Martin Maria Kohtes & Michael Kohtes. Die Seligen oder Die letzten Tage der Spezialdemokratie. Autorenleseung.

August 6, 2026, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Martin Maria Kohtes & Michael Kohtes.
The Blessed or The Last Days of Special Democracy.
Reading and discussion as part of the New German Literature series.

The “happy generation” on the eve of a new era, reflected in a highly idiosyncratic portrait of customs and family life, full of colorful characters and crazy stories. We eavesdrop on two dissimilar brothers for whom hay harvests and manure piles are as familiar as urban pop modernity. On one hand, the milieu of Rhineland Catholic beet farmers and landowners; on the other, the world of night owls, cokeheads, and scoundrels—in both, you’ll find eccentric lives and outrageous escapades: Meet DJ Lifta and Countess Berghe von Trips, Justin Bieber-Butzemann and Father Handke, Adolf Jr., Hedda (aka Luda), and Eek-a-Mouse. Amazing things befall the brothers in this all-too-human comedy, as they are suddenly caught up in their erotic past.

This boldly crafted novel reads like the final snapshot of that serene, singular era that followed the horrors of the 20th century and is now, with new catastrophes looming, coming to an end. With masterful language, profound insight, and side-splitting humor, the Kohtes brothers recount“ ”—those “fat years.”

“Since Franz Hessel and Walter Benjamin, no one has navigated a major city with such a keen eye, sharp intellect, and eloquent descriptive power.” (Denis Scheck on *365 Days – Views from K.*)

Michael Kohtes lives in Cologne as a writer and journalist. He has published essayistic prose, poetry, and, most recently, the diary collage *365 Days – Views of K.* WDR audiences know him, among other things, as the longtime host of the literary talk show *Zeichen & Wunder*. He has received various prizes and awards for his work.

Martin Maria Kohtes is a theater scholar and philologist. After studying in Berlin, Paris, and New York, he taught in Cologne and Berlin. His publications include *Guerilla Theater* and *Besser schreiben*. He now lives in the Rhineland as an author.

Host: Bernard Hoffmeister