Literature meets knowledge: Reading with Katharina Mevissen in Lübeck!

Literature meets knowledge: Reading with Katharina Mevissen in Lübeck!

Today, April 29, 2025, the event “Literature meets Knowledge: Word Music” will take place in the confessional house of the European Hanseatic Museum in Lübeck. The reading begins at 7:00 p.m. and promises to offer a captivating interplay of literature and science. Author Katharina Mevissen will read from her debut novel “I Can Hear You,” which has become very popular. Her immersive narrative explores the life of cello student Osman and combines oral traditions with literary approaches, which turns out to be the central theme of her current research at the Free University of Berlin. Mevissen, who was awarded the Kranichstein Literature Prize and the Bremen Literature Prize 2024, also received the Meersburg Droste Prize for her second novel “Mother's Voice Break”.

The reading will be accompanied by Gabriel Schwabe, an internationally recognized cellist and professor at the Lübeck University of Music. In a moderated conversation led by Bettina Thierig, listeners have the opportunity to delve deeper into the topics and discuss the interactions between literature and music. Thierig is also the conceptual designer of the “Literature meets Knowledge” event series, which aims to link literary works with scientific findings. The program is complemented by a musical contribution from the talented Mari Nagahara, whose music gives the evening an additional dimension.

The Kranichsteiner Literature Prize and its development

The importance of the event is underlined by the Kranichsteiner Literature Prize, which was first awarded in 1983. This prize was very popular until 2019, before it was renamed the “Grand Prize of the German Literature Fund” in 2020. The original amount of the prize was 15,000 DM, and the winner received a small bronze sculpture by the sculptor Gotthelf Schlotter from Darmstadt. In its more than 30-year history, the prize has taken a variety of forms, from a reading competition to a two-day workshop with selected authors beginning in 1990.

The new “Grand Prize of the German Literature Fund” is endowed with 50,000 euros and is awarded exclusively from the circle of previous scholarship holders. In this way, the award-winning authors are given a platform to present their work to a wider audience, which is also the aim of literary events such as “Wortmusik”. The prize has established itself over the years as an important award in the German-speaking literary world and is carefully selected by a jury.

Literature in the context of social challenges

Human failure and the challenges of society are often discussed in literature. This is also illustrated by the latest works by authors who deal intensively with the fundamental questions of humanity and the application of human rights. It is repeatedly emphasized that hope is not always positive and often has an energy-sapping effect. The author Lukas Bärfuss states that it is important to question what happens between people. Literature has the potential to go beyond mere reality and create utopias, which makes it a central medium in dealing with individual and social challenges.

In particular, Toni Morrison cites that the concept of freedom is closely linked to the history of slavery, which illustrates the complexity of human rights and their application. In this context, events and readings like those taking place in Lübeck can help bring these important topics into public discourse and open up new perspectives.

Information about the “Wortmusik” event and about Katharina Mevissen and her work can be found directly on the website University of Lübeck be read. Further details about the Kranichsteiner Literature Prize and its development can be found on the website German Literature Fund to find.