Festive opening evening polenmARkT 2024
Opening of polenmARkT 2024 with a reading by Jacek Dehnel and award ceremony of the XXV Sparkasse Vorpommern Prize for German-Polish Cooperation at the University of Greifswald
The prize is preferably awarded to research work by young academics from all disciplines that has been developed within the framework of German-Polish cooperation or makes a significant contribution to the field of German-Polish relations; the prize can also be awarded in recognition of services to intensifying cooperation with Polish institutions at the University of Greifswald and in its immediate vicinity.
Jacek Dehnel, Caspar David Friedrich and the Viceroy of Rügen
How do today's artists view paintings by Caspar David Friedrich? The Greifswald Festival Nordischer Klangposed this question to Jacek Dehnel, the well-known Polish poet, prose writer and painter. The result is scenes in which the author confesses to his favorite painting by Friedrich and creates surprising connections between the old painting and our time in his personal text. These completely different and unexpected approaches to Friedrich's pictorial world demonstrate his unbroken, multifaceted impact.
Jacek Dehnel is a man of many talents: Painter, translator, literary critic, publicist, television presenter, cultural manager and a whole lot more. But above all, Jacek Dehnel, born in Gdansk in 1980, is an extremely successful writer. He cultivates the image of an intellectual who knows all the tricks of the trade just as carefully as that of a self-confessed homosexual and style-conscious aesthete. One thinks of Oscar Wilde and Tom Wolfe, but is also quick to admit that his penchant for bow ties and walking sticks harmonizes perfectly with his fine features and impeccable manners. In his writing career - he has published several novels, short story collections and poetry collections to date - there seems to be as little room for coincidence as there is in his outfit.
One of Jacek Dehnel's many talents is his ability to combine historical motifs with contemporary Polish realities. He did this most recently in the 2019 picaresque novel But with our dead (soon to be published in German), in which the ghosts of the past return to convey Polish values to Europeans, but ultimately only cause chaos. When you know the determination with which Dehnel engages in public life, for example by publicly castigating aggressive political rhetoric or standing up for the rights of homosexuals, you understand why he is considered one of the most incisive personalities on the Polish literary scene.
Jacek Dehnel, born in Gdansk in 1980, studied literature and philosophy in Warsaw and is a poet, prose writer, translator and painter. He became internationally known in 2006 with his novel "Lala". In 2005 he was awarded the Koscielski Prize and in 2010 his poetry collection Ekran kontrolny ("Control Screen") was nominated for the most important Polish literary prize, Nike. Dehnel also translates from English and Russian.
Eva Sand and Alex Marek form an impressive musical duo from Szczecin and will provide the musical program. Eva Sand is a singer, composer and lyricist with a distinctive, deep and slightly smoky voice. Alex Marek is a pianist, composer and arranger who delights the audience with his playful lightness, sophistication and palpable passion for music
