22-27 January 2018, Cologne

“Do I become a different person when I speak another language? Does a seahorse look different when it is no longer called 'tatsu-no-otoshigo' (the dragon’s lost child) but ‘Seepferdchen’ (the little horse from the sea)?” (Yoko Tawada) ‘Beyond Identities – The Art of Transformation’ is the theme of this year’s festival.

The curator of Poetica IV is the Japanese-German poet, narrator and essayist Yoko Tawada. She has invited authors from three continents – renowned experts in the art of metamorphosis in poetry and prose: Jeffrey Angles from the USA, Bei Dao from China, Anneke Brassinga from the Netherlands, Teju Cole from the USA and Nigeria, Hiromi Itō from Japan, Kim Hyesoon from South Korea, Barbara Köhler from Germany, Morten Søndergaard from Denmark, Monique Truong from the USA and Vietnam, and Jan Wagner from Germany.

The authors will be joined by the pianist Aki Takase and members of the ensemble Schauspiel Köln for the opening of the festival on 22 January, at 6pm, in the auditorium of the University of Cologne. The other events – readings, discussions and performances – will take place at different locations in Cologne: the University, the City Library, the Literaturhaus, the Japanese Cultural Institute, the Sancta-Clara-Keller and the Schauspiel Köln.

More information is available from the Poetica website

Poetica IV is organised by the International College Morphomata of the University of Cologne and the German Academy for Language and Literature.