Kamellen - An Event of the Magdeburg Literature Days

Half a decade has passed since Max Heckel published his second volume, "Autobiografische Fiktionen". Not that he's been idle. He's been on the road a lot, putting on new shows. And as tends to happen - time just ran out. Work is, as everyone knows, the warmest jacket. And clichés will carry you through any conversation.

Now Heckel presents new texts from his current book "Kamellen". Because storytelling is like music. All the chord progressions have been written. And all the plots, probably too. What matters now is only how you arrange the stories. Heckel is not a particularly good musician. Nor a good writer. But he can speak into a microphone and carry himself with confidence - enough for his audiences to buy the idea that he knows his craft.

Somewhere between content and form there's a lot of everyday life, things worth criticising, and things worth marvelling at. Seasoned with a dose of self-deprecation and irony, it all adds up to a distinctly "heckely" sound, which the self-proclaimed sauerkraut poet accompanies with songs. Not a must. But a can. A nice can. And that's already worth something. Because hunger is the best cook.