Worte und Töne I

In Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov a mysterious flaneur opens a clinic for patients with Alzheimer’s. He calls it the clinic of the past. Each floor recreates a specific decade. More and more healthy people would like a place in the clinic to escape from the crises of the present-day. Stefko Hanushevsky reads from the German translation (Zeitzuflucht).

In “Feathers Everywhere” Nava Ebrahimi recounts a day that changes everything in a small German town. A large poultry factory controls the people’s lives. A single mother hopes to find a job away from the processing line. A young female engineer’s career is at stake with the test run of an automation process. An abandoned husband looks forward excitedly to a date. A refugee from Afghanistan believes that his poems will melt the hearts of the officials.

*** BIOGRAPHIES ***

Georgi Gospodinov
b. 1968 in Yambol. Author and editor of the literary and cultural weekly, Literaturen vestnik. His books have been translated into over 20 languages and in 2023 he was the winner of the International Booker Prize for his book Time Shelter. Most recently published in German translation: Der Gärtner und der Tod, Aufbau 2025.

Nava Ebrahimi
b. 1978 in Teheran, is among the most thrilling voices of German-speaking literature. She was awarded the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 2021. Recently published: “Feathers Everywhere” (Und Federn überall), Luchterhand 2025.

Stefko Hanushevsky is an Austrian actor. He has worked in theatres in Germany and at the Salzburger Festspielen. He is currently a member of the ensemble at the Burgtheater.

Miriam Adefris is a musician with Austrian-Ethiopian roots. She is a harpist as a soloist or in a band. Miriam Adefris’s repertoire includes improvised and original music with elements of jazz, club sounds and electronics.