In the organizer's words:

Literary associations and societies are by no means a phenomenon of the past. They are firmly anchored in the cultural life of the city of Leipzig and beyond. They are often concerned with promoting and cultivating the poetic heritage of a particular author. However, they always look beyond the work of individuals to the literary landscape in general, the eras and styles, the history of the genre. And so they do not appeal exclusively to bibliophiles, but are aimed at a broad public with an interest in literature.

On the occasion of the exhibition Dichterikone. Collecting, Honoring, Researching, Communicating GOETHE, representatives of Leipzig literary societies will discuss their work, their motivation and the question of how literary heritage is communicated today. How do such societies come to be founded? Which authors are considered "canon-worthy" - and why? The discussion expands our view beyond Goethe and invites us to engage with the communication of literature, cultural memory and the living veneration of authors.

Poetry icon. Collecting, researching, venerating and communicating GOETHE

From November 7, 2025 to February 1, 2026 in the exhibition space of the Bibliotheca Albertina, daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thu-Sun until 9 p.m., Free admission

Collecting objects relating to the life and work of a writer, especially autographs and valuable prints, developed into a bourgeois cultural practice in the 19th century. Goethe played a special role in this, becoming the national poet of the Germans after the foundation of the German Empire in 1871.

The 100th anniversary of the founding of the Leipzig Goethe Society offers an opportunity to trace the connections between the valuable Goetheana holdings in the Leipzig University Library and the research, editing and collecting practices in their respective contexts. It is largely unknown that Leipzig became a center of the autograph trade, which professionalized as a branch of the antiquarian book trade. Questions can also be asked about current forms of dealing with the works and estates of writers. What do they mean to their collectors, what does collecting say about the status of literature? Why and when are certain authors collected - regionally, nationally, transnationally? And what do literary societies do?

The exhibition was created in collaboration with the Leipzig Goethe Society and includes items on loan from the Saxon State Archives and the Custody of the University of Leipzig.

The event will take place in Café Alibi.