„…auch die Gedanken freier werden zu lassen…“ Neues aus der WerkStatt

In the organizer's words:

"...also to let the thoughts become freer..." (Anita Gruhn)

News from the WerkStatt

What was Heinrich Heine looking for on Norderney? How did German communists who had fled the Nazi regime survive in exile in Moscow? Can a story only be told with euphemisms? What did Germans who once emigrated to the colony of the Dutch Indies experience and do? How do you express enigmatic perceptions in words after an acupuncture? The thematic diversity of our writing workshop at the VHS Pankow unfolds between the search for historical traces and personal borderline experiences.

The writing workshop itself also has a special history: it goes back to a "circle of writing workers" in the GDR. Committed participants preserved it after the fall of the Wall, together with an extensive archive, and founded the association "SchreibArt e.V.". The VHS Pankow gave it a new home. Since then, the group has continued to develop and reinvent itself.

We cordially invite you to get to know current texts from the workshop: poetry and prose that reflect the entire spectrum of literary creation - surprising, polyphonic and close to the big and small questions of our time.

Introduction and moderation by Astrid Vehstedt, head of the writing workshop.

Astrid Vehstedt
Director, author and filmmaker
Born in Hamburg. Studied directing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater with Prof. Götz Friedrich and Prof. Gyula Trebitsch, Studio Hamburg and ZdF. Studied German language and literature with Walter Höllerer. Engagements at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, the Halle Opera, the National Theater Baghdad, among others. Founded and directed the "ensemble interculturel" for contemporary music theater in Brussels. Numerous libretti, the crime novel "Sonutarium Labyrinth" and contributions to anthologies. Since 2021 Writers-in-Exile Commissioner and Vice President PEN Center Germany.