A Tribute to Mascha Kaléko: Dr. Kristine von Soden pays tribute to the poet and her distinctive verses, which blend wit, melancholy, love, and exile.
She captured the spirit of the times: with her butterfly-light fantasies woven from sassy wit and melancholic wisdom. At the Workers’ Welfare Office of the Jewish Organizations of Germany in Berlin, the child of immigrants from Galicia earned her living as a stenographer. On the side, Mascha Kaléko wrote poems and sent them to newspapers. With success. Leading publications vied for her verses on love, hope, longing, and loneliness.
In 1933, just a few weeks before Hitler came to power, her debut was published: *Das lyrische Stenogrammheft*. Bitter years were to follow, marked by publication bans, emigration, and homelessness. Yet Mascha Kaléko remained true to the magic of her words—supported not least by Albert Einstein, with whom she corresponded while in the U.S.
This event is part of the Ahrenshoop Literature Days. Discover more readings, discussions, and cultural encounters in the artists’ village of Ahrenshoop—for literature enthusiasts from the region and vacationers on the Baltic Sea.
