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Green Library: Event Series

The Green Library series invites creative writers living in and around Berlin to read and perform their work. It aims to create a space for discussions about nature and the environment. In line with Poco. Lit.’s broader aims, the series strives to draw forward lesser-heard voices and perspectives, particularly from the global South and People of Colour.

The series is made up of four readings and one creative writing workshop. In our first session, New Zealand poet and sound artist Hinemoana Baker will perform some pieces from her upcoming collection Funkhaus, and give cause to critically consider assumptions about Indigenous peoples’ supposed closeness to nature. Our second reading is timed to coincide with the weekend of activities Offenes Neukolln. Jessica J. Lee will tell us about her experiences swimming all of the lakes of Berlin, which she recorded in her memoir Turning. She will also read from her latest work Two Trees Make a Forest. Lee combines her immersive exploration of nature with a hunt for her grandparents’ story hoping to understand what brought her family from China, to Taiwan, to Canada. For our third event, Jennifer Neal will read from her short stories and forthcoming novel, and discuss nature writing and histories of racial injustice. Musa Okwonga will guide us in a creative writing workshop. Finally, our last guest is 2018’s German Book Prize winner Inger-Maria Mahlke, who will discuss her epic novel Archipel. Mahlke’s novel traces the role of the remote, yet strategically important volcanic island of Tenerife in the 20th Century European power games.

  • 11.03:  ‘You’re Not the Māori I Had in Mind’: Poet and Performer Hinemoana Baker
  • 05.06:  ‘Two Trees Make a Forest’: Jessica J. Lee (online)
  • 08.07:  ‘In Search of Better Skies’: Jennifer Neal (online)
  • 22.07:  Creative Writing with Musa Okwonga (online)
  • 07.10:  ‘Es gibt mehr Insekten als in Madrid’: Inger-Maria Mahlke (German language)

The Green Library event series is generously supported by the Berlin Senate. All events start at 8 pm.

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