Bobrowski's rediscovery of the revolutionary and poet C. U. Boehlendorff as a writing impulse for Christa and Gerhard Wolf

With Birgit Dahlke, Andreas Degen, Carsten Gansel and Klaus Völker

Inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, Casimir Ulrich Boehlendorff, born 250 years ago, was one of the young poets and intellectuals around Hölderlin who strove for a form of society based on solidarity. He wrote poems and dramas, experienced the revolution in Switzerland, wandered penniless for many years through the Baltic States and as far as Kharkov. In 1964, Johannes Bobrowski's story "Boehlendorff" created a literary monument to the failed and completely forgotten man. It opened the door to Romanticism for GDR literature, and its subject matter and montage-like, investigative style strongly inspired the writing of Christa Wolf and Gerhard Wolf. The discussion will trace the lines of tradition and inspiration between the four authors and their texts.

An event organized by the Christa Wolf Society and the International Johannes Bobrowski Society in cooperation with the Literaturforum im Brecht-Haus. Supported by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Literarischer Gesellschaften und Gedenkstätten with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media