Lara Rüter: »Affenliebe«

In the organizer's words:

They mourn and they fart, they laugh and they get angry, they want as much pleasure and comfort as possible and then stare at themselves again: humans - no, apes.

Poet Lara Rüter worked for years in a primate research institute. In her text, she talks radically about the apes and about herself: about the beginnings of life and about dying, about the urge for freedom and touch. In everyday life with the monkeys, the same question keeps coming up: What does it feel like to be human?

Hovering between poetry quotes, science questions and moments at the enclosure, this groundbreaking essay shows how writing changes the world.

Lara Rüter has already received awards for her writing, including the Kranichsteiner Literaturförderpreis for her poetry debut amoretten in netzen (Wunderhorn 2024).

Andrea Schwyzer works in Hanover as a freelance radio journalist and presenter for various ARD stations, including NDR Kultur.