The Magnetic North. - Tomas Venclova, Ellen Hinsey and Michael Krüger

Reading and conversation with Tomas Venclova, Ellen Hinsey and Michael Krüger - Moderated by Matthias Bormuth

Vilnius and Moscow, Berkeley and New Haven are stations in the life story of Tomas Venclova. The "Lithuanian Odysseus" recalls them through poems - in dialogue with translator and poet Ellen Hinsey and poet and longtime publisher Michael Krüger. The evening's central theme is how poetic and political freedom condition each other.

Venclova draws on Hannah Arendt, emphasizing the unifying power of poetic thought: "Poetry insists on unconditional individuality [...]. When it succeeds, one finds one's place in language and in history, which existed long before oneself and will continue after one's death." Arendt championed poetic perspectives rooted in Western traditions that foster civic courage.

How words can transform political estrangement into poetic closeness is shown in Venclova's autobiographical reflection: "Exile creates a magnetic point toward which one feels drawn like a compass needle to the pole. And ultimately this magnetic point can become one's own."

Supported by Baden-Württemberg Stiftung, in cooperation with Haus der Heimat des Landes Baden-Württemberg.