosts over twenty poets from all over the world along with selected domestic winemakers. Korean phenomenon Ko Un, American poet C. D. Wright and Swedish nominee for the Nobel Prize Lars Gustafsson are just some of the 500 prominent names of past festivals. The main emphasis – poetry and wine – is accompanied by a thoughtfully made programme in the field of music, visual, photography, film and other arts for all ages and interests.

Moderator: Aleš Šteger

Participants
Eli Eliahu (ISR), Carolyn Forché (USA), Anna Gual (ESP), Ivan Hristov (BGR), Kristina Kočan (SVN)

Ivan Hristov (1978, Bulgaria) is a poet and a researcher in literary studies. He is the author of the poetry collections »Farewell, Nineteenth Century« (»Сбогом, деветнайсти век« , National Prize for the best poetic debut Southern Spring 2002), »Bdin« (»Бдин«, National literary prize Svetlostruy 2006) and »American Poems« (»Американски поеми«, 2013), as well as of an academic monograph. »A Dictionary of Love« (»Любовен речник«), his fourth book of poems, was published in 2018. His works have been translated into a dozen languages. Since 2019, Ivan Hristov has served as Director of the Sofia: Metaphors Poetry Festival International Program. As a researcher. he currently works at the Institute for Literature of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Days of Poetry and Wine, one of the most prominent Central European poetry festivals, successfully unites poetry with enology. Every year in the last warm August days the festival hosts over twenty poets from all over the world along with selected domestic winemakers. Korean phenomenon Ko Un, American poet C. D. Wright and Swedish nominee for the Nobel Prize Lars Gustafsson are just some of the 500 prominent names of past festivals. The main emphasis – poetry and wine – is accompanied by a thoughtfully made programme in the field of music, visual, photography, film and other arts for all ages and interests.

Moderators: Tilen Kolar and Tomi Petek

Participants
Aifric Mac Aodha (IRL), Jordi Julià (ESP), Tomasz Różycki (POL), Nataša Velikonja (SVN), Selahattin Yolgiden (TUR)

Nataša Velikonja (1967, Slovenia) is a sociologist, poet, essayist, and translator. She has published seven collections of poetry, and her first collection, »Season’s Ticket« (»Abonma«, 1994), is considered the first declared lesbian poetry collection in Slovenia. She is also the author of six books of essays and scientific treatises, and has published more than 500 essays, columns and sociological texts in various media, book collections and various publications both at home and abroad. A former member of the editorial board of the Journal for the Critique of Science, she has also served as editor of the Lesbo magazine, a columnist of Radio Študent, and has been a lesbian activist since 1993. She is the founder of the Lesbian Library and Archive at AKC Metelkova and a member of the Slovene Writers‘ Association. In 2016 she received the Župančič Prize, and in 2018 the Kons International Literary Award.

Days of Poetry and Wine, one of the most prominent Central European poetry festivals, successfully unites poetry with enology. Every year in the last warm August days the festival hosts over twenty poets from all over the world along with selected domestic winemakers. Korean phenomenon Ko Un, American poet C. D. Wright and Swedish nominee for the Nobel Prize Lars Gustafsson are just some of the 500 prominent names of past festivals. The main emphasis – poetry and wine – is accompanied by a thoughtfully made programme in the field of music, visual, photography, film and other arts for all ages and interests.

Moderators: Tilen Kolar and Tomi Petek

Participants
Aifric Mac Aodha (IRL), Jordi Julià (ESP), Tomasz Różycki (POL), Nataša Velikonja (SVN), Selahattin Yolgiden (TUR)

Jordi Julià i Garriga (1972) is a Catalan poet with a PhD in Theory of Literature and Comparative Literature from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, where he is now a lecturer. In 1997 he won his first literary prize, Màrius Torres, with »Els grills que no he matat«. Ever since, Julià has published more than 15 poetry books, including »Principi de plaer« (Vicent Andrés Estellés prize, 2007) and »Gent forastera« (Ciutat de Palma – Joan Alcover prize, 2012). Julià has also been succesful in the field of the literary criticism. »La perspectiva contemporánea« was awarded in 2002 with the Dámaso Alonso Prize for Philological Research). In 2003, his book »La mirada de Paris« received the Siglo XXI International Essay Prize of Mexico. He has studied the work of the catalan poets Gabriel Ferrater and Màrius Torres. Along with Pere Ballart, he has published a compilation of catalan poetry of the last century in 2012.

Days of Poetry and Wine, one of the most prominent Central European poetry festivals, successfully unites poetry with enology. Every year in the last warm August days the festival hosts over twenty poets from all over the world along with selected domestic winemakers. Korean phenomenon Ko Un, American poet C. D. Wright and Swedish nominee for the Nobel Prize Lars Gustafsson are just some of the 500 prominent names of past festivals. The main emphasis – poetry and wine – is accompanied by a thoughtfully made programme in the field of music, visual, photography, film and other arts for all ages and interests.

