Barbara Honigmann »Mischka«

May 6, 2026 / 7.30 pm / Literature Café / Hall

Moderation: Thorsten Ahrend

"It wasn't really a circle, but rather a cosmos, a universe that surrounded me in my childhood and youth." Barbara Honigmann, the "master of biographical portraits" (Deutschlandfunk), tells the story in her new book "Mischka. Drei Porträts" (Hanser 2026), Barbara Honigmann tells of the lives and survival of her parents' friends who escaped the Nazi camps and the Gulag. Young Jewish communist intellectuals who paid dearly for their ideals and some of whom found a way out again and again. Mishka, for example, brought together poets and dissidents who defied the Soviet regime in her two-room apartment in Moscow in the 1970s. Against the backdrop of the murderous world history of the 20th century, these captivatingly told memories of acquaintances, companions and loved ones are captivating above all for their friendliness, warmth and wit.

Born in East Berlin in 1949, the author worked as a dramaturge and director. In 1984, she emigrated with her family to Strasbourg, where she still lives today. Her work has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Kleist Prize, Max Frisch Prize, Jakob Wassermann Prize, Bremen Literature Prize and Jean Paul Prize. Her most recent publications are "Chronik meiner Straße" (2015), "Georg" (2019) and "Unverschämt jüdisch" (2021).

Admission: 10,- / 7,- EUR ǀ Event organized by Literaturhaus Leipzig e.V. ǀ Supported by the Cultural Office of the City of Leipzig

Reductions are available for disabled persons and their accompanying person (only with entry in the disability card), unemployed persons, pupils and students (up to 35) as well as holders of the Leipzig Pass or a volunteer card, in each case only on presentation of the card).