Insa Wilke: Honorary doctorate for the literary educator in Hanover!

Insa Wilke: Honorary doctorate for the literary educator in Hanover!

Insa Wilke, one of Germany's best-known literary critics, will be awarded an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy at Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) on May 16, 2025. The university is honoring her outstanding achievements as a literary educator who cultivates a reflective and clear approach to literature. The award ceremony takes place as part of a celebratory promotion event, at which Wilke also moderates a panel discussion. The topic was: “How do you keep the rooms open and yet also demonstrate attitude?”

Wilke was born in Bremerhaven in 1978 and studied German and history at various institutions, including Göttingen, Rome and Berlin. Her doctorate in 2009 dealt with the poet Thomas Brasch and resulted in the publication of her dissertation, "Is that a life. The poet Thomas Brasch", in 2010. She is not only known for her critical contributions in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, but also works on radio and television and has been a juror in various literary prizes for many years.

Awards and commitment

Wilke was awarded the Alfred Kerr Prize for Literary Criticism in 2014, an honor that further cemented her influence on the literary scene. From 2010 to 2012 she was program manager at the Literaturhaus Cologne before starting her freelance work. Her involvement as program manager of the Mannheim literature festival “lesen.hören” began in 2016. She was also part of the “lesenswert quartett” on SWR television from 2017 to 2024.

In recent years she has taken on significant legal roles, including chairing the jury for the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize from 2018 to 2023 and the Leipzig Book Fair Prize from 2022 to 2024. These roles are part of her broad involvement in the literary world and demonstrate her ability to actively shape literary discourses.

Future-oriented projects

In March 2024, Wilke plans to launch her own literary platform and literary program cafelit.de, which will focus on contemporary literature. Its goal is to introduce students in Hanover to literary criticism and to create new spaces for literary discussions.

Wilke's career represents a synthesis of critical debate and active literature management. With her honorary doctorate, she takes on further responsibility that enables her to pass on her passion for literature at an institutional level.

Marcel Reich-Ranicki is also a prominent figure in German literary criticism, whose 100th birthday was honored in literary criticism in 2020. The influence he has on the literary landscape is still noticeable today and is often discussed in discussions about journalistic literary criticism, a field that Wilke also shapes with her work and commitment. Like Reich-Ranicki, she could form an important bridge between scientific and journalistic debate in literature, which makes Wilkes' honorary doctorate particularly significant.