Of Unrest and New Beginnings: Stories from Rügen and Wiepersdorf

This fall, several events will showcase the literary voices and artistic positions of the scholarship holders in Wiepersdorf. The series kicks off in October with authors Sandra Pixberg and Bettina Gärtner, who will take us on very different journeys through time.

Sandra Pixberg from Altefähr on Rügen reads from her historical novel Das Orakel von Jasmund (The Oracle of Jasmund). In it, we journey back to the beginnings of spa tourism on Rügen in 1824. A Berlin officer comes to the island as a tourist; his orderly, Johann, comes from there. He understands the fishermen's dialect, and memories keep coming back to him. But then a body washes ashore that no one seems to know... The story resembles a crime novel and offers an insight into the mythical world of Rügen.

Bettina Gärtner from Vienna presents excerpts from a yet unpublished text that, among other things, takes us back to Wiepersdorf's past. For here we find ourselves in the turbulent Wiepersdorf Castle of 2018: the imminent closure of the building for renovation purposes casts a shadow over the future. The scholarship holders see the continuation of Wiepersdorf Castle as a residence for artists and cultural workers as being at risk and want to take action. This mood can be reexamined from the perspective of today's scholarship holder. Bettina Gärtner weaves Vienna with Wiepersdorf and the year 2018 with the present.

Sandra Pixberg studied cultural studies and is an author. Since 2007, she has been publishing both novels and non-fiction texts, teaching creative writing, writing informational texts for museums, and much more. Her books cover a wide range of topics—a biography of the Enlightenment pastor Picht, a whodunit crime novel, seven travel guides, and a historical novel.

Bettina Gärtner was born in Frankfurt (Main) in 1962 and has lived in Vienna since early childhood. She began publishing in literary magazines in 2008 and went on to write the novels Unter Schafen (Among Sheep), which won the 2015 Author's Prize for particularly successful debuts, and Herrmann (2020). Most recently, she has mainly published essays.

Thursday, 13 October, 5:00 p.m.
Free Admission
Wiepersdorf - Bettina-von-Arnim-Straße 13, 14913 Niederer Fläming

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