Krystyna Kuhn: Second Poetry Day in Lohr on October 28th – An Interview with the Author

Krystyna Kuhn: The author from Lohr is organizing the poetry day in Lohr for the second time on October 28th

October 25, 2023 – 7:51 p.m

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Krystyna Kuhn writing. Archive photo: Steffen Schreck

Photo: Wolfgang Weismantel

Last year the poetry day took place in Lohr (Main-Spessart district) for the first time. The response was good, as organizer Krystyna Kuhn, herself an author, confirmed in an interview with the editorial team. 200 people were interested in the readings, which began at 11 in the morning and continued until 10 p.m.

On Saturday, October 28th, the second edition of the event will take place again in Lohr. We spoke to the author in advance.

Why is there a poetry day?

I want to change the fact that poetry has a difficult time. Poetry should be recited. This is something completely different. Live is incomparable because the language comes to life. That’s what I want to convey to people.

It was also about connecting the authors with each other. Lila Sovia was there in 2022. Today she holds workshops in schools in Lohr and is also invited to the Poetry Days in Würzburg. Something came out of that day.

What does poetry mean to you?

I want to reach people with something other than everyday trivial stuff. For me, culture is the glue that holds everything together. There is just enough terrible news. Poetry can offer a short break from everyday life. It is open, thoughtful, political and has a great emotional impact. I think poetry is the most concentrated form of literature. She describes the big world through little things. Often very personal, philosophical and like music to me. The language sounds. This is something that many people underestimate.

They not only organize the poetry day, but also the children’s and youth festival and a number of other literary events. How do you reconcile this with your own writing work?

Well, I’m doing the organizing myself. The Lohr cultural initiative helps on the day itself. I worked my way into it because I’m actually not much of an organizer. But I want to give something to my city – even if I don’t make that much money from it. This is more of a compensation for expenses than an income. Of course, when I organize events like this, I don’t get to work myself. But I just finished a book in August. And now I hope I can write again soon. I miss that a lot right now.

Who do you invite to the poetry day? How do you find your authors?

I am very happy to have won Jan Wagner for this poetry day. Wagner is the best-known name in Germany when it comes to poetry and is a Büchner Prize winner and winner of the German Book Prize. I was able to get him for a reading and for the opening speech. Last year it didn’t work out.

But I also invited newcomers. I try to mix it consciously. I want to let contemporaries have their say. The Poetry Day is open to all areas of the genre. Spoken Word is also represented with Jule Weber, for example, as is Poetry Slam with Pauline Füg. It’s a cross-section of the current scene. 16 authors will appear.

What can visitors expect? Poetry readings can sometimes be quite dry…

Experiencing authors is fun. Today poetry is often a good performance; the authors can read everything. A lot has happened in the poetry scene. This serves the lyric.

And how did you finance the event?

The event is sponsored by the Bavarian Ministry of Science and Art. I have submitted an application for this. But I can’t find anyone else in Lohr as a sponsor. Of course it would be easier if there was someone else on board. But I have the support of the Association of German Writers in Ver.di.

bLyric Day Lohr: Saturday, October 28th, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Old Town Hall, Marktplatz 1, Lohr am Main.

BETTINA KNELLER

background

” It is

a cross section through

the current scene. «

Krystyna Kuhn, author from Lohr

Zur Person: Krystyna Kuhn

The writer Krystyna Kuhn was born in Würzburg in 1960. After studying art history, German and Slavic studies in Göttingen and Würzburg, she spent some time in Moscow and Krakow. Back in Germany, she initially worked as a technical editor in a software company. During this time she wrote manuals about commercial software. Motivated by a course on suspense novels at the Munich Literature House, she wrote her first novel, “Fishes Can Be Silent,” in 2001. From then on, she devoted herself full-time to fiction writing and wrote books in the crime and thriller genres. In 2007, her first girls’ thriller, “Snow White Trap,” was published, which was soon followed by other books in the series. With her “The Valley” series, which began in 2010, she also achieved international success and was included in the Spiegel bestseller list. Kuhn has been a member of the federal board of the Association of German Writers since February. The Lohr native has been chairwoman of the Upper/Lower Franconia regional group in the VS Bavaria regional association since 2019 and has also been a board member there since 2022. ()

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