LESUNG | Kenah Cusanit "Senatore Cappelli"

Economy, world and well-being explained in a grain of wheat: in "Senatore Cappelli", awarded the German Prize for Nature Writing 2024, Kenah Cusanit takes us on an amusing and enlightening journey into the heart of the present.

The publication of a federal institute that classifies spelt as possibly unsuitable for human allergies; an examination of the villi in the human intestine, which can erode in a similar way to the climate-stressed Alps and thus cause the same intolerances; and finally the history of the choice of names for modern wheat varieties, which are far from being able to keep up with the melodious names of old Italian varieties that still grow in symbiosis with their environment today. Kenah Cusanit uses these ingredients to compose an essay that aims poetic associations at the heart of debates about food, hunger and climate protection.

Kenah Cusanit, born in 1979, lives in Berlin. The ancient orientalist and ethnologist has received several awards for her essays and poems. Her debut novel "Babel" was nominated for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize.

In the "Naturkunden" series edited by Judith Schalansky, authors write knowledgeably and passionately about animals and plants, mushrooms, plants and celestial bodies.

We present selected books from the series in cooperation with the Literaturbüro NRW.

Moderator: Michael Serrer (Literaturbüro NRW).

Duration: 90 minutes