Usedomer Literaturtage: In the face of the comet Durs Grünbein in conversation

In Durs Grünbein's cosmos, past and present become interlocutors. His novel "Der Komet" (The Comet), published in 2023, draws a luminous line to the great upheavals of our time - the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East - and the questions of guilt, fate and the survival of civilization. The novel tells the story of his grandmother Dora's life: she moved to Dresden from poor Silesian circumstances and enjoyed modest happiness in the shadow of the Nazi regime until the firestorm on February 13, 1945 destroyed everything. Grünbein interweaves this biography with poetic precision, philosophical depth and the warning of catastrophes that come from afar and change everything - an echo in the wars of today.

Against this backdrop, cultural historian Manfred Osten talks to Durs Grünbein about the novel in the face of a sleep of reason - big, clear sentences about war, memory and language.

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