Literatur auf der Insel

In the organizer's words:

Café ADA
Literature on the island
The literary salon at Café Ada
Guest: Anja Kampmann
Host: Torsten Krug & Uta Atzpodien
As part of the Wuppertal Literature Biennale 2026
Friday / May 15, 2026 / 19:30 (admission: from 5 pm)
Admission: 16/8 (VVK incl. fees and B.O.)

"There is a rage that has nowhere to go, what are we women good at, we travel inwards, always."
Hedda has fought for her dream: to be an artist in the "Alkazar" on the Reeperbahn! But nothing mattered more when the new uniforms appeared in the audience in the 1930s as a matter of course. The space for freedom narrows, and things become dangerous for the girls in the variety show too. Who can Hedda still trust? Her older brother Jaan signs on as a harpoon smith on a whaler for a trip to the Antarctic. Hedda looks for a way out for herself and her little brother Pauli.
In "Die Wut ist ein heller Stern", Anja Kampmann uses incomparably atmospheric language to tell the story of female self-assertion in a time dominated entirely by men. The novel "masterfully depicts the National Socialist restructuring of society. The static language and the dynamics of the events complement each other to create almost cinematic images," says Paul Jandl (Neue Zürcher Zeitung). "Kampmann is concerned with capturing the moment and making it shine" (Holger Heimann, NDR Kultur).
Anja Kampmann, born in Hamburg in 1983, studied at the University of Hamburg and the German Literature Institute in Leipzig. She made her debut with Hanser in 2016 with the poetry collection "Proben von Stein und Licht". Her first novel "Wie hoch die Wasser steigen" (2018) has been translated many times, was nominated for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize and the German Book Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award in the USA. Most recently, the poetry collection "Der Hund ist immer hungrig" (2021) was published. She received the Marie Luise Kaschnitz Prize for her work in 2024.
We look forward to a literary tightrope walk!

"Ada" is Turkish and means "island".
The guests at "Literature on the Island" are renowned authors from Germany and abroad. They read from their books, talk about their work and bring along foreign texts and music that are important to them. After a break, the evening's themes can be explored in greater depth through photos, music, a film or in a free discussion.
The hosts are the theater director and author Torsten Krug and the freelance dramaturge Dr. Uta Atzpodien. The mentor of the event is the Wuppertal writer and former publishing director Hermann Schulz.

An INSEL event as part of the Wuppertal Literature Biennale 2026.

Price information:

Admission: 16/8 (VVK incl. fees and B.O.)