The editors of "Berliner Sachen" Gary Baker, Robert Gillett and Katja Leuchtenberger are presenting the volume at the Literaturhaus Rostock.
Uwe Johnson's "Berliner Sachen" has been available as a volume of the Rostock edition from Suhrkamp Verlag since December 2025. The three editors Gary Baker (Ohio), Robert Gillett (London) and Katja Leuchtenberger (Berlin) will present the volume at the Literaturhaus Rostock.
It contains essays on the situation of the cities of Berlin, which Uwe Johnson wrote between 1961 and 1971 and compiled into a book himself in 1975: He wrote the earliest text before the Wall was built; when he was working on the latest text, telephone calls between East and West Berlin were at least possible again after an interruption of almost 20 years. In between, an international view of the realities of life in a divided city, a divided country, a divided world unfolds.
In the interplay of Johnson's alert political view and the rich, historically sound commentary by the editors, the volume offers very concrete and exciting insights into the Cold War era and also an extraordinary history of Berlin. It also documents an agitation in the culture of political debate that is more topical than one would sometimes wish: As several of the edited texts are written as daily political interventions, Johnson repeatedly found himself at the center of such debates, and his view, which strove for objectivity, was generally perceived as a provocation.
Admission to the event is free. Registration is requestedvia reservierung@literaturhaus-rostock.de