Moderators: Tilen Kolar and Tomi Petek

Participants
Aifric Mac Aodha (IRL), Jordi Julià (ESP), Tomasz Różycki (POL), Nataša Velikonja (SVN), Selahattin Yolgiden (TUR)

Aifric Mac Aodha (1979, Ireland) is the Irish-language poetry editor of Poetry Ireland Review, gorse and The Stinging Fly. Her first poetry collection, »The Taking of Syrinx« (»Gabháil Syrinx«), was published by An Sagart in 2010 and her poetry has been published in various magazines and journals, including POETRY Young Irish Poets. Her work has been translated into many languages, including French, German, Italian, Spanish and Czech. She has been awarded several bursaries by The Arts Council and, in recent years, she has read at numerous festivals in Europe, America, Canada and India. Her latest collection, »Foreign News«, with translations by David Wheatley, was published by The Gallery Press in 2017. She lives in Dublin, where she now works for the Irish-language publisher, An Gúm.

Days of Poetry and Wine, one of the most prominent Central European poetry festivals, successfully unites poetry with enology. Every year in the last warm August days the festival hosts over twenty poets from all over the world along with selected domestic winemakers. Korean phenomenon Ko Un, American poet C. D. Wright and Swedish nominee for the Nobel Prize Lars Gustafsson are just some of the 500 prominent names of past festivals. The main emphasis – poetry and wine – is accompanied by a thoughtfully made programme in the field of music, visual, photography, film and other arts for all ages and interests.

Moderators: Tilen Kolar and Tomi Petek

Participants
Aifric Mac Aodha (IRL), Jordi Julià (ESP), Tomasz Różycki (POL), Nataša Velikonja (SVN), Selahattin Yolgiden (TUR)

Selahattin Yolgiden (1977, Turkey) is a poet, translator, and editor. He is the author of eight poetry collections, with the most recent published in 2021. His poems have been translated into 13 languages, including English, German, and Italian. Yolgiden is the winner of several poetry awards: the Cemal Süreya Award (2004), the M. Sunullah Arısoy Award (2007), the Arif Damar Award (2011) and the Behçet Aysan Award (2014). He is also a member of the editorial boards of the »Çevrimdışı İstanbul« literature magazine and Offline İstanbul International Poetry Festival.

Days of Poetry and Wine, one of the most prominent Central European poetry festivals, successfully unites poetry with enology. Every year in the last warm August days the festival hosts over twenty poets from all over the world along with selected domestic winemakers. Korean phenomenon Ko Un, American poet C. D. Wright and Swedish nominee for the Nobel Prize Lars Gustafsson are just some of the 500 prominent names of past festivals. The main emphasis – poetry and wine – is accompanied by a thoughtfully made programme in the field of music, visual, photography, film and other arts for all ages and interests.

Moderator: Aleš Šteger

Participants
Eli Eliahu (ISR), Carolyn Forché (USA), Anna Gual (ESP), Ivan Hristov (BGR), Kristina Kočan (SVN)

Anna Gual (1986) published her first book, »Implosions« (2008) at the age of twenty-two after the publisher LaBreu Edicions discovered her in a secret blog »No caic, em tiro« she had been writing for two years. This won the 2012 Prize for the Best Blog Written in Catalan. In 2012, she published a collection of poems »Passa’m-hi els dits« (»Run Your Fingers through Me«) and, a year later, received the Pare Colom Prize for Mediterranean Poetry for her book »L’ésser solar« (»The Solar Being«, 2013). Seeking to probe the limits of language, Gual published her third collection of poems »Símbol 47« («Symbol 47«, 2015) and, in 2016, won two prestigious awards, the Bernat Vidal i Tomàs Prize for her book »Molsa« (»Moss«, 2016) and the Senyoriu Ausiàs March Prize for »El Tubercle« (»The Tubercle«, 2016), the latter two books comprising the first two parts of the trilogy »Arrel Trinitat« (»Trinity Root«), which will conclude with »Altres semidéus« (»Other Demigods«).

Days of Poetry and Wine, one of the most prominent Central European poetry festivals, successfully unites poetry with enology. Every year in the last warm August days the festival hosts over twenty poets from all over the world along with selected domestic winemakers. Korean phenomenon Ko Un, American poet C. D. Wright and Swedish nominee for the Nobel Prize Lars Gustafsson are just some of the 500 prominent names of past festivals. The main emphasis – poetry and wine – is accompanied by a thoughtfully made programme in the field of music, visual, photography, film and other arts for all ages and interests.