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February 11 is Monja Blanca Day in Guatemala, a national holiday that honors the rare white orchid, which was designated the national flower in 1934. We take this day as an opportunity to reflect on national symbols and talk to Guatemalan botanist Fredy Archila, who is committed to protecting the flower.
more...Under the somewhat abstract title Weltenwechsel (Change of Worlds), Kraft tells the story of a Black girl growing up in southern Germany shortly after the end of the Second World War. With this perspective on the post-war period, Kraft fills a gap in the German literary landscape.
more...There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak begins with the omniscient “character” literally falling into the story. A water molecule which takes the form of a raindrop and lands in the hair of King Ashurbanipal, the last king of the doomed city of Nineveh. From there, the book follows three timelines which are visited in different forms by this same water molecule.
more...As a staunch supporter of books reflecting the diversity of South Asian voices and experiences, I love that Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian is a story grounded in real life struggles bolstered by ancient magic and spirituality, history, and a nerve-jangling heist.
more...February 11 is Monja Blanca Day in Guatemala, a national holiday that honors the rare white orchid, which was designated the national flower in 1934. We take this day as an opportunity to reflect on national symbols and talk to Guatemalan botanist Fredy Archila, who is committed to protecting the flower.
more...Gold is a precious material in Indian culture. It represents prosperity, fertility, good fortune – basically, all the things you want to have when starting a new life and establishing a family. For Hindus, gold is also connected to the goddess Laxshmi. As well as its spiritual richness, it has also represented a quiet power in the hands of women for centuries when practices like dowry and bride price were common.
more...During the era of German colonialism, wireless telegraphy served as an instrument of colonial control. Various aspects of this history and its legacies are addressed in Lene Albrecht’s novel Weiße Flecken (White Spots), in the workbook From Windhoek to Kamina to Nauen, and in the exhibition “Signals of Power” at the Brandenburg Museum in Potsdam.
more...Dennis Mugaa’s debut collection, ‘Half Portraits Underwater,’ has quickly marked him as one of the most compelling new voices in Kenyan literature. Written over four years, the book gathers ten short stories that oscillate between the intimate and the historical, spanning Nairobi neighborhoods, Cairo, Lagos, London, and beyond. Mugaa situates his characters in liminal spaces […]
more...“This society is fragmented – it’s a product of colonialism, but it’s also just a fact of paradise island.”
more...jarral Boyd grew up on Turtle Island and is the child of Indigenous and Black parents. Since they have lived in Berlin, jarral has worked in schools, created community structures for diversity and inclusion, given workshops as an allyship trainer at conferences…
more...We are back after our end of year break. One of us spend some time in Ireland so we thought this is the perfect opportunity to let you know our favorite independent bookshops in Dublin. 1. Books Upstairs Dublins oldest independent bookshop was opened in May 1978 located above a hairdresser and has moved a […]
more...Food writing is a diverse genre that explores food-related topics and goes far beyond recipes and cooking techniques. In literary works, food can, for example, be used as a metaphor, a thematic element, to explore identities or relationships. In this listicle we recommend 5 great books for foodies, including food fiction and food memoirs. We promise that these books will make you hungry.
more...Last year we started the poco.lit. podcast and one thing was very important to us: Give independent bookshops all around Berlin space to recommend books.
more...This is our third call for submissions and we are looking for pieces about being from. Please send us your pitch!
more...For our online magazine, we are looking for contributions on the topic of “Ideas that Travel”.
more...Anna von Rath and Lucy Gasser co-founded poco.lit. and macht.sprache. These projects involved a lot of research, conversations with experts, workshops and inputs for different target audiences. Many of the discussions and learnings can soon be found in their book Macht Sprache. Ein Manifest für mehr Gerechtigkeit. The book will be published on September 26, 2024.
more...On Friday, November 7, the renowned Indigenous writer Drew Hayden Taylor from Turtle Island, Canada, will read from his latest novel Cold at the University of Potsdam. All are warmly invited!
more...Herzliche Einladung zur Veranstaltung “Vertragsarbeit in der DDR – Erinnerungen und Perspektiven aus Mosambik und Angola am 30.10.25, organisiert von der Universität Potsdam, dem Potsdam Postcolonial Studies Collective und DAS MINSK – Kunsthaus in Potsdam.
more...Warm invitation to our upcoming event with Jessica J. Lee and Nina Mingya Powles at Spore Initiative in Berlin-Neukölln on May 10, 2025.
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